The Federal Government and Organised Labour have agreed on a new minimum wage of ₦70,000, according to Information Minister Mohammed Idris. The agreement was reached at a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Labour leaders on Thursday.
The minister announced that the new minimum wage would be submitted to the National Assembly for passage. Labour leaders, including NLC President Joe Ajaero and TUC boss Festus Osifo, confirmed the agreement. Ajaero noted that the minimum wage would now be reviewed every three years, instead of the previous five-year cycle.
The agreement follows a series of talks between labour leaders and the President, after months of failed negotiations with a tripartite committee on minimum wage. The committee had proposed ₦62,000, while labour initially demanded ₦250,000.
The new minimum wage is a significant increase from the current ₦30,000, which labour leaders argued was unsustainable due to inflation and the high cost of living. The President had called for realistic expectations, and the agreed amount is seen as a compromise.
Okay.ng understands that the development is a major breakthrough in the ongoing negotiations, and is expected to impact the lives of millions of Nigerian workers.
