The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said the Federal Government (FG) had yet to commence total implementation of the new minimum wage of N30,000 to all categories of workers because organised labour mistakenly saw consequential adjustment in salary as total salary review.

Ngige spoke on Thursday when the Director General of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, Timothy Olawale, led a delegation from the association to the minister’s office in Abuja. Also at the event was the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN).

This is coming a few days before negotiation begins again between the FG and organised labour after labour issued a notice that strike could be imminent if the FG failed to accept its demands on consequential adjustment in workers’ salary as a result of the new minimum wage by October 16, 2019. According to Ngige, the FG had set up a committee that would prepare the ground for total salary review, which would be done in 2020, adding that FG’s personnel budget had risen astronomically from N1.88tr to N3.08tr between 2016 and 2020.

Ngige said, “Today, we are yet to conclude on the matter of the new minimum wage. This is because in the public sector which is mainly governmental; state, local government and the FG, there has not been a conclusive end to it. As we speak, the issue of consequential adjustment is the main issue. The Minimum Wage Act was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18, 2019. From that day, the National Minimum Wage came to effect. All employers of labour in the public and private sector are expected to obey the law and make sure that the least paid worker receives N30,000 minimum wage.

“However, the private sector is not really so much in trouble. From N18,000, they (private companies) have graduated with some paying more than N30,000 as minimum wage. We have problem with the public service and we are battling to see how we can weather the storm. The main issue is consequential adjustment and I have talked to the other leg of the tripartite (organised labour) to understand that consequential adjustment is not synonymous with total wage review. It is an adjustment that you do consequentially to move the last man on the rung of the ladder to N30,000. By doing so, you impinge on other salary grade levels and therefore, must consequentially move them up.

“Consequential movement up does not mean you do a percentage of the former minimum wage to the present one which is 67%. We have agreed on that but the issue is that they (labour) have mistakenly bounded the two together; the issue of consequential movement and the issue of total wage review.”

SOURCE (abridged): https://punchng.com/minimum-wage-not-salary-review-fg-tells-labour/

Bull shit. How can you give the lowest ranks a raise and everybody the same. Incompetence on a Nigerian level. Everybody should get at least a review and some should get raises. This is only going to lead to a general strike by workers which Nigeria can hardly afford.

FG, Labour and Ngige should stop lying to Nigerians about the new minimum wage..

Seems fg can't afford it.. Its over a year they have been deceiving themselves

ok

We watching oo

hehe.
Labour has been dealt the black hand.
Unfortunately the current NLC leadership is the most compromised since amalgamation.
They all knew d best time to get that minimum wage was b4 d elections but he aided the devilish govt till this day.

Why didn't they say this when they were scouring for peoples' votes during the election? Now they're beginning to see the effects of making vain promises.

Ngige, shut up!

You stink!

Senators are eating fat daily, no one is talking, and you are here debating 30k minimum wage.

I feel like setting your white beards on fire.

Nonsense and Buhari wedding!

FG is never serious...everything trash

Lol, same fg that are planning to give senators billions just to buy cars??

A

In other words increase d last person's salary Nd the others remain untouched.
Hmmmmm

God have mercy! I dont blame Ngige, i only blame labour for being so myopic @ first place

As in...

youngdroly:
FG is never serious...everything trash

Even labour too aren't serious bro.. If they are serious,FG won't say rubbish.. Labour dey fear FG... Nobody wan dey DSS detention o..

JonDon12:
Bull shit. How can you give the lowest ranks a raise and everybody the same. Incompetence on a Nigerian level. Everybody should get at least a review and some should get raises. This is only going to lead to a general strike by workers which Nigeria can hardly afford.

They arent't given the same. Givernment has given a raise but LU said they want more

I hereby take the last respect I have for this man

Election is over, what do we expect

What a country!

Uhmmmm

One day there will be a revolution that will consume all the politicians .

Ok

Noted

which one should we believe now. labour leaders are not competent to be leader. why are they playing with people's head. if labour leaders can't fight right for people working for government, when are they going to fight for people working for private organization that are receiving peanut but still over used?

This logic is very clear. Should I say labor president make a mistake. Yes labour made a big mistake but how ? Because they asked federal government to increase the minimum wage from 18k to 30k of which they thought it will reflect on other workers that earning more than 30k monthly. Federal government only want to make sure that if your salary is more than 30k before There's no any reason to increase your salary. The new minimum wage would only help those who go home with 18k monthly. But I doubt if NYSC have start paying the corps members the 30k. And I believed that labour president signed this agreement so finally government outsmart them yet they will say Buhari is dullard.

nnamdismart25:
God have mercy! I dont blame Ngige, i only blame labour for being so myopic @ first place

Next level sweet o. And once you react now.. Na #5m fine.. By lair Mohammed.

I love this regime

The present labor leaders are weak simpletons. They had a chance to hold these people by the balls before election and they fumbled. Now elections are over, they don't need your votes anymore so what can you all do?
How do you raise the minimum wage to 30k, and expect those who are already earning maybe 31k to remain on that salary scale? FG, is just playing dumb with the Nigerian workers they will only do the needful if labor can man up and go for their jugulars.

helinues:
FG, Labour and Ngige should stop lieng to Nigerians about the new minimum wage..

Seems fg can't afford it.. Its over a year they have been deceiving themselves

Lying.

But fuel, rice , kerosene light bill , VAT, bank charges, (and probably toll gate fees) are General and with full increment!! God high pass una. Una Waterloo de come