The Nigerian government has announced date to implement a new minimum wage for workers in the country.
The federal government on Thursday said the new minimum wage will be implemented from April 1, 2024.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, during an interview with Reporters in Abuja.
The current minimum wage of N30,000 is set to expire at the end of March 2024.
In the upcoming years, the government plans to spend N24.66 trillion on salaries for 2024, 2025, and 2026.
The decision follows the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu in May 2023, after which the government agreed to pay N35,000 to each worker as a temporary measure.
Labour unions, however, insisted that this should lead to a formal wage review in 2024.
Negotiations between the Federal Government and labour unions are currently underway.
According to Nigeria’s labour law, the minimum wage is subject to review every five years.
The National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, emphasized the legal requirement for a minimum wage review in 2024.
Minister Mohammed also noted that the new wage is intended to replace the temporary relief provided after the fuel subsidy removal.
He said, “Certainly, there is a new wage regime that will come in on April 1, 2024. That is why these palliatives were targeted so they would cushion economic hardship before then. In our negotiation with Labour, we said that the wage issue was not something one could just fix. A committee that will also involve Labour itself will work on it.
“The committee is being constituted and we are talking to Labour about it. And by the time this current wage regime expires by the end of March, we will expect that a new wage will begin by April.
It is in this wage regime that we will now have a proper salary structure for workers across the length and breadth of Nigeria. We expect that the private sector and state governors will also do the same.”
A top official of the NLC, in an interview with The PUNCH said the organised Labour had initiated talks with the government
He said, “By April 1, 2024, the current minimum wage will expire. We have all agreed to set up a national wage negotiation committee, and that the committee should comprise all parties.”
Also, the Head of Information of the NLC, Benson Upah said, “The new minimum wage is to come into effect next year.”
