Federal Govt Considers National Minimum Wage Increase

The minister of labour and employment, Dr Chris Ngige yesterday disclosed that efforts are ongoing by the federal government to review the 2019 National Minimum Wage.

He said the current N30, 000 stipulated under the 2019 National Minimum Wage Act was no longer tenable for workers and must be reviewed to reflect the current economic realities.

Dr Ngige who spoke in Abuja during the public presentation of a book, launched to mark 40th Years Anniversary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said the review process has already begun with salaries review of university lecturers under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Dr Ngige however added that ASUU members must come to terms with the understanding of the principles of collective bargaining, International Labour Organisation (ILO) standard of strike and ingredients of labour unionism, to reconsider their stance, adding that the university lecturers have never made a counter offer against what the federal government offered them.

He said, “The inflation is worldwide, we shall adjust the minimum wage in conformity with what is happening and much more important, the 2019 Minimum Wage Act has a new clause for a review and the adjustment has started with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) because the stage they are with their primary employers, the ministry of education, is a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CDA) negotiations.

“Under the principles of offer and acceptance, which is that of collective bargaining, ASUU can say let’s look at the offer they gave us and make counter offer, but they have not done that, if they do that, we are bound to look at their offer, these are the ingredients of collective negotiations.”

On why the federal government and ASUU industrial impasse ended in industrial court, Ngige noted that all efforts on negotiations have failed to produce results.