Labour calls for patience amid delay in new Minimum Wage implementation by Fed Govt others

August 21, 2024

18 1 minute read

Organised Labour has urged Nigerians to exercise patience with both Federal and State Governments regarding the delay in implementing the new minimum wage.

The workers’ union has clarified that there is no evidence of deliberate avoidance on the part of the Federal Government to implement the new wage, asserting that any such conclusion would be unjust.

Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Political Commission, shared this perspective in an interview on Monday.

The new minimum wage was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on July 29, following consultations with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.

Reports indicate that only seven states—Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Borno, Jigawa, Ondo, and Abia—have established implementation committees for the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage.

States that have yet to form implementation panels include Plateau, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun, Ekiti, Zamfara, Benue, Enugu, Taraba, Gombe, Kogi, Adamawa, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina, Kaduna, Cross River, and Yobe.

To date, Lagos and Edo states have begun paying the new minimum wage. The Adamawa government has recently committed to joining the list of states ready to implement the new wage.

Ndubuaku emphasised that any delays are due to the complex processes involved in rolling out the new wage and expressed confidence that these issues will be resolved by the end of August.

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.”