FCT, Abuja – Mohammed Idris, the minister of information and national orientation, has said the federal government is committed to a wage system that will not lead to mass retrenchment of workers in Nigeria.
Speaking at the opening of the 2024 Synod of the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in Abuja on Wednesday, June 12, Idris stressed the imperative of a realistic wage system that safeguards against mass retrenchment while addressing workersâ needs.
Idris noted that a minimum wage that is not sustainable will affect the government’s workforce.
The minister said as quoted by The Punch on Thursday, June 13:
TimesNow.com.ng reports that although the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage submitted its report to the federal government on Monday, June 10, the figures agreed upon by organised labour and the Bola Tinubu government have yet to converge.
During the last meeting held by the committee on Friday, June 7, in Abuja, labour reduced its demand to N250,000 from N494,000, while the federal government increased its offer from N60,000 to N62,000.
The proposed minimum wage may have to wait until July 2 because the national assembly is currently on holiday.
Earlier, TimesNow.com.ng reported that Reno Omokri, a socio-political analyst, has said Nigeria is not rich and cannot afford to pay any amount as a minimum wage requested by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
In a tweet on his verified handle on Wednesday night, June 12, Omokri asserted that the Tinubu government should pay N75,000 as a minimum wage and allow the states to pay what they can afford, rather than enforcing a minimum wage that they cannot afford on them.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
