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Tinubu Summons Labour Leaders to Presidential Villa for Minimum Wage Discussions

Written by Jerry Alomatu on July 11, 2024

News Views: 33

President Bola Tinubu will meet with organised labour leaders on Thursday to address the delay in approving a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

A senior labour union member informed journalists that the president has invited the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to the Presidential Villa for discussions. The meeting will focus on reconciling the government’s and private sector’s N62,000 proposal with the labour’s demand for N250,000.

This meeting comes nearly a month after Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, where he promised to send an Executive Bill on the new national minimum wage to the National Assembly soon.

Meanwhile, NLC President Joe Ajaero has highlighted the suffering and neglect faced by retired workers in Nigeria. Speaking at the 2024 National Pre-retirement Summit in Abuja on Wednesday, Ajaero called for a return to the old pension scheme.

Ajaero revealed that the federal government allegedly owes nearly N260 billion in pension arrears, with federal parastatals accounting for an additional N40 billion. He noted that many workers fear for their future due to the insecurity of the current pension scheme.

“Pension scheme, as it currently stands in Nigeria, unfortunately falls short of its fundamental purpose; to provide for workers in their old age. Retirement under the present scheme may therefore become a death sentence for many and this has many consequences for the behaviour of workers in active service,” Ajaero said.

He also pointed out that some states have pension arrears stretching up to eight years, and in the private sector, many companies are up to three years behind in remitting deducted pension contributions.

Ajaero expressed concern that the depreciating value of the Naira has further undermined the security and peace of mind that pensions are supposed to provide, leading to financial hardship and health challenges for retirees.