Labour may resume strike Tuesday after rejecting N62,000, insists on N250,000

The Organised Labour has firmly rejected any proposed minimum wage of N62,000 or N100,000, describing such amounts as “starvation wages.” Instead, they are steadfast in demanding N250,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

Chris Onyeka, Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), made this clear on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief show. Onyeka emphasized that the one-week grace period granted to the Federal Government, which began on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, will end at midnight on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.

He stated that if the Federal Government and the National Assembly fail to address workers’ demands by the deadline, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) will meet to decide whether to resume the nationwide strike that was temporarily paused last week.

Onyeka said, “Our position is very clear. We have never considered accepting N62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what is sufficient for Nigerian workers. We will not negotiate a starvation wage. We have never contemplated N100,000, let alone N62,000. We are still at N250,000, which we believe is a reasonable concession to the government and other social partners. This demand is based on the realities of the marketplace and the cost of everyday items like rice, yam, and garri.”

He continued, “The Federal Government and the National Assembly have the responsibility to act on our demands. They need to consider our demand, draft an Executive Bill, and pass a National Minimum Wage Act that meets our requirements.”

Onyeka reiterated that if there is no tangible response from the government by the deadline, the labour unions will decide on the next steps. “We made it clear that we are only pausing the nationwide indefinite strike. If our governing bodies decide to lift the pause, it means we will resume the strike,” he concluded.

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