The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has criticized the majority of governors on the 37-Member Tripartite Committee On Minimum Wage for not adhering to the proposed base pay structure.
Vice President Kashim Shettima had established the committee in Abuja, emphasizing the importance of a decent living wage and compliance with the existing National Minimum Wage Act of 2019, which is set to expire soon.
Ajaero expressed his concerns on Channels Television’s Politics Today, stating that most of the governors on the committee are not paying the minimum wage or are paying it inconsistently. He also highlighted that the governors who are fully compliant with the minimum wage are not adequately represented on the committee.
Ajaero further mentioned that there are laws in place to penalize non-compliance with the minimum wage, but enforcement has been lacking. He cited examples of states like Zamfara and Anambra, where the minimum wage is not being properly implemented.
The president of the NLC continued to discuss economic matters in relation to the country’s reliance on the dollar as its primary form of transaction.
He expressed his concern that the Federal Government has neglected this issue and has taken no action to address the dollarization of the currency.
Additionally, he stated that the Labour Congress is unable to resolve this problem as it is a policy implemented by the federal government.
Despite their worries, he acknowledged that there is nothing they can do since the Nigerian government has officially adopted the dollar as the currency against which all their activities are measured.
