NLC, TUC agree on N56,000 as minimum wage

The Technical Committee on Minimum Wage comprising representatives of the Federal Government, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the organised labour will meet tomorrow.

The meeting becomes necessary, even as the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige, formally revealed that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had jointly demanded N56,000 national minimum wage.

The meeting, which will commence at 2.00 p.m, will be held at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Abuja.

The minister said the date of the meeting had been communicated to the government, NLC and the TUC.

Senator Ngige said: “The Federal Government is not “deliberately stalling the process of constituting a tripartite committee which is expected to deliberate on the proposed N56,000  minimum wage as demanded by the NLC and the TUC, last year.

“The Federal Government has demonstrated its commitment to improving the welfare of the Nigerian workforce by holding series of meetings with stakeholders on the subject matter, while the final meeting of the technical committee on new minimum wage was slated for February 23, but could not hold as scheduled, as both NLC and TUC requested for a postponement of the meeting in order to attend the delegate conference of National Union of Civil Engineering Construction/ Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), in  Asaba, Delta State.

“In demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment, a new date for the meeting of the Technical Committee on Minimum Wage has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, at 2.00 p.m. at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and has been communicated to both the government and workers representatives of the committee.”