Nigeria: Subsidy Removal – Stabilise Economy Before New Minimum Wage, NECA Tells Govt

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, has given the Federal Government a hint on how to make the planned new minimum wage meaningful.

According to the body, government must stabilise the economy by refocusing the fiscal and monetary policies to be pro-growth and address the challenge of multiplicity of taxes and levies.

NECA also urged the government to deal with strangulating regulations that stifle productive activities, rather than promote them, address the increasing inflation rate and decisively deal with government’s revenue challenge and the general inhospitable business environment.

NECA’s Director-General, Wale-Smatt Oyerinde, who said this in a statement, yesterday, lamented that the socio-economic realities in the country had over the years rendered the N30,000 minimum wage inadequate.

He said the inability or refusal of some state governments to pay the minimum wage had further impoverished workers and their households.

He said: “The current national minimum wage of N30,000 came into effect in 2019 after a structured negotiation by the National Minimum Wage, NMW, Committee, which comprised the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, Nigeria Labour Congress/Trade Union Congress of Nigeria NLC/TUC and government, in line with the International Labour Organization, ILO, Convention 131 – the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention.

“The recommendation of the committee was approved by government and signed into law. Statutorily, the current minimum w is due for a review thus, it is expected that the machinery for setting a new National Minimum Wage, effective 2024, should be put in place to commence its assignment, as urgently as possible.

“While it is important to note that socio-economic conditions over the years have rendered the N30,000 minimum wage inadequate, and the inability or refusal of some state governments to pay, have further impoverished workers and households, we state most responsibly that as government puts in place the machinery for the NMW negotiation, concurrent and urgent efforts should be made to stabilize the economy by refocusing the fiscal and monetary policies to be pro-growth.

“Efforts should also be made to address the challenge of multiplicity of taxes and levies; deal with strangulating regulations that appear to stifle productive activities rather than promote them; address the increasing inflation rate; decisively deal with dovernment’s revenue challenge and the general inhospitable business environment.