May Day: Why workers want N615,000 minimum wage – Organized Labour

Organized Labour has explained the reason for proposing an N615,000 minimum wage.

In a Channels Television interview on Wednesday, the President of Trade Union, Festus Osifo, said organized labour considered many factors before coming up with the N615,000 minimum wage.

According to him, organized labour awaits the Nigerian federal government’s counteroffer on its proposed minimum wage.

“We had a minimum wage harmonization committee that came up with N615,000. So, the position of organized labour (together with the Nigeria Labour Congress) for the new minimum wage is N615,000. But remember, we are not stupid to propose this. A lot of factors went into it. This is a negotiation. If you are going to negotiate, you don’t submit your rough bottom. You look at what is fair, just and reasonable. We are waiting for the government to bring their counteroffer, so we go into negotiations,” he stated.

His statement comes as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s International Workers’ Day amid economic hardship caused by soaring inflation, which stood at 33.22 per cent in March. Meanwhile, the country’s minimum wage remains unchanged at N30,000.