Minimum Wage: FG, Organised Labour To Meet Today

The Organised Labour and the Federal Government are to resume negotiations on the new national minimum wage by 1 pm today.

A highly placed source privy to the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the organized labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) told Vanguard that the ongoing strike was “relaxed” in line with the agreement reached with the government on Monday night.

The source disclosed that at the meeting with the Federal Government on the instance of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) Senator George Akume, it was agreed that the Tripartite Committee on the new minimum wage would be sitting every day to conclude negotiations.

The source said, “We relaxed the strike in line with the agreement with the Federal Government that we will meet every day.

“We are going back to negotiation by 1 pm today. We hope that from now till the weekend, we will be able to reach an agreement but if no agreement is reached, we will resume strike next week.”

Labour Unions Relax Strike Action In Lagos Airports

Meanwhile, travellers using Lagos airports can expect some relief, as the aviation unions have decided to temporarily “relax” their strike actions.

The decision comes after significant disruptions caused by the nationwide strike initiated by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on June 3.

The strike was in response to the federal government’s refusal to increase the minimum wage from the proposed ₦60,000.

The Deputy National Secretary of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Francis Akinjorin, stated in the notice, on Tuesday, that the relaxation of the strike at the airports is for a week, clarifying that this is not a suspension but a temporary easing to “test the sincerity” of the federal government.

“Union members say they are ‘relaxing’ the action for one week and not suspending the strike to give FG the one week grace and test their sincerity,” the notice reads.

The initial strike had led to widespread cancellations and delays across various airlines, significantly affecting airport operations.

This development follows after the federal government, on Monday, reached out to the leaders of the NLC and the TUC for an emergency meeting, aiming to resolve the impasse over wage negotiations. The outcome of these talks could potentially influence further actions by the unions.