Nigeria Wage Panel Urges Labour to Reconsider Demands

The Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage has called on organised labour in Nigeria to reconsider the level of minimum wage it is seeking from the federal government.

Committee chairman Alhaji Goni Aji made the remarks in the capital, Abuja. The intervention comes as talks between the government, private sector and labour continue over a new national minimum wage.

Organised labour is currently demanding 250,000 naira per month. The committee believes this figure requires further examination before an agreement can be reached.

Nigeria operates a tripartite negotiation process for minimum wage adjustments, involving representatives from the federal and state governments, the organised private sector and labour unions. The current statutory minimum wage was set several years ago and has been eroded by inflation and currency devaluation.

The committee was established to facilitate consensus among the three parties. Its recommendations are expected to inform the federal government's final position in the negotiations.

Labour leaders have argued that the high cost of living, particularly in urban centres such as Lagos and Abuja, justifies a substantial increase. However, the committee has signalled that the demanded sum may not align with broader economic realities facing both public and private employers.

The outcome of these discussions will affect millions of formal sector workers across Africa's most populous nation. Previous minimum wage reviews have sometimes led to prolonged industrial disputes before agreement was reached.

According to Daily Trust, the committee chairman emphasised the need for labour to adopt a more flexible approach to help achieve a mutually acceptable resolution.

Based on reporting by Daily Trust.