The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, emphasized that a significant number of governors within the 37-Member Tripartite Committee On Minimum Wage are failing to adhere to the suggested foundational pay structure.
Ajaero conveyed this concern during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
It’s worth noting that Vice President Kashim Shettima had formally established the committee in Abuja earlier on the same Tuesday.
Shettima articulated that the decision aimed to ensure a fair living wage, aligning with the existing National Minimum Wage Act of 2019, set to expire in a few months.
He said said, ”Most of the governors in the minimum wage committee are those who are not paying minimum wage or paying them in breaches.”
”The governors who are in full compliance with the minimum wage are not adequately represented, so whatever made the Federal Government bring in those who are not compliant or compliant in breaches to form the bulk of the membership of the minimum wage committee from the state government that will unfold with time,” he added.
The House of Representatives’ move to amend the National Minimum Wage Act in 2017 for a compulsory review of workers’ remuneration every five years led to the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
When sked to name certain states that have failed to implement the minimum wage, Ajaero said, “A state like Zamfara, I don’t know how much Borno and Bauchi are paying, there is a minimum wage law which criminalises the non-compliance of the minimum wage.”
”And the Nigerian state has not tried to enforce these laws, others are just enforcing them in breaches. Take Anambra State for instance, Anambra State pays N30,000 for the least paid. I challenge anybody from Anambra to prove that even a permanent secretary is earning up to N170,000 or N180,000,” he said.
The NLC president still speaking on economic matters as they relate to the country’s dependence on the dollar as its means of transaction said the Federal Government has turned a blind eye to it.
”The issue of the dollarization of the currency is clear and the FG is not doing anything about it.”
He also revealed that the Labour Congress is helpless in solving the issue as this is a policy of the federal government.
”We are worried about it but there is nothing we can do since the Nigerian government has chosen the dollar as a formal currency that will benchmark all they are doing.,” he said.
