Business a.m.
The senate has officially approved a bill that seeks to amend the National Minimum Wage Act of 2019. The amendment proposes a hike in the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000. In addition, the proposed bill mandates that the national minimum wage be reviewed every three years, as opposed to the previous five-year cycle.
The Minimum Wage Amendment Bill, forwarded to the senate by the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, was read for the first time, followed by a second reading, during which its implications were debated by the senate. Subsequently, the bill underwent a third reading before finally being passed by the Senate
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had presented the newly agreed-upon N70,000 minimum Wage bill to the House of Representatives for consideration and passage into law in a letter read before the House of Representatives on Tuesday, where he outlined his proposal for a new national minimum wage and the accompanying legal framework for its implementation.
The proposed legislation seeks to enshrine into law the N70,000 minimum wage recently agreed upon by the organised labour, organised private sector, and the government after extensive negotiations.
The president urged the legislators to accelerate the passage of the minimum wage bill, calling on them to act swiftly in the interest of the Nigerian workforce.
After months of failed negotiations between labour unions and the government’s tripartite committee, a series of talks directly involving labour leaders and the President resulted in a breakthrough agreement on the minimum wage. The resolution, which came after weeks of intense discussions, signaled an end to the stalemate that had previously characterised the minimum wage negotiations.
Following a prolonged period of stalemate in the negotiations for a new minimum wage, Labour unions made a significant concession by accepting Tinubu’s offer of N70,000. This decision came despite their initial demand for a minimum wage of N250,000, which was seen as a non-negotiable benchmark by the unions.
According to Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Labour accepted the lower offer of N70,000 due to the prospect of a three-year minimum wage review cycle, as opposed to the previously existing five-year review cycle.
