Minimum wage may not be ready soon, says Ngige

The expectations of workers in the country getting a new national minimum wage by the end of September 2018 may not materialize after all as the government said on Tuesday that the September date was just a date to conclude negotiation on the issue of minimum wage.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told newsmen at his residence in Abuja that the committee on the new National Minimum wage is expecting to conclude its work by the end of September and present its report to the government for deliberation and approval before an executive bill is sent to the National Assembly on the issue.

The minister, however, said that the issue of capacity to pay was also paramount in the deliberations on the minimum wage.

According to him, it is to get the input of all those concerned including state governments and the organised private sector that the committee embarked on zonal public hearing across the country.

The minister said further that in the course of the zonal public hearings, many state governments made different submissions ranging from N22,000 monthly to N58,000.

- NAN