MINIMUM WAGE: FG, LABOUR RESUME TALKS TODAY

LAGOS-AFTER a day off in what feelers said was to enable the government team meet President Goosdluck Jonathan to brief him on negotiations between government and organised labour over the implementation of new minimum wage, talks will resume today.

The  government team and organised labour represented by leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, had met Saturday and Sunday to work out acceptable technicalities for the implementation of the N18,000 new wage for all workers under levels 01-17, without success.

NLC's Acting General Secretary, Owei Lakemfa, while speaking on ongoing negotiations, said: 'The Nigerian people know that we are representing them, and the workers also know that we will never sell out. We are confident about that and we have reached an agreement that will be beneficial to workers and the country.

'The government has agreed that the minimum wage will be implemented and will affect all workers across board. But what we are negotiating is the full implementation.'

It will be recalled that negotiations broke down last  Thursday after the government was said to have reneged on agreement that all workers  from level 1-17 would benefit from the new wage.

The Head of Service of the Federation was alleged to have told labour leaders that government would pay levels 1-6 in the core civil service, and that should labour refuse to accept this new proposal, government would not pay at all.

At the resumed negotiations on Saturday, the meeting took a dramatic turn as the labour delegation walked out of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and never returned.