The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, has raised concerns about the lack of compliance among most governors on the 37-Member Tripartite Committee On Minimum Wage regarding the proposed base pay structure.
Kashim Shettima initiated the committee’s formation in Abuja, emphasizing the goal of ensuring a decent living wage and adherence to the National Minimum Wage Act of 2019, set to expire in the coming months.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Ajaero criticized the composition of the committee, stating, “Most of the governors in the minimum wage committee are those who are not paying minimum wage or paying them in breaches.”
“The governors who are in full compliance with the minimum wage are not adequately represented, so whatever made the Federal Government bring in those who are not compliant or compliant in breaches to form the bulk of the membership of the minimum wage committee from the state government that will unfold with time,” he said.
The National Assembly’s move to amend the National Minimum Wage Act in 2017 resulted in the Minimum Wage Act of 2019, signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, mandating a compulsory review of workers’ remuneration every five years.
Asked to name certain states that have failed to implement the minimum wage, Ajaero said, “A state like Zamfara, I don’t know how much Borno and Bauchi are paying, there is a minimum wage law which criminalises the non-compliance of the minimum wage.”
”And the Nigerian state has not tried to enforce these laws, others are just enforcing them in breaches. Take Anambra State for instance, Anambra State pays N30,000 for the least paid. I challenge anybody from Anambra to prove that even a permanent secretary is earning up to N170,000 or N180,000,” he said.
Ajaero also addressed economic concerns, particularly the country’s reliance on the dollar for transactions.
”The issue of the dollarization of the currency is clear and the FG is not doing anything about it.”
He also revealed that the Labour Congress is helpless in solving the issue as this is a policy of the federal government
”We are worried about it but there is nothing we can do since the Nigerian government has chosen the dollar as a formal currency that will benchmark all they are doing.,” he said.