As part of efforts at ameliorating the hardship Nigerian workers face and also ensure better productivity both in the public and private organisations, the Federal Government will on January 23 commence monitoring of the compliance level of the minimum wage.
This was made known by the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) in a statement issued by its Head of Public Affairs, Emmanuel Njoku in Abuja.
According to Njoku, the monitoring would open process for the review of the National Minimum Wage which would be due in 2024.
Njoku said the commission had held a series of meetings and trainings towards a nationwide monitoring of the Minimum Wage Act 2019, adding that the monitoring would help ascertain the compliance level of public and private employers and organisations.
The monitoring team, according to him, would among other things inquire if employers keep adequate records of wage and conditions of service of employees.
He said, “the exercise will enlighten the public and private employers and organisations on the economic benefits in adhering to the payment of the National Minimum Wage. It will also help in obtaining baseline data on remuneration policies and practices of private sector organisations in order to enrich the commission’s data bank on staff compensation.
“The monitoring exercise will cover the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory,” Njoku said, adding that the monitoring team for the exercise would be drawn from key stakeholders including the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
Other stakeholders, according to him, are Head of Service of the Federation, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Budget Office of the Federation and National Bureau of Statistics.
The spokesperson called on federal, state and local government ministries, departments and agencies, including government-owned enterprises, private sector establishments and labour unions to cooperate with the monitoring officers.
The Nigeria Labour Congress had complained that it was disheartening that some States if the Federation were yet to start paying their workers the minimum wage which was signed into law in April 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari after the bill was passed by the National Assembly.
NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, had identified Cross River, Zamfara, Taraba and Abia as states that have defaulted in paying the minimum wage, adding that the situation is “a gross violation of our constitution.”
Wabara had lamented that workers were suffering especially with the continuous increase in prices of food items and other basic needs. He had asked workers in the affected defaulting states to embark on strike, saying it is “disheartening” that amid the current economic situation, some states “still need persuasion” to pay workers the national minimum wage.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, at a public enlightenment and sensitisation workshop for field officers monitoring the implementation of the National Minimum Wage organised by NSIWC in Abuja, said, “ensuring compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act would ensure that workers were not short-changed.
“A satisfied worker would contribute effectively and efficiently to the sustainability and growth of an enterprise. This will in turn contribute to national development and less disruptions in productivity, occasioned by industrial actions.
“There is an urgent need, therefore, to ensure a minimum living wage to all employed and in need of such protection and attain a just and equitable share of the fruits of progress.”