The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has directed the Minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed to effect the payment of the N30,000 new national minimum wage on or before December 31, 2019.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige stated this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ngige said his ministry and the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission have also been directed to send the consequential adjustments to states as a template in their negotiations with labour.

“We sent to the Federal Executive Council our report and the conciliation that was done last week between the organized labour and the Federal Government of Nigeria on the issue of the new national minimum wage which has been fixed at N30,000 per month and the consequential adjustments that were meant for salaries and wage structures of the public service thereto.

“You will remember that last week when I briefed the press, I told you that the salaries and wage structures are compartmentalized into four classes; health, armed forces service, research institutes and the paramilitary.

“So they have percentage increase in their wage structure and for emphasis, the Grade Level 07 compartment received 23.2 percent rise, Grade Level 08, 20 percent, Grade Level 09, 19 percent, Grade Level 10-14, 16 percent and Grade Level 15 to 17, 14 percent in the CONPPS which is the pure civil service structure and agencies earning the same wages as those in the public service.

“Council also approved for us that the financial implication be worked out and the payment should be completed on or before December 2019.

“Council further directed that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation should effect all these payments before December 31, 2019.

“Council further directed also that the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission and the Ministry of Labour and Employment should send the consequential adjustments table down to the state and local governments as an advisory document for their information and guidance for their National Joint Public Service status in their respective states because the national minimum wage is a national law,” Nigige said.

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday in Enugu said it would not accept the December deadline set by the Federal Government for the payment of all arrears accruing from the new minimum wage.

The General Secretary of the NLC, Emmanuel Ugboaja made the statement at the Enugu venue of the 2019 National Leadership of labour meeting.

“Once the arrears is covered, we will then talk with our colleagues that are in-house to confirm the reasonableness of such timing because workers prepare the wage bill, the computation and processing. 

“If they tell us it’s an unreasonable length of time, we will react to that. If they tell us it is reasonable within the circumstance, of course, we can live with it.

“Our response will be determined by what we get from our inside sources. What is really at it for us is the certainty that the arrears accruing will be paid,” Ugboaja said.