Expect expeditious action on new minimum wage bill – Senate

The Senate will give swift consideration to the anticipated new minimum wage bill from the executive arm of government, a lawmaker has declared.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity, Senator Diket Plang (APC, Plateau Central), revealed this in a statement.

Senator Plang assured Nigerians that the 10th Senate and, by extension, the 10th National Assembly are committed to improving the living conditions of workers in the country and tackling the high level of poverty at hand.

He said: “Efforts of the federal government and organised labour for agreeing to set in motion the necessary machinery to review the current minimum wage in Nigeria as contained in the memorandum of understanding signed by the negotiating parties are commendable.

“The Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity, under my chairmanship, is prepared to give expeditious attention to the passage of a new Act once negotiation on the matter is concluded and such a bill is transmitted to the National Assembly for enactment.”

Plang, who commended the federal government for the proactive actions taken to avert a nationwide strike by workers last week, also warned the parties involved not to renege on agreements reached.

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“Nigerians, and particularly members of this committee, are happy that the then-looming industrial unrest was averted by the memorandum of understanding entered into by the federal government, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC. However, all the parties involved should avoid reneging on any of the agreements reached,” he said.

The committee, he added, is committed to the International Labour Organization’s principle of decent work and will take necessary legislative action to support efforts that will improve the working conditions of Nigerians, including the payment of living wage as enshrined in the decent work agenda.