PanNigerianNews 
As Nigerians are awaiting the announcement of new minimum wage by President Bola Tinubu on May 1, President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Mr Festus Osifo, has, however, said that such announcement may not be feasible.
Speaking with newsmen on Friday in Abuja, Osifo said the negotiation by the tripartite committee has not been concluded.
”The negociation by the Tripartite Committee is still on going. If you remember, the TUC earlier submitted N447, 000 as the new minimum wage but we have harmonised our figure with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) .
“It is now N615,000. Regarding the when for the new minimum wage, the committee is still working.
“So, certainly, May 1, will not work for the pronouncement of the new minimum wage. Except if the Federal Government wants to pay the minimum wage of N500, 000 to workers,” he said.
Osifo, however, said that the N615,000 demanded by the organised labour is not sacrosanct.
”The government also has its markup and so conversations and negotiations will start and end somewhere, ‘he said.
He also noted that before the organised labour arrived at that amount, a proper study was conducted.
”If you look at the N615. 000, you will think that the amount is right but at about the time we did that computation, a dollar was about N1, 700.
”I am hopeful that the committee will meet after May 1,” he said.
It would be recalled that the 37-member tripartite committee on minimum wage set up by the Federal Government to continue further negotiations and consultations on the new minimum wage.
The National Minimum Wage Committee is chaired by former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, with other members drawn from the Federal Government and State Governments, the Private Sector as well as the Organised Labour.
