The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says most governors of the 37-Member Tripartite Committee On Minimum Wage are guilty of not complying with the proposed base pay structure.
Vice President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the committee in Abuja earlier on Tuesday, stating that the action was intended to ensure a decent living wage and conformity with the current National Minimum Wage Act of 2019, which will expire in a few months.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Ajaero stated, “The majority of the governors on the minimum wage committee are either not paying the minimum wage or are paying it in violation.”
”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 said.
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
Asked 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.
FG Not Doing Anything About Dollarisation
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.