FG Promises Jail Term For Private Employers Paying Below N70,000 Minimum Wage

The Federal Government has called on private agencies recruiting for employment to keep to the N70,000 minimum wage, promising that any one found paying lesser would not be tolerated.

Kachollom Daju, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, stated this on Wednesday while speaking at the 13th Annual General Meeting of the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria, held in Ikeja, Lagos.

Daju said the new minimum wage is compulsory to address the current economic reality, emphasising that no Nigerian worker, whether in government or private employment, should be paid less than the minimum wage.

The Permanent Secretary who was represented by the Director of Employment and Wages of the ministry, John Nyamali, said, “The minimum wage is now a law, and as a result, it is a punishable crime for any employer to pay less than N70,000 to any of its workers.
“The private employment agencies should make it compulsory in any contract they take from their principal that their workers should not earn less than the minimum wage. The least paid worker in Nigeria should earn N70,000, and I think that should be after all deductions.
“The minimum wage is a law, and you can be jailed if you fail to implement it. The Federal Government is committed to ensuring that the least paid worker goes home with N70,000.”
However, the President of the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria, Dr. Olufemi Ogunlowo, in his remarks, asked the government and Nigeria Labour Congress to clarify whether the N70,000 minimum wage is net or gross, stating that all ambiguities in the Act should be highlighted and explained.
Ogunlowo said the EAPEAN is already committed to the minimum wage, as well as providing decent jobs for Nigerians and guarding against the exploitation of human resources.
“As a labour union in the private sector, we are committed to the implementation of the minimum wage. We are a law-abiding and guided association. Our principals and clients have also keyed into the minimum wage.
“However, the government must clarify whether the N70,000 minimum wage is net or gross. The government and NLC should address all ambiguities in the minimum wage,” he stated.
Funmilayo Sessi, the Chairperson of the NLC, Lagos State chapter, who also spoke at the programme, said the continuous hardship had made a mess of whatever income any worker was earning in Nigeria, calling on private employers to ensure the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage.
She said: “The N70,000 isn’t enough in the current economic realities. By the time the consequential adjustment is concluded, all private employment agencies should immediately start paying their workers the N70,000 minimum wage.
“The NLC in Lagos State will see to the strict enforcement of the minimum wage. EAPEAN should avoid confrontation with the NLC on the minimum wage.”