The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, on Thursday, proposed a new National Minimum Wage of N709,000 and N447,000 monthly for workers in Nigeria.
The figures were presented at the North Central Zonal Public Hearing of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage (TCNMW) held in Abuja.
While the zone’s leadership of the two Labour Centres proposed the figures, some representatives of State Governments in the zone comprising Kwara, Nassarawa, Plateau, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory did not present a specific figure but rather called for a window for re-negotiation to be open between States and labour citing paucity of funds.
Plateau State government represented by its Permanent Secretary, Establishment and Labour Relations however, submitted three different proposals of N60,000, N70,000 and N80,000 for the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee to consider.
She said that the three proposals were “hinged on the fact that it will get more subventions from the centre” saying that Plateau State is a civil service State with “no industrial base”.
While making its presentations, Kwara State Government urged the Federal and State governments across the country to consider paying workers both at the Federal and State levels a sustainable minimum wage as well as to review upward the allocation State governments receive from the Federation account.
It believes that an upward review of subvention from the centre would go a long way in transmitting better wages for workers.
For the Nasarawa State Government was represented by the Head of Service of the State, Mrs Abigail Waya, the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee should allow her State to renegotiate a minimum wage with their workforce saying that “economic realities may not encourage the State pay a new minimum wage beyond its financial capability”.
However, the Niger State Head of Service who represented the State Government, said that the government “is willing to pay any amount fixed by the National Minumum Wage Tripartite Committee as a new minimum wage for workers”.
On their part, pensioners, represented by the Chairman of, the Federal Civil Service Pensioners Union, Comrade Sunday Omezi, said that pensioners were unanimous in asking for “85% of whatever figure the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee agrees to pay workers”.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the Zonal Hearing, North Central Zone of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage TCNMW, Festus Osifo, said; “the Committee is keenly interested in receiving well-researched position recommendations that will aid in making informed decisions”.
He called on the participants to express their views openly, share their experiences and provide constructive suggestions adding that their input is invaluable in shaping policies that will not only provide the livelihood of citizens but also contribute to the overall economic growth and social well-being of the nation.
“We recognise the importance of balancing the interest of employers and the employees to achieve a fair and sustainable minimum wage that promotes social justice and economic stability”, he said.
A new National Minimum Wage for workers in Nigeria has been a national discourse for some time now, long before the inauguration of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage by President Bola Ahmed Tinibu.
The six geo-political zones in Nigeria on Thursday had the opportunity of making presentations and submitting their documents of demands to the Chairmen of the Zonal Public Hearings of the Committee, an event that took place simultaneously across the geo-political zones.
Fifteen submissions were made to the Committee in the North-central zone by different sectors including the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Resident Doctors Association of Nigeria and the counterparts in the Veterinary and Dental Associations, TUC, NLC as well as State governments among others.
States covered by the Zone include Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory.
The terms of reference of the TCNMW include “to consult all stakeholders on the issue of National Minimum Wage, consider the National Minimum Wage in the context of the dynamics of the national economy and to recommend a realistic and practical National Minimum Wage to the government”.
Dominica Nwabufo
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