Minimum wage: We’re close to consensus with labour — Gov Uzodinma

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has said the Tripartite Committee on the minimum wage is close to a consensus.

Uzodinma said the committee will soon agree on a new national minimum wage.

Speaking on Friday after the committee’s meeting, Uzodinma said: “We had a very fruitful deliberation and of course you know it is a technical subcommittee of a committee.

“And at the level of the committee, we have reached near consensus and by the time we go to the plenary, we will have a complete agreement and maybe from there, the media can start their job. As it is now, I think we are better off than we were.”

The governor said the committee just finished with their various unit meetings and has now proceeded to the plenary, where the committee is expected to harmonise their decisions and hopefully come up with a figure.

The organised labour had demanded N494,000 while the government proposed N60,000.

Due to the refusal of the government to meet its demands, labour declared a strike on Monday and suspended it on Tuesday.

Amid the continued negotiations, there are indications that the new minimum wage might be fixed between N60,000 and N100,000.