Breaking: Council of state approves N27,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers
The National Council of State (NCS) on Tuesday, January 22, approved the sum of N27,000 as the minimum wage for workers in Nigeria.
The NCS was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari and attended by Nigerian leaders including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.
Channels Television reports that with the approval, a minimum wage bill will be sent to the National Assembly on Wednesday, January 23.
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The report, however, quoted the labour and employment minister, Chris Ngige, as saying the federal government will top the approved amount with N3,000 to 30,000 for its workers.
The minister said the 36 states have the freedom to decide what amount to augment the agreed minimum wage with.
The tripartite committee, chaired by a former head of service of the federation, Ama Pepple, on the review of the minimum wage had recommended N30,000.
The committee submitted the report to President Muhammadu Buhari on November 6, 2018, after many months of deliberations.
However, state governors insisted that it could only pay N22,500 as minimum wage.
Legit.ng earlier reported that while most of the governors said they could not pay the approved N30,000, a few of their counterparts like Mohammed Bindow of Adamawa promised to pay the amount to workers if the national minimum wage bill is passed into law.
Bindow spoke in Yola, when he addressed members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who were on a protest march to press for payment of the new minimum wage.
The governor, who received the labour leaders at the gate of the Government House, said that the welfare of civil servants had always been his concern. He praised labour unions for the support accorded to his administration.
The organised labour had also warned of tough times for governors who may not pay the new salary.
The secretary-general of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Bashir Lawal, restated the resolve of workers to tackle governors, who may show unwillingness to pay the new package.
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It was also reported that the Nigeria government had promised it will take the issue of the new national minimum wage to the council of state for discussion on Tuesday, January 22.
The minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, while speaking at the National Economic Council (NEC) in Abuja at the Presidential Villa made the announcement.
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Source: Legit.ng
