Senate passes 2024 National Minimum Wage Amendment Bill
The Senate passed the 2024 National Minimum Wage Amendment Act Bill during Tuesday’s plenary.
Following the presentation and adoption of a report on the bill by Senate Leader Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti), it was reported that the Senate gave accelerated consideration to the bill, which was transmitted by President Bola Tinubu on July 23.
It underwent first and second readings in accordance with Senate rule 80.
During his lead debate on the bill’s general principles, Opeyemi stated that it aimed to amend the National Minimum Wage Act of 2019.
He explained that the bill aims to raise the national minimum wage and shorten the interval for periodic reviews from five years to three years.
He noted recent widespread calls from organized labor and other sectors of society for a wage increase due to Nigeria’s current economic conditions.
He highlighted that following negotiations between the Federal Government and organized labor in response to these calls, the minimum wage has been increased from N30,000 to N70,000 as a short-term measure to alleviate the country’s situation.
He emphasized ongoing efforts to find long-term solutions that meet the aspirations of Nigerians and provide relief.
Opeyemi urged lawmakers to swiftly pass the bill, emphasizing its critical importance to Nigeria’s socio-economic and political wellbeing.
According to journalists, organized labor staged a strike on June 3 due to the minimum wage disagreement. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) initially proposed N494,000 as the new national minimum wage, citing inflation and economic hardships.
However, after multiple meetings, they later revised their proposal to N250,000.
On July 11, labor leaders met with Tinubu at the presidential villa to discuss the new minimum wage. Eventually, they agreed to accept N70,000 as the new minimum wage for workers.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
