The TUC, or Trade Union Congress, is optimistic that the new minimum wage will go into effect by the end of July.
When Festus Osifo, the union president, met with Onuh Edoka, the Kogi State governor’s special labour adviser, and his entourage in Abuja, he made this declaration.
Osifo stated that in order for the measure to be expeditiously considered by President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly and eventually become law, the National Tripartite Negotiation Committee, which is composed of representatives from organised labour and the government, needed to establish a middle ground.
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“What we are working on from both labour centres is that before the end of July, we should have a new minimum wage that must have passed through the processes and that must have been assented to by the President so that the plight of the workers will improve much more so that the economic challenges that we are facing as a country will be improved upon so that an average worker will be able to go to market and buy one or two things to take care of his or her family because of this skyrocketing inflation that we have in our country.
“As you are aware, Labour has submitted N250,000, the government and organised private sector N62,000. Let both parties come together. Let all parties come together. We will resolve and have a common front so that the President will be able to send the bill to the National Assembly, and at the end of the day, we will have a new national minimum wage. This is key; this is a topic that is germane for all labour unions today in Nigeria,” he said.
While applauding Kogi State’s administration for providing explanation on how the N30,000 minimum salary is paid to employees, Osifo pointed out that state governments need to start making arrangements to start implementing the new wage as soon as it becomes a law.
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He said: “We are not at this moment even dwelling on the N30,000 again. I was listening to a state, I think Nasarawa State, that said they started setting aside some money to meet the new obligations when the new minimum wage is passed. So, I wish to also appeal that in Kogi, let that be the top priority amid this scarcity of income, amid this scarcity of revenue
“I wish to also use this opportunity to speak to all other states that they should be putting plans in place to implement the new minimum wage because, in Labour today, we are totally ready because when the new Minimum Wage Act is passed, we are going to follow it state by state to ensure that it is implemented.
“Let the workers heave a sigh of relief and we have the trust and the belief that, with the high labour representation in the Kogi State government, we believe that the Kogi State government will do the needful.’’
Speaking earlier, Kogi State Governor Onuh Edoka, the Special Advisor on Labour Matters to Governor Ahmed Ododo, stated that the current administration has addressed the flaws of the previous one, particularly with regard to the welfare of the workforce.
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