The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udoma, said the Federal Government would go into negotiations with senior civil servants soon after the bill on the new National Minimum Wage is assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Udoma said this when
he appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance on Tuesday in Abuja
to give explanations on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and
Fiscal Paper.
He said the Executive would meet with relevant stakeholders on the matter as soon as it is signed into law.
“Once we announce the minimum wage, we now enter into negotiations with those who are above the minimum wage.
“So,
we have to be prepared for that. We will be meeting with the finance
committee on how best this minimum wage will be addressed both from the
federal and the state governments.
“This is to ensure that the
whole government apparatus is not just to pay salaries. It is important
we are able to pay the minimum wage and still have enough resources to
do infrastructure, health, agriculture and others,” he said.
The minister stressed that once the minimum wage becomes law, serious emphasis would be laid on productivity.
“As
a result of agitation from the unions, the President set up a
tripartite committee to look at the minimum wage. It is expected that
every five years a review is done.
“We know that the N18,000 is
too low and it will be difficult to manage with 18,000 and the president
supported the review. It is, however, important that as we are
reviewing it, we make sure that we can fund it.
“That is why we
set up a committee. So, we will be coming to you as there may be some
changes to make sure we can fund the minimum wage,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Senate and House of Representatives have approved N30,000 as the new national minimum wage. (NAN)
Source:- Dailytrustng
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