N30,000 Minimum Wage: NECA commends Buhari, demands immediate payment

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for assenting to the N30,000 new national Minimum Wage Bill on Thursday and demanded that he should ensure its implementation.
President Buhari’s assent followed the earlier approval by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The Director-General, NECA, Mr Timothy Olawale, gave this commendation and made the demand on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The commendation was contained in a statement issued by NECA in Lagos on Thursday.
NECA is the umbrella organisation of employers in the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria. It was formed in 1957 to provide the forum for the government to consult with private sector employers on socio-economic and labour policy issues.
Olawale, who noted that N30, 000 was the minimum wage, however, appealed to those employers already paying above N30,000 as their minimum wage to continue to pay such, and not review it downward.
He said the approval by the President indicated his passion and concern for the welfare of the masses and the workers in particular.
He said, “Organised businesses wish to commend the President for promptly attending to the National Minimum Wage Bill as sent to him by the National Assembly. It is an indication of the passion and concern of the President for the welfare of the masses and working class in particular. We believe that the implementation date will be the date of assent.
“The National Minimum Wage is not a general salary increase but a wage below which no employer should pay. As such, employers who are already paying above N30, 000 are not obligated to comply. In the same vein, we expect other social partners to also respect this understanding, so as not to jeopardise the industrial harmony in the private sector by insisting on implementation by organisations already paying above N30, 000.”
While affirming organised businesses’ commitment to the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage, Olawale stated: “we reiterate the commitment of employers in the private sector to the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage.”

Concluding his remarks, he advised that “employers should note the date of implementation and seek further clarification, when in doubt.”