ANOTHER MINIMUM WAGE: AJAERO COMMENDS SWIFT RESPONSE AS FG, LABOUR HOLD GROUND

…FG says ₦70,000 wage remains valid until 2027, but Labour insists talks for increment must begin

By Yinka Giwa
Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, President Joe Ajaero has commended the Federal Government for responding swiftly to organised labour’s 14-day ultimatum, even as both sides remain firmly divided over when negotiations for a new national minimum wage should begin.

In an unusual acknowledgement of the government’s handling of the dispute, Ajaero said the prompt response by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, represented a departure from what he described as the usual pattern of bureaucratic silence.

“For the first time in recent history, the Ministry has responded with relative speed to our resolutions. We acknowledge this departure from the usual culture of bureaucratic silence,” Ajaero said in an October 13 letter to the minister.

The NLC leader, however, maintained that the government’s response had not adequately addressed Labour’s substantive demands, adding: “However, speed without substance may amount to an empty gesture.”

The exchange has the two sides holding firmly to their respective positions, but with dialogue still open and no formal nationwide strike yet declared.

Dingyadi, in the Federal Government’s response dated October 12, maintained that the current ₦70,000 national minimum wage remains legally valid until June 1, 2027, when it becomes due for review under the three-year cycle provided by law.

The minister argued that beginning another minimum-wage review barely two years after President Bola Tinubu approved an increase from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000—representing a rise of more than 133 per cent—would be premature.

According to the government, such a move would be inconsistent with the statutory framework and could disrupt the orderly industrial relations system envisaged by the National Minimum Wage Act.

The Federal Government has nevertheless kept the door open for engagement, assuring organised labour that the tripartite machinery for another minimum-wage exercise would be convened at the appropriate time.

It also said relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies were being engaged on other issues raised by Labour and urged the NLC to sustain dialogue and cooperation in the interest of industrial peace.

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The Government has further pointed to ongoing interventions intended to cushion the impact of economic reforms, including the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, food-security measures and other social-support programmes.

The NLC, however, disagrees with the Government’s interpretation of the minimum-wage timetable.

Labour argues that the National Minimum Wage Act signed on April 18, 2019, was due for review by April 18, 2024, and contends that the 2024 amendment did not extinguish the original statutory timeline.

“The 2024 Amendment Act did not abrogate the 2019 Act,” the Congress maintained.

According to the NLC, concessions made by organised labour concerning arrears during the 2024 negotiations were a patriotic attempt to ease the Government’s financial burden rather than a surrender of workers’ rights under the law.

The Congress also drew a distinction between commencing negotiations and immediately implementing another minimum wage, insisting that its present demand is for the negotiating machinery to begin work ahead of the next wage taking effect.

“We are not asking the government to implement a new wage immediately, but to commence the negotiation process,” the NLC said.

Ajaero argued that negotiations should ordinarily commence about six months before implementation to prevent delays and accumulation of arrears, putting Labour’s preferred starting point at October 17, 2026.

Beyond the disagreement over timing, the NLC is demanding measures to address what it describes as the erosion of workers’ purchasing power.

Its demands include relief from high petrol prices, implementation of previously agreed tax reliefs, an emergency wage award, and resolution of outstanding agreements involving the Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, and the Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council.

Labour argues that inflation, currency depreciation, and higher transportation and household costs have substantially reduced the real value of the ₦70,000 minimum wage.

“A wage increase immediately eroded by inflation is not a meaningful improvement; it is merely a statistical illusion. While nominal wages increased by 133 percent, real wages have actually declined,” the Congress said.

The NLC has also questioned the immediate impact of the CNG programme on workers, citing what it considers inadequate infrastructure and availability of conversion kits.

The Federal Government, however, continues to expand the programme as a central component of its strategy to provide Nigerians with a cheaper transportation-energy alternative following petrol subsidy removal.

Sources close to the emerging dispute say it centres principally on timing rather than whether another minimum-wage negotiation will eventually take place.

While the government insists that the ₦70,000 wage should operate within the statutory three-year cycle and that the next review is due in 2027, Labour says beginning negotiations ahead of that date is necessary to ensure a seamless transition to a new wage.

But Ajaero’s acknowledgement of the government’s unusually swift response, alongside Dingyadi’s commitment to continued engagement, leaves open a window for negotiations before the dispute escalates into industrial action.

Although Labour has warned of further action if its demands are not satisfactorily addressed, it has not formally declared a nationwide strike or announced a commencement date.