MINIMUM WAGE: LABOUR CONSIDERING N100,000

Organized Labour is likely to agree on N100,000 minimum wage as the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage begins daily meetings over five days to reach a consensus, sources reveal.

Multiple sources within the labour movement said on Tuesday that union the leaders were considering lowering their initial demand from N494,000 to N100,000.

This adjustment comes in response to widespread criticism and controversy deeming the original proposal as unrealistic and excessive.

In a statement released by his media aide Rabiu Ibrahim on Saturday, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, explained that the proposed minimum wage would lead to an annual expenditure of N9.5 trillion, a financial burden he described as untenable for the nation.

Despite efforts from the National Assembly leadership, the labour unions initiated an indefinite strike on Monday, severely disrupting economic activities across the country.

This strike led to the closure of banks, airports, public schools, and courts, prompting the Federal Government to call an emergency meeting to resolve the deadlock.

To advance the negotiations, the unions announced a five-day suspension of the strike on Tuesday after President Bola Tinubu agreed to a national minimum wage higher than N60,000.

The tripartite committee committed to meeting daily until a new minimum wage is established.

In a show of commitment to the negotiations, President Tinubu directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to present the cost implications of a new minimum wage within two days.

This directive was given during a meeting with the government negotiation team led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.A senior NLC official confirmed that the unions would insist on a N100,000 minimum wage, although Labour had not yet formally presented its final offer to the tripartite committee.