The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) asserts that the ₦35,000 wage award agreement with the Federal Government will persist until the determination of a new minimum wage.
This statement was made by Mr. Joe Ajaero, NLC President, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu, on October 1, had endorsed a provisional wage increment of N35,000 for all Treasury-paid workers for a duration of six months, a decision worth recalling.
This provision for a N35,000 wage increment was a result of an accord with organized labor, designed to alleviate the repercussions of the fuel subsidy removal.
The federal government, since the initiation of the wage award in September 2023, has only disbursed payment for a period two months.
Ajaero, addressing the payment of the wage award, emphasized that it is slated to last for only six months before the initiation of the national minimum wage.
Clarifying the nature of the agreement, he stated that it’s not a six-month wage deal with the Federal Government; rather, it’s a wage agreement that stands until the determination of the new minimum wage.
Read also: TUC: FG Stopped ₦35,000 Minimum Wage After First Month
‘We are in the process of collating the compliance of the federal government on the payment of the wage award, and we have even had a conversation with the leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on this.’
‘We have asked our affiliates to collate the level of compliance with this, and we are still waiting for their correspondents.’
‘Even last week, during a courtesy call, I raised the issue with the Minister of Labour and Employment on that; it is not just the wage award; the entire agreement we had with them, they have not conceded to it,’ he said.
Ajaero noted that other issues that were yet to be implemented by the federal government include the Port Harcourt refineries, CNG buses, and wage awards, among others.
Despite this, he assured workers that a holistic examination of the issues was underway to ensure resolution.
According to him, I have asked the federal government to go through all the agreements they have entered into with us because that is where we are starting the year.
‘We are not starting the year with even the minimum wage; we have to look at the sanity and compliance of the agreement already entered into with the government.’
‘So far, it has not been rosy; there seems to be nobody keeping up with the agreement, and at a time like this, we need to get it right at the beginning of the year, so we are working on this issue seriously,’ he said.