TheCable

Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says “most” of the governors on federal government’s tripartite committee are not paying minimum wage.

On Tuesday, Vice-President Kashim Shettima inaugurated a 37-member committee that will recommend a new national minimum wage for workers.

The committee comprises representatives of the federal and state governments, private sector and the organised labour, and is chaired by Bukar Goni Aji, former head of service of the federation.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Ajaero said governors who pay the minimum wage were not “adequately” represented on the committee.

“Most of the governors in the minimum wage committee are those who are not paying minimum wage or paying them in breaches,” the NLC president said.

“The governors who are in full compliance with the minimum wage are not adequately represented.

“So whatever makes the federal government bring in those who are not compliant or compliant in breaches to form the bulk of the membership of the minimum wage committee from the state governments, that will unfold with time.”

He said in states like Anambra, a permanent secretary is not earning up to N180,000 a month.

“A state like Zamfara, I don’t know how much Borno and Bauchi are paying… there is a minimum wage law which criminalises the non-compliance of the minimum wage,” Ajaero said.

“The Nigerian state has not tried to enforce these laws, others are just enforcing them in breaches.

“Take Anambra state for instance. Anambra state pays N30,000 for the least paid. I challenge anybody from Anambra to prove that even a permanent secretary is earning up to N170,000 or N180,000.”

The NLC president added that organised labour is worried over the “dollarisation” of the economy.