The federal government has said the N494,000 minimum wage proposed by organised labour is “unsustainable”.
In a Mohammed Idris statement on Saturday, minister of information, said the demand by organised labour amounts to a N9.5 trillion bill for the federal government annually.
The minister further said that the proposal of organised labour would increase the existing workers’ wage bill by 1,547 percent.
On Friday, NLC and TUC declared an indefinite strike over the federal government’s refusal to increase the minimum wage from N60,000.
The planned strike is expected to kick off on June 3.
The minister said organised labour is fighting for the interest of 1.2 million workers, while the federal government is concerned about 200 million Nigerians.
“The federal government’s new minimum wage proposal amounts to a 100% increase on the existing minimum wage,” the minister said.
“Labour, however, wanted N494,000, which would increase by 1,547% on the existing wage.
“The sum of N494,000 national minimum wage which labour is seeking would cumulatively amount to the sum N9.5 trillion bill to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“Nigerians need to understand that whereas the federal government is desirous of ample remuneration for Nigerian workers, what is most critical is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not encourage any action that could lead to massive job loss, especially in the private sector, who may not be able to pay the wage demanded by the organised labour.”
