FG seeks minimum wage compliance, begins implementation
The Federal Government said on Thursday that the adoption of the National Minimum Wage is crucial to the nation’s prosperity.
This was stated by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, at a public education and sensitisation session for field officials monitoring the implementation of the National Minimum Wage in Abuja, hosted by the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission.
Ngige said, “Ensuring compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act would ensure that workers were not short-changed.
“A satisfied worker would contribute effectively and efficiently to the sustainability and growth of an enterprise. This will in turn contribute to national development and less disruptions in productivity, occasioned by industrial actions.
“There is an urgent need, therefore, to ensure a minimum living wage to all employed and in need of such protection and attain a just and equitable share of the fruits of progress.”
The formal and informal sectors were represented in the collective bargaining mechanisms that produced the Act, he continued.
No establishment could now claim ignorance or non-participation in negotiating the minimum wage collective bargaining agreement, according to him. He argued that the Act applied to all businesses.
The minister stated that the training was essential for carrying out the ministry’s and NSIWC’s mission.
Section 12 of the Act, headed “Monitoring and Compliance,” suggested that the Ministry will engage with NSIWC to oversee the national minimum wage’s implementation.
He said, “It is also their responsibility to keep social partners informed of the process, to address any identified non-compliance with provisions of the act. The workshop is meant to enlighten and sensitise the stakeholders who are statutorily assigned the duty of monitoring and ensuring compliance.
“I hope you will be drilled thoroughly in the art of interaction with capital and labour and the inherent dialectics between the factors of production to protect rights at work.”
On productivity, he said, “For Nigeria to be successful, working has to be productive”.
Nta said, “It was important for agencies that would be monitored in the exercise to cooperate with the commission. The compensation business is a serious business, and we urge agencies to open their books and tell us the truth. Even with infractions we will sit and talk”.
The stakeholders applauded the Federal Government’s initiative to monitor the implementation of the minimum wage and voiced worry that some states of the federation were not complying with it, causing hardship and decreased productivity.
Despite the fact that the N30,000 minimum wage has been in place since 2019, stakeholderssaid “It is better late than never.
