The Federal Government has maintained that payment of the new wage started from April 18, when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Minimum Wage Amendment Act Bill into law.
This is even as it declared that no governor in the 36 states of the federation will reneged on paying the new minimum wage of N30, 000.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige gave the clarification at the weekend during an interactive session with select few journalists in Abuja.
According to him, all employers of labour in the country must comply with the law which is a national law, noting that a committee was working out a new template for upward consequential adjustment for those already earning above N30,000.
Ngige who described negotiation for a new minimum wage as a tortuous one, advised employers of labour especially those who have not started implementation of the new law to do so in order to avoid accumulating arrears.
“It is a national law and no governor can say he will not pay. Issue of national minimum wage is item 34 on the exclusive legislative list of the third schedule of the Nigerian constitution.
“Issue of labour is also there and not on the concurrent list. If it is on the concurrent list, then they can make their own state Assembly laws on that. Every state government is now owing workers if they have not start paying N30,000.
“They (employers) are owing workers effective from 18th of April, a new minimum wage. We are now in a committee working out a new template with which we will adjust upward the consequential adjustment upstairs for those already earning above N30,000.
“The minimum wage is for the most vulneerable down the ladder and that is the man on grade level one step one. So, you must consequentially adjust for the man on grade level two, grade level three, grade level four and five, because that man on GL 1 step 1 has over taken them with his new payment.
“That is what we refer to as consequential adjustment. This consequential adjustment touches more the people on the lower ladder and we are working it out. The negotiation is going to be with
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