N35,000 Wage Award To Continue Until Minimum Wage Is Settled

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, has assured Nigerian workers that the N35,000 wage award approved for them by the Federal Government will continue until the new minimum wage is settled.

The Federal Government in October last year agreed to pay N35,000 to workers to cushion the hardship occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy on the workers.

Recently, there has been uncertainty about whether the payment of the wage award will continue, with many saying that it was meant to run for only six months.

However, Onyejeocha, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, while appealing to the members of organised labour who embarked on strike on Monday to suspend their strike and return for negotiations,

She also confirmed that the wage award will not stop until a new minimum wage is agreed.

“I said it time without number that labour are Nigerians like me and you, there is nothing that the Federal government is hiding from them, the book is open and we have not closed negotiations.

“We want them to return to the table and conclude the negotiations so that the Nigerian workers will know where they are. Besides, the N35,000 wage award is continuing.

“The Federal Government will continue to pay it until the minimum wage is settled and of course, the minimum wage, if it ends today, we are going to take it back from when the old one ended which is April 18^th, so they won’t lose anything.,” Onyejeocha said.

After failing to agree on a new minimum wage following months of negotiations with the Federal Government, the organised labour embarked on strike on Monday, crippling economic activities in the country.

The Minister believes that labour’s action was not necessary because the government is doing its best to put a smile on the faces of Nigerians, including members of the labour unions.

She said the government is currently speaking with the labour leaders and working so have to have them see reasons why strike is not the best option at this moment.

While labour was proposing a new minimum wage of N494,000, the Federal Government offered to pay N60,000 which is a 100 per cent increase from the present wage of N30,000, resulting in labour walking out of discussions and declaring a nationwide strike which commenced on Monday.