Organised labour believes that the N30,000 recommended by the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee will eventually pass as Nigeria’s new minimum wage, as the Senate is not likely to differ from the House of Representatives in their passage of the minimum wage law.
The House of Representatives during plenary on Tuesday approved and passed N30,000 as minimum wage as against N27,000 sent to the National Assembly by the executive arm of the government.
The National Council of State in their meeting last week had recommended the N27,000, which is N3,000 short from the N30,000 earlier recommended by the tripartite minimum wage committee to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Trade Union of Nigeria (TUC) and Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) said on Wednesday they were not expecting the Senate to go against the popular position of the House on the issue.
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“As far as welfare is concerned, the position of the lawmakers has given workers a sense of belonging.
“To us it means we still have men and women with milk of kindness. While we thank them for the brave move, we also urge them to follow the bill through until the Senate and the Federal Government give a go-ahead to effect payment,” the TUC said in a statement signed by Bobboi Kaigama.
On its part, the ASCSN commended the House for approving the N30,000 earlier recommended and also urged the Senate to follow suit.
The union in a statement by Alade Lawal, its secretary general, stated that by approving the N30,000 the lawmakers had renewed hope that as representatives of the people they were committed to promoting the welfare of Nigerians.
“The decision has equally helped to restore Nigeria’s image as a country which does not know the meaning of a national minimum wage because that was the impression created before the international community by the National Council of State (NCS) when it recommended N30,000 for federal workers and N27,000 for state governments and private sector employees,“ the union stated.
The union also lauded the House of Representatives for living up to its promise to give the national minimum wage bill speedy treatment by not only passing the it after necessary parliamentary readings but also by holding a public hearing on the matter.
The labour movement comprising Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), United Labour Congress (ULC) and TUC had threatened to call out workers on a nationwide strike if the N30,000 initially agreed to by the tripartite committee was not retained.
