The Minister of Labour and Employment, NKEIRUKA ONYEJEOCHA, has appealed to the Organized Labour to shelve its ongoing industrial action which has crippled economic activities in the country. 

ONYEJEOCHA said the Federal Government is not the sole decider of a new minimum wage as it must be determined by state governments and the Organized Private Sector.

According to her, some state governments still can’t pay the 30,000 naira minimum wage agreed by the tripartite committee in 2019 let alone the 494,000 naira wage demand by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

She said the new minimum wage must match the productivity and affordability of the private sector and not just be agreed upon and announced to satisfy labour.

She argued that beyond the agreement on a new living wage, the place of sustainability in payment by all members of the tripartite committee must be considered.

The minister added that the economic loss of the strike in the last 24 hours have been huge as businesses, airports, universities, hospitals and power supply were affected.

The labour minister, however, assured Nigerian workers that the 35,000 naira wage award approved for them by the Federal Government will continue until the new minimum wage is settled.