Organised Labour has called on Nigerians to be patient with the Federal and State Governments following the delay in the implementation of the new minimum wage.
The president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu signed a new minimum wage bill into law on July 29, 2204, establishing a minimum wage of N70,000 for workers across Nigeria. This followed months of deliberation between the labor unions in Nigeria and the Nigerian government.
Prior to being signed, the new minimum wage had been approved on July 17 after the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) warned of a possible month-long strike if the government attempted to deregulate the national minimum wage.
The NLC had gone on a single-day strike in June, which saw the complete halt of economic activities across the country, including the shutting down of the national grid. The one-day protest led to the loss of N148.8 billion.
Since the signing of the bill, only seven of Nigeria’s 36 states including Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Borno, Jigawa, Ondo, and Abia have set up implementation committees for the recently approved minimum wage.
The states yet to raise implementation panels are Plateau, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun, Ekiti, Zamfara, Benue, Enugu, Taraba, Gombe, Kogi, Enugu, Adamawa, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina, Kaduna, Cross River and Yobe.
Meanwhile, the Adamawa government has also joined the growing list of states willing to pay the new wage on Monday.
In an exclusive with interview The PUNCH, the Deputy President of Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the governments over the implementation of the bill.
Ndubuaku said that it was important to let people know that there might be a slight delay as a result of the processes involved in the implementation of the N70,000 wage.
He said, “We have no reason to suspect that (deliberate delay). In a real sense, signing the wage is just a small component of the main activity. There is something we call consequential adjustment. That involves the calculation of the minimum wage from level one, step one. From there, we will move from stage one to 13 all the way to level 16.
“So it is something that may take some time. Again, they are not going to compile them alone. There are templates for compiling it. But they must also carry us along. I believe you are aware there is a committee that is supposed to carry out the necessary adjustments. We expect it should be completed before the end of the month.”