Ebun Francis|
The Federal Government has rejected the N22,500 minimum wage proposal by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).
The Nigeria labour congress also took the NGF to the cleaners for pegging the minimum wage at N22,500.
The NLC president, Ayuba Wabba at a press conference on Wednesday said the NGF was not known to law and described it as an illegal body.
He also said that organised labour has pegged workers minimum wage at N66,500.
Chris Ngige, Nigeria’s labour minister made also disclosed FG’s position on the issue on Wednesday during a phone interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“The governors have not even done enough. I told them that this N22,500 is even rejected by the Federal Government,” he said.
Ngige’s comments come 24 hours after NGF unanimously agreed to pay Nigerian workers N22,500 as the new minimum wage as against the current N18,000.
Chairman of the Forum and Zamfara State Governor, Abdul’Aziz Yari, said that the decision of the governors was based on the current realities on the ground.
But Ngige criticised the governors for the figure saying N22,500 is even below the N24, 000 agreement by the Federal Government.
He, however, said that all parties on the ground would resume back on negotiations to see that the welfare of the workers is met.
Ngige added, “The national minimum wage is a national legislation being driven by the Federal Government of Nigeria in pursuance to item 34 of the Exclusive Legislative list.
“But you don’t go and make a law which people will disobey at the initial.
“If you make a law and hoax a figure that is not agreeable, which people don’t have the capacity or ability to pay because the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says in those negotiations, the principle is the ability to pay.”
The minister, however, decried that the Chairman of the Tripartite Committee, Ms. Amal Pepple is not in the country.
Ngige explained that despite her absence for two weeks for a medical check-up, the Federal Government would convene partners involved in the minimum wage to deliberate on the issue and arrive on the same page.
Although workers are demanding N30,000 as minimum wage, the minister said that any industrial action being embarked on the aggrieved workers would not resolve the issues at stake.