AWKA—PUBLIC officers expecting to
start enjoying enhanced minimum
wage soon may have to wait longer as
the federal government committee on
the issue and the state governors
were yet to arrive at acceptable
figures.
Minister of labour and employment,
Senator Chris Ngige told reporters in
Awka that although the committee
was expected to conclude work on
the new minimum wage by the end of
this month, the date was no longer
feasible because the final document
had not been fine-tuned.
He said: “I am the deputy chairman of
the committee and I drive it. We have
a timetable and we are expected to
finish everything about it by the end
of this August, but it is not attainable
anymore because even in the
committee, we have not agreed on any
figure.
“We could not agree on a figure
because of two reasons. One is that
the state governors have not come
up with a figure and the state
governors are a critical constituent
of this discussion. They have six
governors in the committee, one from
each geo-political zone.
“The Governors Forum said they are
still working on it and that was the
last submission they made to us and
the federal government team. We are
working with the Economic
Management Team and since the team
dictates the economy of the country,
they will take whatever the
governors come up with and fine-tune
it with that of the federal
government committee. That is
where we are.
“Therefore, the national minimum
wage tripartite committee is still at
work and it is until that body brings
out its figures and recommendations
pertaining to national minimum wage,
that a bill can be sent to the National
Assembly to process and send to Mr.
President for it to become a National
Minimum Wage Act. If that can happen
in 2018, it becomes Act 2018.”
He also spoke on the allowances for
members of the National Youth
Service Corps, NYSC, explaining that
the committee had not concluded it
because no recommendation had come
to the Federal Executive Council.
Ngige said further: “As a matter of
fact, some ministries, such as Youth
and Sports, my ministry, Women
Affairs and Budget and Planning, have
been asked to make our input.
However, the important thing to note
is that whatever increase that would
be made on the allowances of NYSC
members would be hinged on the
envisaged new minimum wage.
“The allowances of the NYSC persons
will be on the same sliding scale with
the national minimum wage, except
that it is a top up,. That is why today
the national minimum wage is N18, 000,
and the top up for NYSC members is
about N1, 500, making it N19, 500.
“This is the allowance the Federal
government will give to them. Areas
or persons and bodies or agencies
where they do their primary
assignments can also give them what
they call special allowances and that
is irrespective of this monthly stipend
from federal government.
“Their employers in their places of
primary assignment can give them
another top-up so that in some
establishments you see them paying
extra N10, 000 to the NYSC persons
some are as generous as even giving
N20, 000, which is about the same
thing that they earn.”
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