Organised Labour has disputed President Bola Tinubu’s claims regarding a new national minimum wage agreement mentioned in his Democracy Day address.
According to Organised Labour, as of the conclusion of negotiations on June 7, no agreement had been reached by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage.
Instead, two figures were proposed: N250,000 by Organised Labour and N62,000 by the government and Organised Private Sector (OPS). These figures were expected to be submitted to the President.
In a statement by the Acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Prince Adewale Adeyanju, it was emphasized that any claim to the contrary was not only inaccurate but would be rejected by Labour.
Reacting to the President’s speech, titled “Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech and national minimum wage negotiation: May be accurate in history, inaccurate in reality,” Labour clarified that the committee did not agree on a five-year duration for the minimum wage Act, though they acknowledged the President mentioned five years or less.
The statement read: “The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) attentively listened to the Democracy Day Presidential address delivered by His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly concerning the ongoing National Minimum Wage negotiations.
While the President may have accurately recounted parts of our democratic journey’s history, it is evident that he has been misinformed regarding the outcome of the wage negotiation process.
“To quote Mr. President: ‘As we continue to reform the economy, I shall always listen to the people and will never turn my back on you. In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organized labour on a new national minimum wage.
We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less.
“In the face of labour’s call for a national strike, we did not seek to oppress or crack down on the workers as a dictatorial government would have done. We chose the path of cooperation over conflict. No one was arrested or threatened. Instead, the labour leadership was invited to break bread and negotiate toward a good-faith resolution.’
“We appreciate the President’s commitment to these democratic ideals, which allowed the work of the Tripartite National Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee to proceed unhindered despite some hiccups.
However, we had expected Mr. President to harmonize the two figures submitted by the Tripartite Committee in favor of workers and the masses. This would have been a fitting Democracy Day gift.
“The NLC would have expected the President’s advisers to inform him that we neither reached any agreement with the federal government and employers on the base figure for a National Minimum Wage nor its other components.
Our demand remains N250,000, and we have not been given compelling reasons to change this position, which we consider a great concession by Nigerian workers during the tripartite negotiation process.
“We are therefore surprised by the President’s assertion of a supposed agreement. We believe he may have been misled into believing there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC.
There was none, and it is important to clarify this to avoid confusion in the ongoing national minimum wage conversation. We have not seen a copy of the document submitted to him and will not accept any doctored document.
“However, we reaffirm our belief that the President, with the Tripartite Committee’s report before him, will prepare an Executive Bill reflecting the true demands of Nigerian workers.
This is an opportunity for him to demonstrate his commitment to Nigerian workers and the masses by rejecting advice that aims to harm the poor and struggling workers of Nigeria. The President should not allow these individuals and groups to sabotage his promise of lifting Nigerian workers out of poverty.
“President’s advisers did not inform him that trade union leaders were intimidated and harassed. It is important that the President understands that we were threatened multiple times by his operatives, possibly without his consent. Media propaganda aimed at intimidating us was and is still being waged against trade unions by senior government officials.
Fully armed soldiers surrounded us during negotiations with the Government. Despite denials, recent statements by senior officials reaffirm our fears. However, we trust that the President’s democratic principles will prevail in favor of Nigerian workers and the masses.
“It is also important for the President to know that some of his officers are working to undermine the leadership of the congress and trade unions. We never agreed on a 5-year duration for the minimum wage Act, though we acknowledge the President mentioned 5 years or less. We also agreed that inflation should be pegged at a level for a certain amount to be agreed upon as the minimum wage. This is to bring clarity to the report.
“We reiterate that it will be extremely difficult for Nigerian workers to accept any national minimum wage figure that amounts to a starvation wage. We cannot work and yet remain in abject poverty.
We seek justice, equity, and fairness for all Nigerians, and this should drive the actions of Mr. President, who promised a living wage to Nigerian workers. This is an opportunity for him to show he listens to Nigerians as he promised.
“Together, we can build a stronger democratic nation based on equity, guaranteeing prosperity to the majority of citizens and not allowing a few individuals to monopolize our collective resources. That is the only way to build a sustainable democracy, the true democracy that we all yearn for as a people.”
