Labour unions in the country have turned down Federal Government’s offer of N60,000 per month minimum wage, insisting on N494,000 per month instead.
On Tuesday [today] during a meeting of the tripartite committee on minimum wage in Abuja, the Federal Government had added N3,000 to its initially offer of N57,000 minimum monthly wage, bringing the total to N60,000 per month, but Labour said no.
Organised labour, comprising the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress, also shifted stand by N3,000 from its earlier proposed N497,000, effectively creating an impasse between the two sides.
According to a source who gave the breakdown at the Tuesday meeting, the amount proposed by the government did not go down well with labour leaders, adding that organised labour would only go lower if the government goes higher on its demands.
“This is simply a case of if they go higher, we will go lower. They need to propose something reasonable for us to propose something lower too. There is no two-way about it.
“Also, we have a way of meeting as members of the Labour before each committee meeting. This will help us to take a uniform stand by the time we get to the meeting front.
“So as long as the government is ready to present something reasonable, we will meet them in the middle,” the source said.
