Following Organised Labour’s insistence on downing tools and declaring a nationwide strike if discussions on the new National Minimum Wage are not concluded by May 31, 2024, the Federal Government has summoned a meeting of the 37-member Tripartite Committee on the New National Minimum Wage, NNMW, for today in a major effort to beat the deadline.
Recall that Organised Labour, under the platform of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and its Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterpart had on May 1, 2024, in a joint address during the May Day celebration at the Eagle Square, Abuja, warned that “if, however, the negotiation on the national minimum wage is not concluded by the end of May, the trade union movement in Nigeria will no longer guarantee industrial peace in the country.”
Determined to meet the deadline and avoid another round of nationwide industrial unrest, Vanguard gathered that the government, through the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, NSIWC, which is the secretariat of NNMW, summoned a meeting of the Tripartite Committee NNMW, today, with the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja, as a venue.
The invitation letter to the meeting, was gathered, was signed by the Secretary/ member of the Tripartite Committee NNMW, Ekpo Nta.
According to sources, among the agenda of today’s meeting are presentations by the Federal Government/states and Organised Private Sector, OPS, of their minimum wage proposals, as organized labour had already made its proposal of N615,000 wage demand.
There will also be a presentation by the NSIWC on the report of the income survey of the informal sector of the Nigerian economy 2023 and a report of the desk review of the remuneration survey of SMEs, conducted by SMEDAN/NBS 2013, 2017 and 2021.