Labour Unions Reject President Tinubu’s N25,000 Wage Increase to Low-grade Workers

Leaders of the Labour Unions in Nigeria have rejected President Bola Tinubu’s N25,000 provisional wage increment for the low-grade workers.

President Tinubu, in his independence speech announced a six-month wage increase of N25,000 for low-grade workers in a bid to cushion the effect of the removal of petrol subsidy.

“Based on our talks with labour, business and other stakeholders, we are introducing a provisional wage increment to enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation. For the next six months, the average low-grade worker shall receive an additional Twenty-Five Thousand naira per month.

“Commencing this month, the social safety net is being extended through the expansion of cash transfer programs to an additional 15 million vulnerable households.”

Sources have it that the organized labour in their meeting with the federal government team at the Permanent Conference Room, Presidential Villa, Abuja, rejected the N25, 000 provisional wage and demanded the wage to be 100 percent of the current minimum wage.

Labour leaders also insisted that the provisional wage should be for all workers and that it will not be limited to only six months but rather be running till when new minimum wage would be approved next year.

The organized labour also noted that the Conditional Cash Transfer for the poorest and vulnerable people should be increased to N25, 000 and not the N5000 the previous administration was paying.