No Provision For New Minimum Wage In 2017 budget
Indications have emerged that the clamour for upward review of new national minimum wage by organized labour, may be long in coming, as there is no provision for it in the Federal budget proposal now before the National Assembly.
Organised labour had since May 2016, sent a proposal for a N52, 000 monthly National Minimum Wage, NMW, to the government .
Last month, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, warned that there would be no guarantee of industrial peace in the new year should government fail to conclude the process of a new minimum wage as soon as possible, beginning at the tripartite committee.
Reacting to the development, the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, said lack of provision for new minimum wage was a critical missing link in the 2017 budget proposal.
While applauding the over N7 trillion 2017 Federal Government budget focusing on reflating the economy through import substitution and patronage of made in Nigeria goods, the union called for the immediate constitution of a tripartite committee by government to agree on a new minimum wage, after which a supplementary budget should be sent to the National Assembly for its implementation.
Speaking through its President and General Secretary, John Adaji and Issa Aremu, respectively, NUTGTWN said: “Our union will support President Buhari to realise the vision of import substitution and jobs creation. ‘’We demand that the disbursement of this huge fund should help to revive local industry, reopen closed factories and should not be spent to finance frivolous imports and perpetuate unemployment.
