The issue of the new minimum wage being demanded by organised labour in Nigeria is not likely to be resolved soon as the Nigerian Federal Government has stated that the workers cannot determine how much they should be paid by their employees.
The Federal Government stated that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) cannot fix a figure to be paid for Federal Government as National Minimum wage.
The federal government reiterated this position through the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige, when the new Director-General of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, (NECA) Timothy Olawale, paid him a visit at office on Friday in Abuja.
Ngige called on Organised Labour to accept federal government’s new minimum wage proposal, putting into consideration the capacity and ability of the government as well the private sector to pay.
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The Federal Government had proposed a new minimum wage of N24,000 a six thousand Naira difference from the present N18,000 minimum wage.
Orgnaised labour however rejected the figure saying the tripartite committee in charge of determining the new minimum wage had settled on N30,000; labour has threatened to call for a full blown strike over the matter.
The labour minister, Chris Ngige however said it was imperative for organised labour to accept the proposed figure, instead of the N30, 000 in line with social dialogue and the overall interest of the country.
“We need to arrive at a figure, which the employers can afford to pay as an employee cannot fix a figure for the employer. Rather, it must be based on collective bargaining and mutual agreement by the tripartite partners.
It is not a function of moving motions or voting at the National Tripartite Negotiation Committee to insist that the figure must be as the organised labour appears to make it look. There is, therefore, absolutely no need to heat up the polity,” he said.