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Labour Explains Possible Delay in Minimum Wage Payment |
Organised Labour has urged Nigerians to remain patient with both Federal and State Governments regarding the delay in implementing the new minimum wage.
The workers' union also cleared the Federal Government of any intentional delay, emphasizing that it would be unfair to assume there was a deliberate attempt to avoid paying the new minimum wage.
Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission, shared this in an interview on Monday.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage into law on July 29 after discussions with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.
According to The PUNCH, only seven states – Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Borno, Jigawa, Ondo, and Abia – have established implementation committees for the newly approved ₦70,000 minimum wage.
States that have yet to form implementation panels include Plateau, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun, Ekiti, Zamfara, Benue, Enugu, Taraba, Gombe, Kogi, Enugu, Adamawa, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina, Kaduna, Cross River, and Yobe.
So far, only Lagos and Edo have claimed to have started paying the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, the Adamawa government has also joined the list of states willing to pay the new wage as of Monday.
Prof. Ndubuaku highlighted that there might be a slight delay due to the processes involved in implementing the ₦70,000 wage.
However, he expressed optimism that the process might be completed by the end of August.
"We have no reason to suspect any deliberate delay. Signing the wage is just a small part of the main activity. There is something called consequential adjustment, which involves calculating the minimum wage from level one, step one, and moving through the stages up to level 16," he explained.
He added, "It may take some time, and they are not compiling it alone. There are templates for compiling it, but they must also involve us. There is a committee responsible for making the necessary adjustments, and we expect it to be completed before the end of the month."
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