The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has assured Nigerian workers that the the new national minimum wage to be announced in September will address the issue of social imbalance, inequality and the wide gap of poverty in the country.
The SGF was speaking at an award event to round up the 40th anniversary of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that the welfare of Nigerian workers was top on the priority list of the Buhari administration.
Mustapha described the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as the soul of the government, adding that because of the importance the government attached to the welfare of workers, it was making a lot of efforts to resuscitate the economy.
He said: “The importance of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the affairs of any government cannot be overlooked. It is the soul of the government because without the workers, be they civil servants, private sector workers or even pensioners, there will be nobody to man the system.
“That is why this administration takes the welfare of the Nigerian worker as priority by putting so much effort into the resuscitation of the economy. I must underscore the fact that the primary objective of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan is to diversity the economy, grow skills, create wealth, gain infrastructures, ensure food security and provide jobs.
“The federal government is conscious of the need to bring wages to meet economic realities. It is in this regard that the tripartite minimum wage committee was inaugurated to review the national minimum wage.
“The committee is determined to complete its assignment before the end of this year and I am confident that the outcome of their assignment would address the issue of social imbalance, inequality and the wide gap of poverty in the country.”
