By: Nwakaji Peace Martins
For the second consecutive day, the ongoing tripartite negotiation regarding the new national minimum wage between the Federal Government organized labor, and the Organized Private Sector, OPS, ended in a stalemate as both the government and private sector employers made minimal adjustments to their previous offers.
None of the six governors who are part of the committee attended the meeting yesterday, except for Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma. The meeting has been adjourned to Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Organized labor lowered their wage demand from N615,000 to N500,000, and later to N497,000, while the OPS increased their offer from N54,000 to N57,000.
Initially, the government negotiating team was firm in their stance but eventually decided to consult and returned from the break matching the OPS offer of N57,000. The government had initially offered N54,000 on Tuesday.
According to Vanguard sources, the government team raised their offer by N3,000 to align with the OPS offer after a consultation during the break. OPS had already increased their offer to N57,000 from N54,000 in the previous week.
The labor negotiating team promptly rejected the new offers from both the government and the OPS, stating they were not prepared for negotiations. The government cited the lack of funds and the private sector’s inability to pay as reasons for their stance.
A source revealed that the Imo State governor, who is not a committee member, attended the meeting, which was seen as a positive development due to the regular absence of the six governors on the committee. A labor leader expressed frustration, claiming the government was not serious about negotiations.
The labor leader criticized the government’s claims of financial constraints, citing lavish spending on political elites and other expenses. The leader emphasized that workers have been disproportionately affected by the government’s economic policies.
After the meeting, a source stated that labor rejected the N57,000 offer, leading to the adjournment of the meeting with no agreement in place. The government’s insistence on the N57,000 offer was met with resistance from labor, highlighting the lack of agreement on wage adjustments.
The source mentioned that the breakdown of the N57,000 offer was requested by labor to understand the allocation for different purposes, but the government did not provide this information. The government’s offer was presented by the Minister of State for Labor and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, during the meeting.
Key government members present at the meeting included the Ministers of Finance, Wale Edun, Budget, Atiku Bagudu, and Labor, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha. The absence of the six governors representing the different geopolitical zones was notable, with only the governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, briefly attending the meeting without providing reasons for his presence.
