Minimum Wage: Labour Kicks, Says Tinubu’s Delay Creates Room for ‘Consequential Effect’

The Organised Labour on Tuesday has criticised the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) recent decision to step down the memorandum on the report of the Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage.

 Speaking to ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, the Head of Public Relations of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Benson Upah, stressed that the decision of FEC to step down the memo during Tuesday’s FEC meeting “creates room for consequential effects.”

“Definitely, stepping down the minimum wage memo does not bode well with or for us. It creates room for injurious speculations with consequential effect” Upah said

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, speaking to journalists after the council meeting earlier on Tuesday, said FEC stepped down the memo to allow for more consultations between President Bola Tinubu, state governors, local government authorities and the private sector.

According to him, the President needs to interact with other wage paying entities to factor their contributions and circumstances into the executive bill on the matter that will be passed on to the National Assembly for passage into law. 

“I want to inform Nigerians here that the Federal Executive Council deliberated on that and the decision is that because the new national minimum wage is not just that of the federal government, it is an issue that involves the federal government, the state governments, local governments, and the organised private sector and of course, including the organised Labour.

“That memo was stepped down to enable Mr. President to consult further, especially with the state governors and the organized private sector, before he makes a presentation to the National Assembly, before an executive bill is presented to the National Assembly.

“So, I want to state that on the new national minimum wage, Mr. President is going to consult further so that he can have an informed position because the new national minimum wage, like I said, is not just an issue of the federal government. It affects the state governments, it affects the local governments, it also affects the organized private sector, and that is why it is called national minimum wage. It’s not just an affair of the federal government.

“So, Mr. President has studied the report and he’s going to consult wider before a final submission is being made to the National Assembly”, Idris said.

The decision of the President to consult the relevant stakeholders is coming on the heels of the statement by the President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, where he said that the organized labour had expected the President to reach out to the members of the Tripartite Committee to harmonize the figure.

Chioma Kalu

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