TheCable

Festus Osifo, president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), says organised labour’s expectation that the federal government will announce a new minimum wage on May 1 is unrealistic.

In January, the government set up a 37-member tripartite committee on the minimum wage. 

Subsequently, organised labour submitted a demand of N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers, and urged the government to announce the new minimum wage on Workers’ Day. 

Speaking with NAN on Friday, Osifo said negotiations with the federal government on a new minimum wage are ongoing. 

“The negotiation by the tripartite committee is still ongoing. If you remember, the TUC earlier submitted N447,000 as the new minimum wage but we have harmonised our figure with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),” he said.

“It is now N615,000. Regarding the ‘when’ for the new minimum wage, the committee is still working.

“So, certainly, May 1, will not work for the pronouncement of the new minimum wage. Except if the federal government wants to pay the minimum wage of N500,000 to workers.

“If you look at the N615, 000, you will think that the amount is right but when we did that computation, a dollar was about N1, 700.

“I am hopeful that the committee will meet after May 1.”