The Organised Labour has said it rejected the proposed N48,000 minimum wage because the Federal Government did not reveal how it arrived at the amount.
Etim Okon, the Vice President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) said this while confirming that Labour will attend the negotiation meeting of the Tripartite Committee on the Minimum Wage slated for Tuesday, May 21.
Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC had walked out on the negotiation meeting after the Federal Government proposed N48,000 as new minimum wage for workers in the country.
According to Okon, the government’s failure to provide any substantiated data to support its offer exacerbates the situation, adding that lack of transparency and good faith undermines the credibility of the negotiation process.
“The proposal falls significantly short of meeting our needs and aspirations.
“The Federal Government has apologized and the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and we are going to appear and present our demand.
“We will still be presenting the N615,000. It is what we presented before we walked out, though our submission was not rejected by the government.
“We only rejected the N48,000 that the government presented because they did not show us how they arrived at that amount.
“That is taking cognizance of transportation, housing, food, utilities, health, education among others which are basic needs of the people.
“So government should come out clearly with what they are offering with the indices and variables and also how they arrived at that. This is all what we are saying,” Okon said.
