Although the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum pay has not yet concluded its talks, the Federal Government says workers will not suffer any losses because the new minimum pay will go into effect as from May 1, 2024.
During the May Day celebration in Abuja on Wednesday, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Minister of State Labour, made this statement to the Nigerian workforce.
Onyejeocha said it is regrettable that the new national minimum wage is not ready before today, but that a wide consultation is ongoing to ensure that the document is out together as soon as possible.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have at various times called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to hasten the upward review of wage awards. Of late, the Organised Labour demanded N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers to cope with the many economic realities and high cost of living in Nigeria.
The labour unions said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater for the wellbeing of an average Nigerian worker, lamenting that not all governors are paying the current wage award which expired in April, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. The Act is to be reviewed every five years to meet up with contemporary economic demands of workers.
