Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Thursday, October 3rd said that the demand of labour over the implementation of the new minimum wage would cost the Federal Government N580 billion annually.
Ngige said that such adjustment, in line with labour’s demand, was not sustainable as the government would have to lay off some workers to be able to meet their demands. The minister said government cannot afford that kind of money now, adding that the focus of President Buhari’s government is on workers on grade level 1 step 1 and level 6 step 1 where the impact of the wage would be felt by workers.
The Minister spoke in Abuja when the leadership of United Labour Congress (ULC) led by its President, Joe Ajeiro, paid him a courtesy at the ministry. While urging workers to show more understanding to the plight of the federal government, Ngige said the current economic realities, may make the new wage bill not feasible. He said that the government was avoiding a situation where it would have to lay off workers, adding that this would add to the burden of the citizenry.
Ngige appealed to the labour to accept the consequential adjustment from levels 7 to 17, adding that the federal government had only three months left to implement the new minimum wage. He said the government would not tell the labour what it could not pay, stating that no worker deserved to be owed salary.
He regretted the inability of the joint negotiating team of both the government and labour to agree on the consequential adjustments, insisting that the new wage may become bloated by workers on grade levels 7-14 and 15-17. Already organised labour has started mobilising their members to embark on strike on the 16th of this month.
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