The 15-man committee
inaugurated by the Federal Government on the implementation of the new minimum
wage for workers has started sitting.
The News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) gathered from some members of the committee at the weekend that
it had met once.
Mr Chris Onyedika, Acting
General Secretary of a faction of the NLC and a member of the 15-man committee,
also confirmed that it had started deliberations on the agreement reached
between the Federal Government and factions of the Nigerian Labour Congress
(NLC) in May, this year.
``The 15-man committee
will review the Federal Government’s liberalisation of the downstream sector of
the petroleum industry, leading to the new fuel pump price of N145 per litre.
``The committees will
discuss and recommend a new national minimum wage, the N500 billion palliatives
being proposed by the Federal Government and the re-constitution of the
Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency Board, among other issues,
before presenting their recommendations to government,’’ Onyedika said.
NAN recalls that the
government in May increased the price of Petrol from N97.00 to N145 per litre,
which led to some agitation and a warning strike by Organised Labour.
The Joint Negotiation
Council had also started to agitate for an increase in national minimum wage
for workers, which was last reviewed five years ago.
Meanwhile, at this year’s
International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference in Geneva , Switzerland,
participants encouraged the ILO to promote the ratification and implementation
of the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970.
The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the two central labour organizations in the country have proposed N56, 000 as the new national minimum wage to the Federal Government, as against the current N18, 000.
The current national minimum wage law which prescribed N18, 000 was enacted in 2011. (NAN)
The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the two central labour organizations in the country have proposed N56, 000 as the new national minimum wage to the Federal Government, as against the current N18, 000.
The current national minimum wage law which prescribed N18, 000 was enacted in 2011. (NAN)
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