What’s special about the new ₦70k minimum wage going to parliament?
At an evening press briefing after high-level discussion between labour union leaders and Mr President on Thursday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris described a happy day for Nigeria although yesterday was a mixed bag.
At the beginning of the week, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was considering a month-long strike should the National Assembly tinker with the status of the national minimum wage by moving it off the federal exclusive list. By Thursday, 18 July, it is a different tune that organised labour is singing because President Bola Tinubu has approved ₦70,000 as the new rate for workers, so why is that special?
After a meeting between the president and the labour union representatives yesterday, it was revealed that instead of the ₦250,000 that workers have been asking for as the new minimum wage, there will be the opportunity to review the government’s latest offer in three years instead of a length of five years.
ALSO READ: No movement for one month straight should Senators move the minimum wage from federal exclusive list
The ₦70,000, in addition to an intense drive by federal officials to introduce cheaper transportation via vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), will make life much more worth living for all Nigerian workers going through economic hardships.
I have heard all your presentations. You came here with the intention to get something on behalf of your members. If you review my track record, I have never been found wanting to ameliorate the problems of workers. I belong to the people and all of you in leadership, says Mr Tinubu during a moment of truth with NLC’s president Comrade Joe Ajaero and Trade Union Council colleague, Festus Osifo.
Speaking further to the two, President Tinubu said: We are driving this economy together. Let us look at the tenure of review. Let us agree on that, and affirm three years. Two years is too short. We affirm three years. We will review it.
I am going to move from the tripartite committee. I am going to edge a little bit forward, looking at the review that we have done. Yes, no one in the federal establishment should earn less than ₦70,000. So, we are going to benchmark at ₦70,000.
At an evening press briefing after the high-level discussion, the Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris described this as a happy day for Nigeria. The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union will be getting the outstanding payments owed to them.
Labour Leaders Praise President Bola Tinubu Over Approval of N70,000 Minimum Wage and Promise of Review After Three Years pic.twitter.com/p2xupFU6De
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) July 18, 2024
Mixed bag
Despite the presentations by President Bola Tinubu, it is with mixed feelings that the offers were received by the labour union bodies.
Joe Ajaero explained the reasons for accepting the offers as the provision to review the ₦70,000 three years from now and their patriotism during an economically challenging time for the entire country. Well, we were here last week and we’re here now, what they have announced in terms of the amount of ₦70,000 happened to be where we are now for now, but the good thing about it is that we will not wait for another five years to come and review.
Rather than settling on a figure that we would wait for five years, it’s like we’ll have to now negotiate even two times within five years, to go up. That is one of the reasons why we decided to reach where we are today because of the proviso that we can review in the next three years.
We came with other issues in the basket, like the issue of SSANU, NASU and others, especially with the affront by the Commissioner of Police of FCT. We brought it to Mr President and talked about the need for that matter to be addressed magnanimously. He asked the agencies concerned to work out the modalities for the payment of those workers in the universities.
After the last total strike by the labour unions that took place in early June and ushered in this moment, ordinary Nigerians are feeling like it was all a waste because they are thinking the ₦70,000, which is expected to be transmitted to the National Assembly in four days, does not measure up to the high cost of living prevalent in the country, yet this was to be expected.
ALSO READ: All 36 governors assure that better wages for workers will surely come
Anytime the Nigeria Labour Congress makes a demand, there is always concern among the populace that the organisation would bottle up before their requests are met, making them look like sellouts. It is that familiar feeling that has trailed the Thursday agreement between workers and the government.
Disappointed people
Even though the federal government led by President Tinubu outperformed what both governors and the organised private sector were willing to deliver as the minimum wage, the citizens think this isn’t enough. Hence there is this question by Ojo Henry Opeyemi, asking via NLC’s X profile: Why una agree 70k as minimum wage?? Is it for garri, rice or beans??
Why Una agree 70k as minimum wage??
Is it for garri, rice or beans??— Ojo Henry Opeyemi (@henryojo56) July 18, 2024
The federal government will probably feel like the 150-day suspension of duty on brown husked rice and maize starting this month should cater to the food problem, but in the people’s minds, a national minimum wage that is below ₦100,000 is nothing.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
