That the organized labour has given Monday, June 3rd as commencement date for an indefinite strike to protest the failure of government to approve a new national minimum wage agreeable to them is no longer news. What is trending is that the FG has adduced 14 reasons why it can not approve the figure proposed by labour.
Here are 14 reasons the FG gave for a N60,000 minimum wage:
N35,000 wage award for all treasury-paid federal workers.
N100 billion for the procurement of CNG-fuelled buses and CNG conversion kits.
N125 billion conditional grant and financial inclusion to MSMEs.
N25,000 each to be shared to 15 million households for 3 months.
N185 billion palliatives (loans to States) to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
N200 billion to support the cultivation of hectares of land to boost food production.
N75 billion to strengthen the manufacturing sector.
N1 trillion for student loans for higher education.
Release of 42,000 metric tons of grains from strategic reserves.
Purchase and onward distribution of 60,000 metric tons of Rice from the rice millers association.
Recent salary increase of 25-35 per cent on all consolidated salary structures for federal workers.
90% subsidy on health costs for Federal Civil Servants registered on NHIS.
Light rail commissioned in Abuja to relieve transportation cost until the end of the year. Lagos State had already commenced the same initiative with their blue and red lines.
In addition to the freedom of civil servants to engage in agriculture, the federal government has approved the inclusion of ICT services as an alternate source of income.
The government added N3, 000 to its initial offer of N57, 000 proposed last week, taking the total figure to N60, 000 while labour lowered its demand by removing N3, 000 from the N497, 000 it proposed last week.
The tripartite committee has been locked in talks over a new minimum wage since the committee was inaugurated in January this year.
To fast track the negotiation process, the NLC and TUC on May Day gave the committee until the end of the month to wrap up talks on a new national minimum wage.
That ultimatum expired on Friday night without an agreement.
During the meeting, the government defended their offer of N60,000.00 per month.
