The Nigerian government has finally set a date for the transmission of a bill for a new national minimum wage, a move aimed to stop the organised labour from starting a strike about a month before presidential election.
The federal government has repeatedly dithered on the labour’s demand for a new wage figure, refusing to commit to N30,000 recommended by a tripartite committee.
Still, President Muhammadu Buhari assured he would review the recommendation and send a bill backing a new wage figure to the National Assembly.
With the Nigeria Labour Congress and its affiliate unions threatening a protest and a nationwide strike, the government on Tuesday agreed to send the bill on January 23.
The decision came after three days of talks.
The labour unions agreed to the date, but warned it would not tolerate a breach.
The unions threatened the process will be reviewed with necessary action taken without reverting to the government.
The national president of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, urged the government to keep to the date so that the process can be completed.
Tuesday’s meeting held between 1p.m. and 3:30p.m. at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The meeting took place the same day the labour unions held a nationwide protest over the minimum wage.
The NLC has been at loggerheads with the federal government over a new minimum wage.
The NLC and other labour unions demand that the national minimum wage be increased to N30,000 from the current N18,000.
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