Signs emerged on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland, of a looming showdown between organized labour in the country and the Federal Government over the September deadline for the take- off of the implementation of the new minimum wage.

While organized labour in the country, represented by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) insists that the September deadline was sacrosanct, the Federal Government said it was not realizable.

Addressing the 107th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the ongoing process on the new wage must be concluded with its implementation starting in September as earlier agreed.

Wabba said: “I have told you that at the tripartite committee, we all committed to a timetable and timeline which is known and everybody is aware of it,” Wabba told journalists at the event.

But speaking to journalists, Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige maintained that the September deadline was not possible, as the Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee which was working on the agreement would complete its work in September before submitting its report to the Federal Government.

Ngige said: “The truth of the matter is that there is a work programme for the minimum wage committee. And by that schedule of work, we are supposed to terminate our own work in that committee first week of September. After you have done that, you will now take your recommendation to government.

“After doing that, the executive arm of government will take your recommendation to the Federal Executive Council because it concerns those in states. People in the state will now take it to National Economic Council, which is the council in charge of the economy of Nigeria.

“So these bodies will then look at the recommendation and then forward the final distillate to the National Assembly. It is the National Assembly that has power to make laws.

“But we can forward to them as executive bills. That is what the constitution says. So, I do not see all these taking place in September. That was why I said the date of September for a worker to receive new minimum wage is not feasible.”

The minister however expressed optimism that if the process was fast- tracked before the end of the year, the new wage will be implemented by 2019.