New Minimum Wage: Details Of Labour, FG Meeting Emerges

The Federal Government has failed to reach an agreement with the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) over consequential adjustment for the implementation of the new minimum wage.

Naija News reports that the Head of Service, Winifred Oyo-Ita, chaired the meeting, and the acting Chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, as the Secretary of the negotiating council.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had in April, this year, signed the new minimum wage bill into law.

However, deliberations continued as the issue of relativity/consequential adjustment of salaries still persisted.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after Monday’s meeting, Alade Lawal, JNPSNC General Secretary, Trade Union Side, said organised labour will decide on the next line of action towards the issue of the minimum wage.

He said: “The meeting is deadlocked, we found out that the Federal Government officials are not serious about it at all, we are suspecting fowl play or a hidden agenda somewhere.

“We have decided to report the development to our principals, including the Labour unions, Nigerians will be adequately briefed of our next line of action very shortly.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Labour team, Simon Anchaver, said they have resolved to write to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on their advice to consider industrial action.

He stated that government reluctance to come to an agreement was an invitation for industrial action.

Anchaver noted that workers were already engulfed in fear and agitations on whether their accumulated arrears will be paid when talks are finally concluded.