The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has criticized governors yet to pay the new minimum wage to workers in their state
Chris Ngige stated this on Sunday 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”
The minister said “… it does not give room for picking and choosing, it is a must. The state governors that are not paying are breaching the laws of the land.s”
He disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has already signed the Minimum Wage Repeal and Re-Enactment Act, 2019 into law on April 18, 2019.
The Act makes it compulsory for all employers of labour in the country to pay a minimum of N30,000 to their workers and gives workers compelled to accept salary less than the amount the right to sue their employer to recover the balance.
The Act also authorizes 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.