Posted by The Senate announced on Friday that it will move quickly to adopt the new minimum wage measure that is expected to come from the executive branch.
This was announced in a statement by Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity chairman Diket Plang (APC, Plateau Central).
Sen. Plang told Nigerians that the 10th Senate and, by extension, the 10th National Assembly, are dedicated to addressing the extreme poverty in the country and enhancing the lives of its working population.
He praised the efforts of the federal government and organized labor, saying, “Efforts of the federal government and organized labor for agreeing to set in motion the necessary machinery to review the current minimum wage in Nigeria are commendable.”
Once negotiations are finalized and a measure is transmitted to the National Assembly for adoption, “the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity, under my chairmanship, is prepared to give expedited attention to the passage of a new Act.”
Plang praised the federal government for taking preventative measures to avert a statewide strike by employees last week, and he advised the parties involved not to back out of their agreements.
“Nigerians, and especially members of this committee, are relieved that the memorandum of understanding reached between the federal government, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, averted the then-looming industrial turmoil. But, he stressed, “no one should back out of the agreements they’ve made.”
He went on to say that the committee is dedicated to the principle of decent work as outlined by the International Labour Organization and will take legislative action to assist efforts to enhance working conditions for Nigerians.