FG, labour unions agree to set up committee to review proposal

The Federal Government says it has concluded plans with labour unions in the country to set up a 15-member committee to review the National Minimum Wage.

Mr Babachir Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said this in Abuja at a news conference after a meeting called to avert the planned strike by organised labour scheduled to start on Wednesday.The Federal Government representatives had met separately on Monday and Tuesday with representatives of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the two factions of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

He said that labour had expressed reservation in three broad areas which included review of the minimum wage and re-visiting the issue of the social investment as appropriated in the 2016 budget.

The SGF said that labour had also raised the issue of the delay in the reconstitution of the board of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

According to him, labour has also advocated for the constitution of a technical committee with its representatives and that of the Federal Government.

"The government has no objection to all the issues raised and so we have agreed to set up a 15-man technical committee to look at issues earlier mentioned.

"This committee will comprise seven from organised labour and seven from the Federal Government with the chairman coming from the government side.

"The technical committee on the review of the minimum wage will work out the framework for the discussion and make recommendations to government and labour.

"The committee is expected to complete its work and report back to the committee of the whole house within six months,” Lawal said.

Furthermore, he said that government had agreed with labour to constitute a technical committee on palliatives and make recommendations to the whole house within a period not exceeding two weeks.

Government had also agreed with labour to re-visit the issue of quick composition of the PPPRA board within a period not exceeding two weeks, Lawal said.