Business
Minimum Wage Bill: NUPTE Seeks Speedy Passage
The National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE) has called on the Federal Government to liaise with the National Assembly (NASS) on the minimum wage bill.
The President of NUPTE Mr. Sunday Alhassan told newsman in Abuja on Thursday that it had become necessary for the FG to send the new minimum wage bill to the NASS without delay if it had not been done.
This, he said, would aid the passage of the bill and forestall possible protests from workers.
“I want to appeal to the government to liaise with the National Assembly to transmit the minimum wage bill if it has not done so, to enable the NASS to give it an accelerated passage,” he said.
Alhassan said this had become important because the National Assembly had alleged in a media report that it was yet to receive the bill.
He recalled that the NLC suspended its three-day warning strike after the first day to accede to the government’s position on the matter.
Alhassan said that the president gave assurances that the National Council of State would meet, saying that this had been done and the new minimum wage ratified by the council.
“If the NASS is still talking about not receiving the bill, one then wonders who is fooling who. Is it the presidency that has not sent the bill or is it NASS that has not received it?
“I want to say that the NLC in this country is not very comfortable with this development”.
“What belongs to workers should not be denied them. We have conceded from N52,200 to N18,000 minimum wage, so why is it becoming a problem to implement it”, he queried.
He noted that the last time workers enjoyed an increase in their wage was in 2000 adding that the cost of living had increased many folds since then.
“This wage is due for an upward review, as the current workers’ take home pay can really not take them home.”
“We have to be very realistic about this; there is a need for the NASS to do what is right, otherwise arrears on the minimum wage will be incurred,” Alhassan said.