The House of Representatives has
urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Minister of Labour and
Employment to commence the process of negotiating an upward review of the
current minimum wage.
This followed the unanimous
adoption of a motion moved by Rep. Peter Akpatason (Edo-APC), during plenary on
Thursday.
“The Minimum Wage Act of 2011 set
the lowest payable salary at N18,000, but the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC),
the National Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and the Federal
Government have agreed to set up a joint review team to study and recommend an
appropriate rate.
“Labour unions have submitted
names of their nominees and have made several requests for commencement of the
review process, but government is yet to respond positively to the requests,”
he said.
Akpatason, while noting that
payments of outstanding debts to contractors and arrears of salaries and
pensions to workers had contributed to the reflation of the economy, said that
an upward adjustment of the minimum wage would have similar positive effect on
the economy.
The lawmaker told his colleagues
that a combination of high inflation rates and the weak exchange value of the
Naira had eroded the purchasing power of fixed income earners in the country.
“Such fixed income earners are
the bread winners to millions of jobless Nigerians and the aged.
“A nationwide strike action
embarked upon by workers at this time is capable of rolling back recent
economic gains.
“Such strike could return the
nation’s fragile economy into recession that will further exacerbate the
suffering of the masses,” he added.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara, mandated
the Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity to ensure implementation
of the directive.
Nigeria Naira is worthless even within her territory. This Administration may never be willing to pay any minimum wage that will be worthwhile. So many states are not even paying the 18k as at when due let alone the increment. Labour should please force those state governors to pay the salary arrears before they talk about Minimum wage increment. Some states civil servants have not been paid for over ten months and labour is not saying anything about that. How long are we going to continue like this?
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