4 months ago
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The founder and President of Anap Foundation & Anap Jets, Atedo Peterside, has said that the minimum wage talks between the Federal Government and the labour unions have become difficult because of reckless spending on the part of the government.
Peterside, who is the founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, said this on Monday via his X handle (formerly Twitter), as the organised labour declared strike.
He said that the government’s spending on Hajj subsidy and SUVs for lawmakers had given the labour unions, the idea that the government was rich.
“The Nigerian minimum wage negotiations were going to be unnecessarily difficult because FG “poisoned” the atmosphere for responsible negotiations by approving a reckless N90bn Hajj subsidy, luxury SUVs for legislators, etc., thereby, creating the false impression that FG was rich,” he said.
The labour unions proposed a new minimum wage of N494,000, a 1,547 per cent increase from the current wage, which the FG rejected and offered N60,000 instead.
Following the breakdown of talks, the Nigeria Labour Congress declared a nationwide indefinite strike, starting Monday.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, announced that the strike followed failed negotiations between the government and organised labour, and its refusal to reverse the withdrawal of the power sector subsidy and increase in electricity tariff.
The unions had earlier given the May 31, 2024, deadline for the conclusion of new minimum wage negotiations.
The government raised its minimum wage offer from N57,000 to N60,000 while the labour unions reduced their demand to N494,000 from N497,000 proposed earlier.
The labour leaders initially demanded N615,000.
There have been entreaties from different quarters for the labour unions to return to the negotiating table with the FG through the National Salaries Wages and Income Commission, inviting the leaders of the NLC and Trade Union Congress for a meeting on Tuesday (today).
