Nigeria’s Trade Union Congress (TUC) has dismissed the government’s proposed N54,000 minimum wage as grossly insufficient; this has ignited fresh debate over fair compensation for the nation’s workers.
Festus Osifo, the helmsman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), sat down with Arise Television for a revealing conversation, during which he expressed his misgivings about the government’s minimum wage proposal.
Earlier, the Federal Government had put forward a proposal for a minimum wage of N48,000, a move that sparked widespread debate and criticism from various quarters.
Labor leaders deemed the initial offer “insultingly low” and refused to budge, leading to a hastily-convened meeting on Tuesday where a new proposal of N54,000 was presented as a possible solution.
Festus Osifo, President of the Trade Union Congress, expressed his hopes for a more sensible approach, stating that the Tuesday meeting was convened with the anticipation of a “fair and reasonable” proposal.
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He said the N615,000 was a negotiation strategy by the union, saying that “you don’t go into negotiation with your barest minimum, after looking at all factors then you add markup to it so you have room for adjustment. The N615,000 submitted was a strategy.”
Osifo highlighted the remarkable difference between the minimum wage of 18,000 naira in 2011, and the suggested 54,000 naira in 2024, using the value of dollar and consumer purchasing power.
He said, “2011 when N18,000 was passed as the minimum wage, what was the value of USD? In 2011, N18,000 using an exchange rate of about 140-145 will give you about $125, which when converted today will get you close to N200,000.
“What that means is what N18,000 could buy in 2011 you will need almost N200,000 to buy it today.”
Osifo said one of the reasons the meeting held today made no progress and was rescheduled, was due to the absence of the 6 state governors, and lack of mandate by 2 who were represented.
“We asked them if they had any mandate and they said no, so we adjourned the meeting to 4pm on Wednesday,” he said.
He entreated the governors to attend the Wednesday meeting, pointing out that their engagement is essential and that Nigerian workers are keenly awaiting the conclusions reached in their discussions.
According to Osifo, the presence or absence of governors at tomorrow’s meeting is immaterial, as long as the federal government is participating, negotiations will proceed, but the currently proposed figure of N54,000 is non-negotiable.