By Ayo Kehinde
President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of Organised Labour will meet on Thursday, to discuss a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
According to Channels Television, the President has invited the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to the meeting expected to be held at the Presidential Villa.
The Thursday meeting is coming about a month after the President said in his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, that an Executive Bill on the new national minimum wage for workers would soon be sent to the National Assembly for passage.
On June 25, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by the President, halted consideration and deliberation on the memo on the new minimum wage to allow for more engagement with stakeholders.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting, had said this was done to allow the President to consult wider.
According to the Minister, the Council took its decision realising that the issue of the national minimum wage is not just for the consideration of the Federal Government but involves other stakeholders like the states and federal government as well as the organised private sector.
At the end of the Tripartite Committee meeting on the new national minimum wage recently, the Federal Government team and the organised private sector offered N62,000 but the organised labour demanded N250,000 living wage.
Thursday’s meeting is expected to see a consensus on the new national minimum wage.