By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu on Monday said the federal government was working with the labour unions on a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers as he announced a set of measures to ease the pain faced by Nigerians.
Mr Tinubu spoke in a presidential broadcast to Nigerians last night, saying that his administration will put in place measures that will help provide solace to citizens amid current economic challenges.
The President promised that the upward review would be reflected in the next budget once the agreement is reached with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which have threatened to start a mass strike on Wednesday, August 2.
“In the same vein, we are also working in collaboration with the Labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming.
“Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provision for it for immediate implementation,” he said.
He also thanked the players in the private sector who had carried out salary reviews despite the challenging environment saying, “I want to use this opportunity to salute many private employers in the Organised Private Sector who have already implemented general salary review for employees.”
Business Post reports that banks have also carried out reviews of salary structures, which a bank staff in the United Bank for Africa (UBA) confirmed will begin in August.
The president added that the federal government had saved over N1 trillion in the past two months following the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
Some of the savings will be used as low-interest loans for businesses, including small, medium and micro enterprises, the president said.
Nigeria’s minimum wage of N30,000 was approved in 2019 following the passage of the Minimum Wage Bill by the National Assembly.
