Ngige: It is time to fix a new minimum wage for the country

Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, said on Friday that a new minimum wage is long overdue for Nigerian workers.

He said the federal executive council (FEC) would review the report of the joint committee on the national minimum wage on Wednesday.

Ngige said the 16-man technical committee on minimum wage and palliatives had submitted its report to the main committee, headed by the secretary to the government of the federation.

“This report have being adopted just last week by the 29 -man joint committee,” he said.

“So the report is now being taken to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval next week and then the Acting President will constitute a National Minimum Wage Review Committee.

“This National Minimum Wage Review Committee will then fix a new minimum wage for the country.

“It has become imperative for a new minimum wage, because the last minimum wage has a life span of five years – it was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan- and it elapsed by Aug. 2016.”

The minister noted that since the issue of minimum wage was a constitutional issue, all stakeholders would be involved in the final discussions.

“So it is a law that it would have a national application for both those in the private sector and those in the public sector,” he said. “So the implementation of the national minimum wage is not only for the Federal Government alone.”

Ngige said the private sector, employers of labour, government and governors, among others would be involved in the discussion.

“We must all sit together and come out with an acceptable agreement,” said the minister.

The former Anambra governor also said the N-power portal for recruitment of unemployed graduates would be reopened on May 29, when the second phase of the social security net would commence.