It Is Unlawful For Governors Not To Pay Minimum Wages – FG

The Federal Government through its Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has faulted governors who are yet to start paying the new minimum wage to workers in their states.

Ngige who spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’, stated that any employer paying its employee below N30,000 was doing so in contravention of the law. 

“If you read the Act well, you will see the applicability of the Act. The applicability is that all parts of the Federation (Section II); Section III also says N30,000 shall be paid, the operating word is shall.

“It does not give room for picking and choosing, it is a must. The state governors that are not paying are breaching the law of the land,” the minister said.

READ ALSO: The Bill That Should Be Passed Before the Minimum Wage Bill

President Muhammadu Buhari had signed the Minimum Wage Repeal and Re-Enactment Act, 2019 into law on April 18, 2019.

The Act made it compulsory for all employers of labor in the country to pay a minimum of N30,000 to their workers and gave and empowered workers who are compelled to accept salary less than the amount to sue their employer to recover the balance.

It also authorized the Minister of Labour and any person nominated or designated by the Minister to take action against such an employer on behalf of the worker to recover the balance of the wages.

However, the law excluded employers with less than 25 employees, people who work in a ship that sailed out of jurisdiction, and others in other kinds of regulated employment that are accepted by the Act.

Two years after the Act was assented to by the President, some states have begun to pay civil servants the new minimum wage while others are yet to comply, citing inadequate funds.

In his reaction, Ngige faulted governors negotiating with the labor unions in their states over the payment of the minimum wage to workers.

He posited that the governors are getting the issues mixed up as the minimum wage is different from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

PEOPLE ARE READING: Former NLC Official Condemns Bill Seeking To Remove Minimum Wage From Exclusive List

“This is a national law that states what you will pay to the lowest-paid employee (worker) in your establishment; state governments are employers… they are caught in the web of this law until repealed.

“Any state government or employer that negotiates minimum wage like some of them is doing with their unions, they are running afoul of the law,” the minister stated.

Asked what the next action would be for erring governors, he said, “I am negotiating with the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF); the law permits me to take them to court.

“I can take any employer to court. If governors have immunity, I can start from the secretary to the government, to the head of service, and go down to the State Executive Council; take them all to court and I do not need any permission.”