In a move to resolve the lingering minimum wage impasse, President Bola Tinubu is set to meet with the Organised Labour in Abuja today to hammer out a deal that will potentially transform the livelihoods of Nigerian workers.
The highly anticipated meeting comes on the heels of prolonged negotiations between the federal government, state governments, and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) on one hand, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on the other.
According to sources, the President has invited the leadership of the NLC and TUC to a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to discuss a new minimum wage that has been a subject of intense debate in recent months.
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While the government and OPS have proposed a minimum wage of ₦62,000, labour has insisted on a minimum wage of ₦250,000, citing the excruciating economic conditions and the need for a living wage.
“We believe that the President’s intervention will help us to resolve the issues and arrive at a mutually acceptable minimum wage,” said a labour leader, expressing optimism about the meeting’s outcome.
The meeting is a culmination of efforts by the Tripartite Committee set up by the President in January to negotiate a new minimum wage.
Although the committee failed to reach a consensus, labour suspended its indefinite strike action in June following assurances from the President that a wage exceeding ₦60,000 was being pursued.
With both parties having submitted their reports to the President, today’s meeting is expected to be a decisive moment in the minimum wage saga.
Will President Tinubu be able to broker a deal that meets the expectations of Nigerian workers? Only time will tell.
