Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) has alleged that some of the governors inaugurated among the 37-member Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage do not adhere to the suggested base pay structure.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that the Vice President, IKashim Shettima inaugurated the committee on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Reacting to the inauguration on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Ajaero said, ”Most of the governors in the minimum wage committee are those who are not paying minimum wage or paying them in breaches.”
“The governors who are in full compliance with the minimum wage are not adequately represented, so whatever made the Federal Government bring in those who are not compliant or compliant in breaches to form the bulk of the membership of the minimum wage committee from the state government will unfold with time.”
When challenged to identify specific states that are not adhering to the statute, the president of the NLC said, “A state like Zamfara, I don’t know how much Borno and Bauchi are paying, there is a minimum wage law which criminalises non-compliance.”
”And the Nigerian state has not tried to enforce these laws, others are just enforcing them in breaches. Take Anambra State for instance, Anambra State pays N30,000 for the least paid. I challenge anybody from Anambra to prove that even a permanent secretary is earning up to N170,000 or N180,000.”