Minimum wage: Organized labour suspends strike, signs agreement with FG

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

Members of the organised labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and Trade Union Congress(TIC) has suspended their strike for five days.

In a telephone chart with Nation Update this Tuesday, NLC confirmed this development.
Suspension of the strike is to give room for uninterrupted meeting with the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage.

After a six-hour meeting with the leadership of organised labour in Abuja Monday night, the Federal Government expressed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to raising the N60,000 offered as the minimum wage.

By this development, the various labour unions are expected to issue a statement shortly before the commencement of negotiations with the government.

The strike which commenced on Monday was called to protest the failure of the Federal Government to approve new minimum wage by May 31 as well as its failure to reverse the hike in electricity tariff.
The agreement stated, “The President of Nigeria, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is committed to establishing a National Minimum Wage higher than N60,000; and the Tripartite Committee will convene daily for the next week to finalise an agreeable National Minimum Wage.”

The organised labour also agreed to “immediately hold meetings of its organs to consider this new offer, and no worker would face victimisation as a consequence of participating in the industrial action.”

Resolutions were signed on behalf of the Federal Government by Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, and Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Labour and Employment.