The Trade Union Congress (TUC) is currently pushing for a new approach in the negotiations for a revised minimum wage, aiming to hold state governments accountable for adhering to the new wage standards once they are established.
TUC President, Festus Osifo, revealed this strategy during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
Osifo outlined a plan where the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) could play a role in directly disbursing salaries to workers in states where governors fail to comply with the newly agreed minimum wage payment. This measure seeks to ensure compliance and protect workers’ financial stability nationwide.
“We are developing a mechanism as part of this new minimum wage negotiation for imposing penalties. When a new minimum wage is approved, there should be consequences for governors who are not responsive.
This could involve withholding their FAAC allocations, or the Federal Government directly paying some funds to the workers instead of giving it to the states,” Osifo explained.
Expressing concerns about the inadequacy of the current minimum wage of N30,000 to meet the needs of Nigerian workers, Osifo noted that not all governors have kept up with this wage requirement, which is set for review in April—five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was enacted by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
