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New minimum wage: FG commences payment, issues strong warning to Governors

Published

5 years ago

May 27, 2019

New minimum wage: FG commences payment, issues strong warning to Governors

The Federal Government has revealed that payment of the N30, 000 new wage started from April 18.

The date was when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Minimum Wage Amendment Act Bill into law.

The FG also declared that no Governor in the 36 states of the Federation will renege on paying the new N30,000 minimum wage.

Dr. Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, gave the clarification, at the weekend during an interactive session with newsmen in Abuja.

The Minister noted that a committee is working out a new template for upward consequential adjustment for those already earning above N30,000.

Ngige said, “It is a national law and no governor can say he will not pay. (The) national minimum wage is Item 34 on the Exclusive Legislative List, of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Issue of labour is also there and not on the Concurrent List. If it is on the Concurrent List, then, they can make their own state Assembly laws on that. Every state government is now owing workers if they have not started paying N30,000.

“They (employers) are owing workers, effective from 18th of April, a new minimum wage.

“We are now in a committee working out a new template with which we will adjust upward the consequential adjustment upstairs for those already earning above N30,000.

The minimum wage is for the most vulnerable down the ladder and that is the man on Grade Level 1, Step 1.

“So, you must consequentially adjust for the man on Grade Level 2, Grade Level 3, Grade Level 4 and 5, because, that man on GL 1 step 1 has over taken them with his new payment.

“That is what we refer to as consequential adjustment. This consequential adjustment touches more the people on the lower ladder and we are working it out. The negotiation is going to be with the Joint Negotiating Council, at both the federal and at the state level.

What we are trying to do now, with the Salaries and Wages Commission is that we have a technical committee working out what the federal government will do for their workers and advice the state government, appropriately.

“In 2011, there was a mistake in the consequential adjustment in some states, when they applied the principle of percentage increase across board and they ran into trouble and were unable to pay. What this N30,000 translates into is that there is a 67 percent increase.

“If a state government applies the same 67 percent increase across board, there will be serious trouble. The same with the federal government and when there is that trouble, there will be trade dispute because the Principle of Ability to Pay will come in and the International Labour Organisation encourages us to apply that principle in our discussion.

“If I am unable to pay and my workers know that I am unable to pay, we will sit down and agree on what I am able to pay. So, there is a baseline now as no worker in Nigeria should earn anything less than N30,000 provided that the establishment has more than 25 workers

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Nigeria Will Take Good Shape In No Distant Time- Olawande

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande has urged the citizens of the country to be patient with the Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in transforming the lives of its citizens through various policies and programs of the federal government.

The Minister made this submission while delivering his speech at the Joint Union Negotiating Council’s week of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development branch. This is the first edition since both Ministries of Youth and Sports had been damaged. The JUNC week which was held at Atiku Hall, Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja had its theme: “The working people in a volatile, uncertain, and complex economy”

In the words of the Honourable Minister: “I urge you to be patient with this administration. In no distant time, the country will take good shape and the lives of its citizens will be transformed”.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not a pauper, he is an acknowledged epitome of wealth, and so it cannot be said of him that he desires to loot the treasury of Nigeria. He has seen money and as a result of this, he is not interested in looting the nation’s treasury”, Olawande explained.

He emphasized that “leadership is all about being committed to serve. If you are a Minister now, tomorrow you will be addressed as a former Minister, likewise a Director because there is no permanent position but the impact that you made while in that office will speak after you”, the Minister reiterated.

Olawande expressed his gratitude to the workers of the Ministry for being supportive of the government policies and programs. He promised that the welfare of the staff would not be compromised, adding that workers deserve remuneration for being hardworking.

Earlier in his address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya admonished the staff of the Ministry to put in their best as “Performance Management System” which replaces APER is the criteria to be used for promotion effective next year. This, according to him is because the Performance Management System (PMS) records the best efforts and input of each staff which will in turn be used to grade such staff.

Olusanya who disclosed that the welfare of the staff is his priority as workers deserve the best for the services rendered. He opined that “the hungry man is angry and as a worker, if you are not treated fairly and properly, it is impossible to get the best out of you. As a result, all staff will be treated properly as motivation to propel the best in you”, he concluded.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack, OON, MNI, in her address, informed that the activity to reinvigorate the Civil Service in a bid to ensure that Civil Servants carry out their duties with much diligence to have efficient and incorruptible civil service is currently on course. She advised workers to wake up and be committed to the service of the nation.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Jerry Akume, the General Secretary of the Union expressed his delight in celebrating this year’s edition of the Union week, while highlighting the achievements of the union so far. These include:

Upward review of staff welfare, prompt payment of repatriation allowances, payment of first 28 days allowance, assistance to the sick, general training of staff, and sending forth/retirement package for retired staff.

He also appealed to the Management of the Ministry, saying that irrespective of the aforementioned achievements, a lot still needs to be done in such areas as procurement of staff buses, upward review of welfare payment for festive periods, consistent general staff training, and procurement of office and work materials.

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