By Joan Nwagwu
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the National Assembly (NASS) to expedite action on modalities for the coverage of the new natonal minimum wage.
Mr Joe Ajaero, NLC President said this during a book launch titled, “The Future of Work: Is the Tripartite Body in Africa Ready for Digital Economy?” on Monday in Abuja.
The book was written by Mrs Sharon Ijasan, a TVC’s Labour Correspondent.
It would be recalled that on July 24, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had said during a plenary session that the N70,000 new national minimum wage applied to all workers, including maids and other domestic staff.
According to Ajaero, there is need for the National Assembly to come out clean on the area of coverage to the new minimum wage.
“There is need for us to know the number of persons that the Minimum Wage Act covers.
“This means that until the National Assembly comes clear on this, there would be confusion. There is need for an explanation on the number of people it covers because in every minimum wage, there are basic components.
“But up till now, they have not released the the white paper to determine the number of persons that the mnimum wage will cover, ”he said
He howwever, said that by the pronouncement by the Senate President the new minimum wage was not restricted to companies that employed over 25 people.
He said the NLC was waiting for the law itself to come out to quickly address the issues before the confusion would start.
“This means, if you have one gate man or maid, you pay him or her N70,000. So that is the explanation I am asking,” he said.
On CNG busses, Ajaero said that the NLC had received 15 CNG busses out of the 20 announced by the Federal Government.
He also expressed worry over the lack of CNG stations where the buses would refill.
While speaking on the book, he commended the author for a job well done, while urging other journalists to take a cue.
He, however, said that the tripartite issues in Nigeria had been eroded as the government doubles as employer and regulator.
The author of the book, Ijasan, said the book was inspired by her wealth of experiences from covering the labour beat for the past 10 years.
According to Ijasan, looking at the theme of the lecture today, you will realise that the future of work is going towards the digital economy.
“Right now, we have a lot of cinematographers, we have people that do work from home.
“They spend a lot of money to ensure that this work is successful and also make money while they work from their homes.
“But imagine if you are in a typical office, the company is the one that is responsible for your welfare, your safety, and so many other things.
“So this is just to say that the informal work is here, it has come to stay, especially after the advent of covid 19,”she said