Minimum wage:Presidency gives update after meeting with labour leaders

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu,yesterday met with the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Ayuba Wabba, as part of efforts to convince organised labour to call off their industrial action. Shehu was at headquarters of the NLC in Abuja where he urged the labour unions to see reasons and call off the strike. The presidential aide, who issued a statement after the visit, assured that the federal government was taking steps to get the unions to call off the strike. According to him, the federal government has already accepted labour’s demands to reconvene the tripartite meeting on the proposed new national minimum wage. The Presidency on Friday stepped up efforts to convince labour unions in the country to call off their strike following the earlier meeting at which the government accepted their demand to reconvene the tripartite meeting on the proposed new national minimum wage. The presidential aide revealed that the meeting between the labour leaders and the representatives of the employers of labour had been scheduled to reconvene on Oct. 4. He said: By its tripartite nature, the committee is made up of persons from the public sector, (Federal and State Governments) and the private sector made up of the largest private employer group and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA). Shehu stated that invitation letters had since been dispatched to all the participants. “At the moment, the Presidency understands that the combined leadership of the unions, having met and deliberated on the position of the government had now set in motion a process of consultations with their constituent members to determine their next line of action. “The Presidency wishes to assure that the federal government is taking every step necessary to get the unions to call off the strike,’’ he maintained. SOURCE:Dailypost Nigeria Awonuga Oyinlola