The Labour Party has called for renewed negotiations rather than industrial action amid escalating tensions between workers’ unions and the government over the issue of a new minimum wage.
This appeal was made by the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Lagos. His comments were in response to the nationwide strike initiated by organized labour, which is demanding a new minimum wage.
Ifoh emphasized that a strike would only exacerbate the current hardships faced by Nigerians. “Our immediate reaction is that organised labour should not throw Nigerians into more hardship. Nigerians are already grappling with a lot of challenges, and we do not need to exacerbate the situation.”
He also criticized the demand for a ₦494,000 minimum wage as unrealistic. “I think the demand for N494,000 minimum wage is unrealistic. It is really unrealistic. It is a figure that cannot be sustained because it will imply that Nigeria will take all that money it has to pay the civil servants,” Ifoh said.
Ifoh urged the labour unions to continue engaging with the Federal Government to reach a mutually acceptable figure. “Negotiation should continue until they get something better. Asking Nigerian workers to stay at home will affect everything, including the cost of living, and Nigerians cannot afford that now. Negotiation is not a one-off thing.”
He suggested that if the government is only willing to offer a ₦60,000 minimum wage, the unions should accept it while continuing to negotiate for better terms. “If the Federal Government is not willing to go above N60,000 minimum wage, I think that organised labour should work with what is available while it continues to negotiate. We know this government has not gotten it right. It is still trying to test the waters,” the LP spokesman added.
Despite the Labour Party’s and the Federal Government’s pleas for patience and further negotiation, organized labour proceeded with an indefinite strike on Monday to push for a new national minimum wage for workers.
This industrial action follows a series of unsuccessful negotiations between the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, and government representatives. On May 28, labour representatives walked out of the Tripartite Committee meeting after the government’s proposal was increased from ₦57,000 to ₦60,000.
The government and the Organised Private Sector initially proposed ₦48,000, later increasing to ₦54,000 and ₦57,000, all of which were rejected by labour. Organized labour had initially proposed ₦615,000 as the new minimum wage but later reduced their demand to ₦497,000 and then to ₦494,000 to account for the rising cost of living.
