New Minimum Wage: FG Reveals When Committee Will Be Ready

The federal government has announced that it will inaugurate a committee on a new national minimum wage before the end of January 2024.

This was revealed by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who spoke to The Nation in Abuja yesterday. She said: “I am sure before the month runs out, the panel will be in place.”

The current minimum wage in Nigeria is N30,000, which was enacted by former President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18, 2019. However, since the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration of President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, the Labour Unions in the country – Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) – have been demanding a wage hike to match the rising cost of living. Organized Labour is seeking an increase of the national wage to N200,000.

Sources said that President Tinubu, during the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, asked for the names of the members of the tripartite committee that will negotiate the new minimum wage.

Government Promises to Honour its Commitments

In a related development, the federal government has assured labour unions in the country that it will keep its word to them and Nigerian workers.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, gave this assurance on behalf of the government last Wednesday when she paid a visit to the office of the Trade Union Congress (TUC). She stated that the government will continue to pay the N35,000 wage award as agreed, including the arrears to workers, and the new minimum wage will also be tackled.

The Minister, however, urged the labour unions to maintain a dialogue with the government and reiterated that the government of President Bola Tinubu is labour-friendly.