President Bola Tinubu has revealed that a consensus has been reached on the long-debated new minimum wage between the Federal Government and organised labour.
In his national broadcast to mark the 2024 Democracy Day in Abuja on Wednesday, Tinubu revealed that an executive bill will soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalise the new minimum wage agreement.
He stated, “In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organised 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.”
He emphasised that his administration chose a democratic approach over dictatorship in addressing the demands of labour unions.
“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. Reasoned discussion and principled compromise are hallmarks of democracy. These themes shall continue to animate my policies and interaction with the constituent parts of our political economy,” he said.
The President vowed to ensure that no Nigerian is oppressed.
He added, “I take on this vital task without fear or favour and I commit myself to this work until we have built a Nigeria where no man is oppressed. In the end, our national greatness will not be achieved by travelling the easy road. It can only be achieved by taking the right one.
“The words of the American President Franklin Roosevelt certainly ring true: There are many ways of going forward. But only one way of standing still”!”
Tinubu urged Nigerians not to be wary and to be hopeful for a better future.
“We dare not slumber lest the good things awaiting our immediate future pass us by. We dare not plant our feet in an idle standstill in the middle of the intersection of hope and despair. We know the proper way forward and we shall take it! The initial rays of a brighter tomorrow now appear on the early horizon.
“An abundant future and our capacity to achieve that future lie within our reach. Democracy and the institutions it begets offer to take us to our profound destination.
Let us board this progressive train together. Together, let us move Nigeria forward.
“Let’s continue to keep the fire of democracy burning. Let’s keep the torch lit for generations to come,” he said.
On June 3, members of organised labour embarked on a nationwide indefinite strike over the Federal Government’s refusal to raise the proposed minimum wage from N60,000.
This came following several failed meetings between the government and labour unions.
On May 1, 2024, organised labour issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding the conclusion of the minimum wage negotiation by the end of the month.
While the government and the Organised Private Sector agreed on N62,000, labour on the other hand demanded N250,000.
The Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Chris Onyeka, said labour would not accept the latest offer of ₦62,000 and the ₦100,000 proposal made by some individuals and economists.
