Labour to consult its membership on the outcome of talks
● As Tinubu commits to a slight increase above N60,000
By PHC Telegraph
Labour leaders have agreed to call a meeting to brief their members on the outcome of the tripartite talks which held on Monday.
This is part of news that is filtering out after a five-hour-long conversation between the Federal Government and labour which was held to resolve differences
According to an understanding reached at the roundtable signed by representatives of the Federal Government and organozed labour, Nigerian workers are to be briefed on the outcome of the negotiations within one week
The meeting equally heard that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is disposed to the payment of a minimum wage that is higher than N60,000.
The statement which gave no further details was signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation and the Minister of State of Labour on behalf of the Federal Government while Joe Ajaero, NLC President and TUC President, Festus Osifo initialed for Labour.
It similarly agreed that no one connected with Labour’s ongoing national strike will be victimised by the government.
News of the breakthrough in talks had sparked off a new round of debate on the social media and led to speculations in some quarters.
While some want the Federal Government to come clean on how much it will pay as minimum wage, others say the government is being cautious in its utterances at this delicate stage of the tripartite negotiations.
The Port Harcourt Telegraph reports that most Nigerians see the N495,000 minimum wage proposed by labour as unrealistic.
This might suggest that Labour may have agreed to settle for something slightly above N60,000 as it struggles to secure a little more money for Nigerian workers whose welfare in difficult economic times is responsible for the ongoing strike.
On its part, Labour is yet to announce it is ready to call off the nationwide strike which has left many homes in complete darkness and shutdown economic activities.
But labour leaders deposed that they hold the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in very high esteem.
It is thus evident, going by the mood that is emanating, that a few more discussions are likely to take place before an agreeable minimum wage structure is adopted by all the parties concerned.