Organized labor has received assurances from President Bola Tinubu that the National Assembly will soon consider an executive measure establishing a new national minimum wage for workers.
On June 12, 2024, Tinubu announced this in his second Democracy Day speech on Wednesday. In keeping with this, we have been transparent and sincere in our negotiations with Organized Labor over a new national minimum wage. The President declared, “We will shortly submit an executive measure to the National Assembly to codify the agreements reached into law for the next five years or fewer.
He claimed that none of the leaders of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) were detained or intimidated during the labor movement’s nationwide strike on June 3, 2024. “Rather than opposing, the labor leadership was asked to engage in a constructive dialogue and work toward a mutually agreeable solution,” he stated, emphasizing that “rational discourse and ethical concession are characteristics of democracy.”
Tinubu also expressed sympathy for Nigerians and acknowledged the country’s economic challenges. “Necessary repairs required to fix the economy,” he pledged.
“The goal of the reforms we have started is to build a better, stronger base for future expansion. Without a question, the reforms have brought forth difficulties. But in the long run, these fixes are essential to stabilize the economy and ensure that everyone has access to opportunities for employment, just remuneration for their labor, and fair pay for their efforts,” he stated.
There have long been discussions about raising the minimum wage for Nigerian employees. In April 2024, the Minimum pay Act of 2019, which set the minimum pay at ₦30,000, came to an end. Every five years, the Act should be reviewed to ensure it still meets the needs of modern workers in terms of the economy. A tripartite committee was established by President Tinubu in January to negotiate a new minimum wage for laborers. The committee is made up of representatives from the organized private sector, federal and state governments, and organized labor.
On Monday, June 3, 2024, labor was forced to declare an indefinite strike due to the committee members’ inability to come to a consensus on a new, realistic minimum wage for workers. As labor shut down the National Assembly, state assemblies’ complexes, banks, hospitals, airports, and the national grid, business was paralyzed.
The labor unions claimed that the current ₦30,000 minimum wage was insufficient to support the well-being of the typical Nigerian worker and that the government should provide workers with a more competitive wage in light of the country’s current inflationary pressures, the consequences of the administration’s twin policies of eliminating gasoline subsidies, and the unification of its forex windows. On June 4, 2024, labor “relaxed” its strike after the President gave guarantees that he would guarantee a salary greater than ₦60,000. Following that, the leaders of the TUC and NLC started up again with the federal government, the states, and the organized private sector.
There was still no agreement between the administration and labor on Friday, June 7, 2024. While labor’s demand fell once more, from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000, the government promised workers ₦62,000 and added ₦2,000 to its initial ₦60,000. The President received the reports from both parties and is likely to decide and send an executive bill to the National Assembly for approval of a new minimum wage bill that the President would sign into law.
