New Minimum Wage Bill to Get Swift Passage, Senate Assures

Senate vows to enact a new minimum wage measure during the strike

If current discussions between organized labor and the federal government over a new pay peg are successful, the Senate has pledged its support for the passage of a new minimum wage bill.

The leaderships of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) were also praised for putting a stop to the workers' industrial action, which was initiated to seek a minimum salary that was significantly higher than the present N30,000.

Sen. Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, expressed the Senate's stance in response to the unions' decision to postpone the strike for five days in order to wrap up discussions.

According to Akpabio, “On that note, I want to thank the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress for listening to the voice of Nigerians and the international community by calling off (suspending) the strike to enable negotiations to continue, and we wish them well in the negotiations.

“On our part, we will continue to do our best by making contributions and, at the same time, awaiting the incoming Bill on Minimum Wage for us to enact for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

Sen. Diket Plang, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment, made the proposal, and Sen. Barau Jibrin, the deputy president of the Senate, seconded it.

However, the motion's prayers were withdrawn at the same moment as the NLC/TUC called off the strike.

Akpabio added that there were a number of concerns with the new minimum wage movement that needed to be tackled, such as the potential for employee layoffs in the event that the new salary was “too high” for businesses to bear.

The Senate President pointed out that even the current minimum wage of N30,000, which was enacted into law, has not been universally implemented, with some employers and local governments still failing to comply with the regulation.

“Taking this motion will mean that we are jumping the gun and we are trying to settle the issues for them.

“There are many variables that they will look at. Capacity to pay and the ability of states, local governments, and the private sector to even pay.

“They will also be looking at the fact that if the minimum wage is too high, then the possibility of retrenchment of workers will occur.

“I think they will take comparative analysis to know that the last minimum wage, which was fixed by this parliament as an Act of N30,000, was: how many states were able to pay, how many local governments were able to pay, and how many employers were able to pay?

“We'll be looking at those things because it's important that a holistic approach be looked at, and I have taken the suggestion that we should not rest until we arrive at an amicable resolution of the issue and that the National Assembly should also continue to make its own contributions towards the ongoing negotiations.”