Labour Minister Refutes NLC’s Accusations over Proposed N56,000 Minimum Wage

The attention of the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has been drawn to publications in some section of the media, alleging the Federal Government of intentionally stalling the process of constituting a tripartite committee which is expected to deliberate on the proposed N56,000  minimum wage as demanded by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), last year.

The above statement is false and misleading as the Federal Government has demonstrated its commitment to improving the welfare of the Nigerian workforce by holding series of meetings with stakeholders on the subject matter, while the final meeting of the technical committee on new minimum wage was slated for 23^rd February, 2017 but could not hold as scheduled, as both the Nigerian Labour Congress and its Trade Union Congress counterpart requested for a postponement of the meeting, in order to attend the delegate conference of National Union of Civil Engineering Construction/ Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), at Asaba Delta State.

In demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment, a new date for the meeting of the technical committee on minimum wage has been scheduled for Tuesday 14^th March, 2017 by 2:00pm at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), and has been communicated to both the Government and workers representatives of the technical committee.

Therefore,  the allegation as ascribed to the Nigeria Labour Congress is mischievous and unfounded as the President of NLC, Com. Ayuba Wabba is fully aware of the rescheduled meeting and the reason for the postponement of the earlier meeting which was at the instance of the Labour Centres