Minimum Wage: Senate Committee concur with Reps, approves N30,000

The Senate Adhoc Committee on a New National Minimum Wage Bill, 2019, has agreed with the House of Representatives, recommending N30,000 as the accepted minimum wage for the Nigerian workers as against N27,000 proposed by the Federal Government.

The Committee which is chaired by the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Francis Alimikhena, All Progressives Congress, APC, Edo North, met yesterday at Senate Room 431 New Building has concurred with the members of the House of Representatives that had earlier recommended a wage of N30,000 that was later adopted by the lower chamber.

A source told Vanguard yesterday that at the meeting of the Committee, the Chairman, Senator Alimikhena asked all the members to make contributions one after the other on the new minimum wage.

According to the source, all the Senators who spoke one after the other agreed, for a new minimum wage of N30,000, just as they were said to have taken the bill clause by clause whereby they also agreed with the issues raised in the bill.

Vanguard also gathered that the Senators agreed on very stiff punishment for civil servants who do not go to work as a fine of N75,000 to be paid by any erring Civil servant has been settled for by the members, just as they were said to have complained bitterly about local government workers who abscond from their duty posts, only to wait and come to the secretariat whenever the salaries were ready.

The Committee, Vanguard learnt would present its report to the Senate at Plenary next week Tuesday as the report would be ready this week and passed by the Upper chamber next week Tuesday.

– Vanguard