Organised Labour on Tuesday expressed opposition to the N27,000 new national minimum wage for workers at state and private sector levels as approved by the Council of State.
The Council meeting was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, and attended by former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, former military head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar and former head of Nigeria’s Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan.
Also in attendance were: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, State Governors as well as former Chief Justice of the Federation, Mohammed Uwais.
The Council meeting was also attended by Governors of Osun, Kebbi, Zamfara, Plateau, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Edo, Lagos, Niger, Borno, Ogun, Ekiti, Kogi as well as Deputy Governors of Bauchi, Kaduna, and Rivers, respectively.
Speaking on the Council’s resolution, Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, explained that the Council also approved frequency of review of five years for the minimum wage as well as exemption for establishments that are not employing up to 25 persons from the new minimum wage.
Ngige added that the Council took into consideration the tripartite committee’s previous recommendations and the State Governors’ proposal before arriving at the decision.
He assured that the new national minimum wage draft bill will be transmitted to the National Assembly before the close of work on Wednesday as agreed with organised labour, assuring that despite the announcement by the National Assembly to proceed on recess until the elections, the concerned committees in the National Assembly will continue work on the bill.
