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Labour Reduces Minimum Wage Demand From N500,000 To N497,000 As FG Offers N57,000

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  • Negotiations to continue next Tuesday

The tripartite committee on the new minimum wage has postponed its decision until Tuesday, May 28 in order to continue its discussion after its meeting in Abuja on Wednesday came to an impasse once more.

At the meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Government, organised labour, and the organised private sector were unable to agree on a new minimum wage.

It was gathered that sources at the meeting said that the government initially stood its ground on the N54,000 it proposed on Tuesday, citing paucity of funds.

However, the government was forced to propose the sum of N57,000 after the committee took a 30-minute break to make further deliberations.

The highly informed sources noted that at the end of the break, both the government and the OPS proposed the sum of N57,000 as minimum wage.

The sum was, however, rejected by labour.

“The final proposal from labour was N497,000 and that was after the government and the private sector proposed N57,000.

“Initially, the government refused to shift grounds on the N54,000 it proposed earlier, noting that it didn’t have enough funds to pay. However, we took a 30-minute break to make further deliberations.

“We as Labour reject the proposed N57,000 and the meeting has been adjourned till Tuesday next week.

“Governors Obaseki and Uzodinma were present while Governor Soludo joined us via Zoom. The government needs to be serious as regards these negotiations.”

According to The Punch, a senior official of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said, “The outcome of the negotiation of the National Minimum Wage Committee with the Federal Government is not encouraging. The Federal Government increased it from N54,000 to N57,000, and the organised labour moved from N615,000 to N500,000, and then to N497,000 and the meeting has been adjourned to next week Tuesday.”

He noted that NLC and TUC normally meet before the negotiation meetings commences “to ask ourselves the direction to go.”

President Tinubu through Vice President Kashim Shettima, had on January 30, 2024, inaugurated the 37-member Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage to come up with a new minimum wage ahead of the expiration of the current N30,000 wage on April 18.

With its membership cutting across federal and state governments, the private sector and organised labour, the panel is to recommend a new national minimum wage for the country.

During the inauguration of the panel, Shettima urged the members to “speedily” arrive at a resolution and submit their reports early.

“This timely submission is crucial to ensure the emergence of a new minimum wage,” Shettima said.

In furtherance of its assignment, a zonal public hearing was held simultaneously on March 7 in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, and Abuja.

The NLC and the TUC in different states proposed various figures as a living wage, referencing the current economic crunch and the high costs of living.

In their different proposals on the minimum wage, the NLC members in the South-West states demanded N794,000 as the TUC suggested N447,000.

At the North-Central zonal hearing in Abuja, the workers demanded N709,000 as the new national minimum wage, while their counterparts in the South-South clamoured for N850,000.

In the North-West, N485,000 was proposed, while the South-East stakeholders demanded N540,000 minimum wage.

But organised labour settled for N615,000 as a living wage.

BIG STORY

UPDATE: Kidnappers Of Fouani Company MD, Three Lebanese Demand $1.5m Ransom

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The kidnappers of the Managing Director of Fouani Company, who represents LG and Hisense, and three Lebanese nationals, have demanded a ransom of $1.5 million.

According to a source under anonymity, the kidnappers made contact with the family of the victims and demanded the ransom in exchange for their safe release.

It was earlier reported that the victims were abducted around Falomo Bridge while traveling from Apapa to Victoria Island.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the abduction saying, “Yes, it is true. We got the report and we are looking into it. Please, I’m not obliged to state more than that,” he simply said.

 

More to come…

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iPhone User Sues Apple for £5m After Wife Found Out His Infidelity Despite Deleted Messages

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A British citizen is suing Apple for £5 million, alleging that the company’s silence on messages that have been removed caused his spouse to find out he was unfaithful and file for divorce.

According to The Times, the middle-aged English guy, who wishes to remain anonymous, reportedly erased messages he sent to sex workers on his iPhone, but the family’s iMac computer retained them.

He admitted to The Times that he had become a prostitute during the last years of his marriage and that he would communicate them using the iPhone’s iMessage programme before deleting the messages.

But finally, his wife found the messages on the family’s iMac computer, along with some older ones he thought he had erased.

He told the Times newspaper, “If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it’s deleted.

“It’s all quite painful and quite raw still. It was a very brutal way of finding out [for my wife].

“My thoughts are if I had been able to talk to her rationally and she had not had such a brutal realisation of it, I might still be married.”

He argued that Apple’s messaging system is misleading, as it implies that deleted messages are permanently erased, when in fact they can still be retrieved on other linked devices.

He added: “Divorce is an extraordinarily stressful process and you have children and family dynamics.

“In my opinion it’s all because Apple told me my messages were deleted when they weren’t.

“If the message had said, ‘These messages are deleted on this device’, that would have been a clue, or ‘These messages are deleted on this device only’ that would have been even better.”

He is now pursuing legal action against the company for the more than £5 million he lost in his divorce and legal costs, claiming the company does not make it clear to customers that deleted messages can appear on other Apple devices.

The lawyer, Simon Walton, from London law firm Rosenblatt which is representing the businessman in a statement said that “Apple had not been clear with users as to what happens to messages they send and receive and, importantly, delete.

“In many cases, the iPhone informs the user that messages have been deleted but, as we have seen, that isn’t true and is misleading because they are still found on other linked devices — something Apple doesn’t tell its users,” he said.

“I would be eager to hear from other Apple customers who have experienced similar issues,” he added.

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BREAKING: Finidi George Reportedly Quits As Super Eagles Coach

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Finidi George has reportedly quit as coach of the Super Eagles.

This followed the decision of the NFF to appoint a foreign coach to boss him after the national team failed to win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin.

The 53-year-old coach was appointed new Super Eagles coach in May to succeed the Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro, who left the post after his contract ended in February.

He was an assistant to Peseiro for 20 months.

His demotion meant his year’s contract will be downgraded and his reported monthly salary of 15 Million Naira will be reviewed downwards to five Million Naira.

His handpicked assistants, who he worked with for the recent games against South Africa and Benin, would also not be part of the team as the new foreign coach will come with his own staff.

This past week in a meeting with Sports Minister John Enoh, Finidi said he did not enjoy the support of his employers the NFF.

He also faulted the commitment of the country’s top stars for the crucial World Cup qualifiers this month.

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