The Federal Government of Nigeria reveals although the Tripartite Committee On National Minimum Wage is yet to conclude its negotiations, workers will not lose anything as the new minimum wage will take effect from May 1, 2024.
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Minister of State Labour, said this while addressing Nigerian workers at the May Day celebration in Abuja on Wednesday.
She continues by saying that it is regrettable that the new national minimum wage is not yet 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 quicken the upward review of the wage awards.
Recently the Organised Labour demanded N615,000 as their new minimum wage for workers to commensurate with the economic realities and high cost of living in Nigeria.
The labour unions said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer sustain 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.
