The NLC has clarified that it has not endorsed the proposed N500,000 minimum wage.
The NLC stated that it has not finalized a position on the amount to be presented to the committee responsible for setting the new minimum wage.
Joe Ajaero, the President of NLC, revealed this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Yola on Saturday.
The NLC President, speaking at the North East Zonal Public Hearing by the Tripartite Committee on National Wages, dismissed the N500,000 and N700,000 proposed as the new minimum wage, stating that they are not endorsed by the NLC.
He emphasized that the various figures being circulated should be ignored because the NLC has not yet unified its position on the new minimum wage.
He explained that the N500K and N700K figures are being gathered at the state level, and that a central presentation will be made by the NLC based on these inputs.
He clarified that the NLC headquarters has not made any presentation, and the mentioned figures are coming from the states.
He did, however, mention that the adoption of a new minimum wage by labour will be based on economic factors such as the cost of living and the exchange rate.
He added that the new minimum wage needs to reflect the cost of living in different states, considering factors like rent and currency exchange rate.
He stated that the potential new minimum wage will depend on the effective management of the economy and addressing underlying factors driving inflation, to ensure stability in workers' wages.
Ajaero questioned why paying $300 would lead to inflation that affects businesses.
He advocated for a strategy to peg the currency value for economic stability, emphasizing the need to not suppress only one factor of production.
He pointed out that the prices of products have significantly increased for industrialists.
He highlighted that the prices of goods and transportation have also risen for workers.
He also expressed that the new minimum wage would contribute to circulating prosperity and would not worsen the situation.
It was revealed at the North East Zonal Public Hearing on the National Minimum Wage, conducted by the tripartite committee on National Minimum wage where various stakeholders canvassed for a new minimum wage, that the existing minimum wage will be expiring on April 17 2024.
The leader of the NLC has also stated that if the country doesn't get a new minimum wage before the deadline, the workers will need to be paid the unpaid salaries because they will request it due to any increase in the end.
Ajaero said that the current minimum wage will expire by April 17, 2024. If the authorities don't follow through, they will demand unpaid salaries. Renegotiating the minimum wage is crucial as it sets the lowest pay for workers.
Dr. Solomon Bulus, the chairman of NMA in Adamawa State, has cautioned that more premature deaths may occur due to hardship, and the rate of High Blood Pressure in the population is now at 30%.
He mentioned that the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council supports the implementation of a new minimum wage of N500,000 because it will reduce the national hardship.
Bulus, in his address at the North East Zonal Public hearing on the national minimum wage, stated that NMA is in favor of the N500,000 new minimum wage in the country. When we have that minimum wage, the prevalence of HBP at 30% will not worsen the current problem.
