President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage for Federal Public Service workers currently earning below N30,000.
This was made known in a series of tweet on Tuesday by the Personal Assistant to the President on New Media, Mr Bashir Ahmad.
According to him, Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Richard Egbule, made the announcement while addressing journalists in Abuja, on the implementation of the new national minimum wage.
Mr Egbule explained that the commencement of the approved payment would be determined by the office of the Accountant-General.
He added that it would be backdated to when the President signed the agreement.
Mr Egbule said the approval would take effect from April 18, 2018, and would affect the salary of government agencies under five salary structures.
President Buhari gave the approval about three months after he signed the Minimum Wage Repeal and Re-Enactment Act, 2019 into law.
His assent came barely three weeks after he received the report of the Presidential Technical Advisory Committee on the Implementation of the National Minimum Wage (PTAC).
The report was presented to the President on March 25, 2019, by the chairman of the committee and economist, Mr Bismarck Rewane.
The Act makes it compulsory for all employers across the country to pay workers a minimum of N30,000.
It, however, excludes persons employing less than 25 workers or persons in other kinds of regulated employment.
The Act gives workers the right to sue an employer to recover the balance or authorise the Minister of Labour to take action against such an employer in the event of a refusal to pay the stipulated wage.
Read the tweets from Mr Bashir Ahmed below:
Chief Richard Egbule, Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission disclosed the news while addressing a news conference on the implementation of the new national minimum wage earlier today, in Abuja.
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) July 16, 2019
According to Chief Egbule, the approval takes effect from April 18, 2018, and will affect the salary of government agencies under five salary structures.
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) July 16, 2019
