The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) will continue its negotiation for a new Minimum Wage at the federal government Tripartite Committee meeting in Abuja, on Tuesday.

BusinessDay reliably gathered, week end that both the NLC and the Trade Union Congress TUC, may come up with fresh proposals on Tuesday, as part of measures to reach an early compromise.

While the federal government is proposing a minimum wage of N57,000, the organised labour moved its demands from N615,00 to N497,000, last week.

A top official of the NLC told BusinessDay that the NLC will unveil fresh proposal at the Tuesday meeting, but added that ” we are keeping this figure secret for now”.

Last week’s meeting was attended by some Governors, including Hope Uzodinma of Imo state and Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, while, Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, attended the meeting via zoom.

Meanwhile, Joe Ajaero, the NLC President, while speaking during his visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) headquarters in Abuja on Monday, said the Union is interested in working with media stakeholders to negotiate a uniform salary template for practicing Journalists

Ajaero who noted the contributions of journalists in the battle for restoration of the current democratic dispensation, however, lamented that journalists have continued to suffer neglect despite the risks associated with their job and sacrifices they make in nation building.

“Unlike those days when journalists will running from one business centre to the other to send stories, today technology has made things easier.

The NLC President who described journalists as endangered species, added that” beyond that, the welfare of journalists is being neglected.

“As journalists we advocate for everybody but nobody for us.

“We fight for others and not for ourselves. There are media houses that have not paid salaries for almost one year. I think we should all meet and talk to ourselves.

“I am advocating for a consultative machinery that will even it is every two years to negotiate with all media employers in the country a minimum wage or industry salary benchmark for journalists”.

Ajaero said this benchmark can be further classified into those employed by the federal government, states and the private sector.

He also appealed to the NUJ to join hands with the labour movement to seek ways of resolving the challenges facing journalists, adding that “despite the new technology, the practice of journalism in Nigeria is getting worse in terms of security and welfare”.

Ajaero who described NUJ as his union lamented that journalists are in a peculiar situation when it comes to the issue of welfare because no one negotiates for them.

Speaking on the treatment recently being meted to journalists by security agents, Ajaero said that the freedom of the press should not be hindered in any form by the government.

He said that where a journalist runs foul of the law, he should be prosecuted according to the law not kidnapped.

While welcoming the NLC president and his delegation, Chris Isiguzo, NUJ national president, commended Ajaero for identifying some of the key challenges of the media profession in Nigeria.

Isiguzo appealed to the organised labour to find a way of carrying the interest of journalists along whenever they are protesting worker’s welfare.

He spoke about the issue of regulation of the media profession especially the manner online media organs spring up and the hatchet job some of them try to do.

Isiguzo said that the NUJ is proposing the setting up of the National Ombudsman for the media to regulate the practice as well as look into issues of poor remuneration that is bedeviling the sector.

He said that NUJ has also proposed an accompanying Bill of Rights to protect the rights, welfare and interests of practicing journalists. (BusinessDay, but headline rejigged)

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