ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- As the Organised Labour embarks on a nationwide strike over the demand for a new minimum wage, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has urged stakeholders to negotiate a new living wage without waiting for the five-year validity period to expire.
Edun, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, emphasized the importance of wage negotiation in a democracy, acknowledging the complexity of the process.
He stressed that the minimum wage is a fixed figure that applies to all, including states, local governments, and the private sector, and that affordability must be considered.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are demanding a new minimum wage, citing the current wage’s inability to cater to the wellbeing of an average Nigerian worker.
The Minimum Wage Act of 2019, signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, is due for review after five years.
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Labour has rejected government offers, including N60,000, and is insisting on ₦497,000 as the new minimum wage.
Edun’s call for prompt negotiation comes as the strike action begins on Monday, June 3, 2024, as the government’s committee failed to agree on a new minimum wage and reversal of electricity tariff hike.
The minister emphasized the need for goodwill on all sides to reach a beneficial agreement for all Nigerians.
He said, the “complex and difficult” process is ongoing “but with goodwill on all sides, we will come to a landing that benefits all Nigerians”.
The minister said, “It is difficult because the worker deserves his wage and given what is going on, they deserve a change and in fact, by law, every five years, and may be, we shouldn’t have to wait five years everytime to set a new wage scale. The fact is that by law, it is a minimum wage.
“So, you are not setting a wage for Federal Government workers, for example. In a Federation, you are setting a minimum figure that states must pay, that local governments must pay, that the private sector must pay, that small businesses must pay.
“It is a fixed figure, not a scale. So, there are elements of how we have set the minimum wage in the past, particularly what we called the consequential adjustment, which, given what Labour is asking today, will be unaffordable across the board.
“We have to focus on the fact that once it is enshrined in law, everybody that falls into the category of having to pay the minimum wage must pay it. Therefore, the affordability has to be taken into account.
“We probably have to also take into account the fact that there are other ways of supporting cost of living of workers other than wage scale.”