An X (formerly Twitter) user during the week claimed that the Nigerian government, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have agreed to a new minimum wage.
The tweet which has garnered over 49,000 interactions at the time of the report claimed that the minimum wage was agreed to be placed at 155,000 Naira.
CDD War Room ran a check on the claim.
Background
The ongoing negotiations for a new minimum wage during the Bola Tinubu led administration began after the removal of petrol subsidy. The removal which led to the increased cost of fuel prices also affected other goods in the market. Thus leading to increased costs of living in Nigeria.
With the prices of goods and services increasing, Nigerian labour unions began agitating for an upward review of the minimum wage, which is currently 30,000 Naira.
With discussions on the new minimum wage being in progress, the Nigerian government entered agreements with Labour unions to a N35,000 wage award to workers for six months, as well as review the minimum wage in 2024.
Verification
CDD War Room combed through the internet for published news report on the alleged claim and found none.
According to the last report on the issue (which was three weeks ago), an average of 622, 650 Naira was suggested as the new wage which was submitted by the various zones of the Wage Committee. This has however not been agreed as a consensus.
A breakdown of the suggestions during zonal public hearings in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, and Abuja, workers in the North-West requested N485,000; North-East, N560,000; North-Central, N709,000 (NLC) and N447,000 (TUC); South-West, N794,000; South-South, N850,000; and South-East, N540,000 by the NLC and N447,000 by the TUC.
The wage committee comprises representatives of the federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, the committee’s mandate is to propose a revised national minimum wage for the nation.
However, the committee was billed to to meet Wednesday and Thursday (March 27 and 28th, 2024).
Verdict: False
There has been no agreement reached on the new minimum wage by the government and labour unions.
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