Abuja, Nigeria – The Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, has announced significant progress in the Tripartite Committee’s deliberations on establishing a new national minimum wage. Speaking after a marathon meeting of the committee on Friday in Abuja, which lasted over 12 hours, Uzodimma expressed optimism about reaching a final agreement soon.
“We had a very fruitful deliberation, and as you know, this is a technical subcommittee of the main committee. At this level, we have reached near consensus. By the time we go to the plenary, we expect to have a complete agreement, and then the media can start their job. As it stands, I believe we are in a better position than before,” Uzodimma stated.
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He explained that the committee had just concluded their various unit meetings and was now moving to the plenary session, where they aim to harmonize their decisions and finalize a proposed figure for the new minimum wage.
According to PUNCH Online, organized labour had previously rejected a proposal of N60,000 and initiated a nationwide strike on Monday. The strike was suspended on Tuesday after the Federal Government promised to raise the minimum wage to an amount exceeding N60,000 as negotiations resumed.
This latest meeting, the fifth since the suspension of the industrial action by organized labour, took place behind closed doors at the Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja. Key figures in attendance included the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Minister of Labour and Employment (State), Nkiruka Onyejeocha, the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, a representative from the Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu.
The committee is expected to continue its discussions in the plenary session, with hopes of finalizing the new minimum wage figure soon.
