New Minimum Wage: Reps Reacts as Labour, FG Reach Agreement

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Compliance, Mr Dennis Idahosa, has commended the Federal Government and organised labour over the peaceful resolution on the full implementation of the new national minimum wage.

NAN reports that Idahos, who gave the commendation in a statement on Friday in Benin said that a strike would have further impacted negatively on the nation’s economy, were it not that it was averted.

The federal government and the labour unions finally sorted out the issues of consequential adjustment for other categories of workers after three days of meeting which ended early today.

Under the agreement reached, the core civil servants on grade level 7 are to get (23.2 per cent) adjustment; grade level 8 (20 per cent); grade level 9 (19 per cent); grade levels 10 to14 (16 per cent); and grade levels 15 to 17, (14 per cent).

Reacting, Idahosa said that the peaceful resolution of the issues had further demonstrated that Nigeria could make headway when By challenges confronting the country were discussed in a round table.

He said, “To me, this peaceful resolution has demonstrated the never give up spirit, the key actors were able to sit and find a way out of the logjam.”

The lawmaker also urged Nigerian workers to go about their normal duty of moving the country forward since the issues had been resolved.

He said they needed not to worry about when the implementation of the minimum wage would commence.

The lawmaker reiterated that the National Assembly (NASS) had always been willing to come out with policies that would not be detrimental to the welfare of the Nigerian workers.