BEVERLY HILLS, July 07, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has declared that the minimum wage review being planned by the Federal government may not bring about increase in minimum wage, saying “a review does not mean an automatic increase’ in salary.”
The Minister, who spoke with journalists in his office on Friday, said that the delay in constituting the National Minimum Wage negotiation Committee was to give all parties ample opportunity to consult widely before appointing their representatives.
Ngige said the committee will be constituted before the end of July revealing that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum has already forwarded the list of six governors to represent them in the committee.
“The secretariat of that minimum wage committee is domiciled in the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission. So by extension the Chairman of the NSIWC becomes the Secretary of that committee,” he said.
“We have written to the organs and subgroups for their nominations and the governors are the first to respond. They have nominated six governors one each from the geopolitical zones. The nominations are being transmitted to the Acting President for his approval.
“We have also written to NECA for them to consult with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, and the Small and Medium Scale Industries Employers’ Associations for their own nominations.
“We have also discussed with the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, for the nominations from the workers group in the last 48 hours. We want to ensure adequate consultations. So it is not true that government is not doing anything. We are hopeful that we will complete everything before the end of the month.”
THEWILL recalls that the Federal Government, in May, approved the constitution of a 29 -man committee to negotiate the new minimum wage for the country following a call for it by the Labour unions in the country during the May 1 labour day celebration.
