The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has temporarily put on hold the memo regarding the new minimum wage.
News About Nigeria reports that, according to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, the FEC meeting had a full agenda with 39 items, all of which were addressed.
However, he said the minimum wage proposal was not approved, pending further review.
A tripartite committee, comprising representatives from the federal government, states, local governments, and labour unions (NLC/TUC), submitted a report on the minimum wage.
Idris said the committee’s report will be considered before a final decision is made on the minimum wage.
The minister said the FEC’s decision on the minimum wage has been deferred pending further deliberation.
He said the Tripartite Committee submitted its report and there was a memo to that effect.
He, however, said the Council could not decide on it because it involves local government, states, the FG, the organised private sector, and labour unions.
He, therefore, said the memo on the new minimum wage was stepped down so that President Bola Tinubu could consult widely before a final submission is made to the National Assembly.
Recall that talks for a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers have been on for a while.
The Minimum Wage Act of 2019, which made ₦30,000 the minimum wage, expired in April 2024.
The Act should be reviewed every five years to meet the contemporary economic demands of workers.
President Bola Tinubu in January set up a Tripartite Committee to negotiate a new minimum wage for workers.
The committee comprise organised labour, representatives of federal and state governments, as well as the organised private sector.
However, the committee members failed to reach an agreement on a new realistic minimum wage for workers, forcing labour to declare an indefinite industrial action on Monday, June 3, 2024.
Businesses were paralysed as labour shut down airports, hospitals, the national grid, banks, National Assembly and state assemblies’ complexes.
