President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige to expedite action on negotiation with the organised labour on the new N30,000 minimum wage consequential adjustment.

He gave the directive on Friday night at the 2019 Nigeria Civil Service Week celebration dinner and award night held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

Buhari, who was represented at the occasion by the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Dr Tukur Ngawa, said there was the urgent need to conclude the negotiation to allow for full implementation of the New Minimum Wage Act recently signed into law.

The negotiation between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on the consequential adjustment on the earnings of the Federal workers as a result of the passage into law of the new N30,000 minimum wage had ended in a stalemate.

However, Dr Ngige who has had several meetings with the leadership of NLC on how to resolve the logjam, declared on Thursday last week that he would meet with President Buhari over the stalemate as soon the President returns from his trip to New York.

But the President Buhari in his address read by Ngawa at the Nigeria Civil Service Week celebration dinner and award night directed the Minister to expedite action on the negotiation with the NLC.

He said: “I wish to direct the honourable Minister of Labour and Employment to expedite action on the consequential adjustment negotiation of Minimum Wage. We have also approved the constitution of the Presidential Committee on salaries and allowances for the civil servants.”

He expressed the unflinching commitment of his administration to provide robust welfare package for all civil servants, saying this necessitated the signing into law the new National Minimum Wage Act.

He noted the celebration was very significant in view of the fact that civil service is the machinery through which the policies and programmes of government are implemented, adding that there was the need to recognise hard work and creativity. (Saturday Tribune)

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