The Federal Government and Organized Labour met yesterday, but there was no progress made since the Nigeria Labour Congressand its counterpart, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria both rejected the government’s proposals.
However, the meeting will reconvene at 4 p.m. today.
Sources at the meeting said that the labour leaders rejected President Bola Tinubu’s N25,000 provisional wage award for low-grade workers to cushion the effect of the removal of the petrol subsidy.
The labour leaders told Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to prepare to take all of them to jail because the government had been threatening them with a court order, saying “This is not acceptable.”
Recall that President Tinubu in his nationwide broadcast, on the occasion of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Anniversary, had said: “Based on our talks with labour, business and other stakeholders, we are introducing a provisional wage increment to enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation.
‘’For the next six months, the average low-grade worker shall receive an additional Twenty-Five Thousand naira per month.
“Commencing this month, the social safety net is being extended through the expansion of cash transfer programmes to an additional 15 million vulnerable households.”
However, it was reliably gathered that Organized Labour in its meeting with the Federal Government team at the Permanent Conference Room, Presidential Villa, Abuja, rejected the N25,000 provisional wage award and demanded 200 per cent of the current minimum wage.
Besides, Labour insisted that the provisional wage increase should be for all workers, pending the enactment of a new Minimum Wage Act next year and must not be limited to only six months.
The labour leaders equally insisted that the conditional cash transfer for the poorest and vulnerable people should be increased to N25,000 for 15 million vulnerable Nigerians, against the N5,000 the previous administration was paying.
Gbajabiamila, it was learned, was accompanied by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong.
Some other issues raised by the NLC and TUC leaders included tax rebates for low-income earners, removal of Value Added Tax, VAT, on diesel for the next six months and provision of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, and buses within the next two months.
The meeting that commenced at about 3.25 pm, ended around 7.15 pm to reconvene by 4 pm today.
Labour’s NEC to meet today on govt offers.
It was gathered that labour leaders would also hold their National Executive Council, NEC, meeting today to brief NEC members about the offers by the government.
The NEC is expected to take a position and give the leaders the new mandate to take to the government.
But briefing journalists after the meeting, the Chief of Staff to the President and leader of the government team, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced that Tinubu accepted organized labour’s demand that the wage award be across the board.
He said: “We’ve been at a closed-door meeting with labour and government side since three o’clock. So, it’s been about four four-hour meetings.
“A lot of issues were addressed. Issues that concern the Nigerian workers, the average Nigerian worker. I can’t begin to reel them out here. But I am happy to say that after four hours, we have reached certain agreements that are for the benefit of the Nigerian worker”.