On Tuesday, the senate and house of representatives passed the new minimum wage bill.

The bill scaled first, second and third readings — all within an hour — in the upper and lower legislative chambers.

The legislation amended two key issues in the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, increasing the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 and shortening the review period from five to three years.

Speaking at plenary after the bill was passed, Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, claimed that Nigerians can no longer pay any domestic worker below N70,000.

“The bill says that if you are a tailor and you employ an additional hand, you cannot pay the person below N70,000. If you are a mother and you have a newborn child and you want to bring in a housemaid to look after your child, you cannot pay that housemaid below N70,000,” Akpabio said.

“It is not maximum wage. It applies to all and sundry. If you bring in a driver, if you bring in a gateman — you cannot pay that gateman below N70,000. So, I am very delighted that this has been passed and we now look forward to employers of labour going ahead to improve on what has been set as a benchmark for all and sundry to follow.

“So, I congratulate the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), I congratulate all Nigerians, and I congratulate the senate and the national assembly in general for this epoch-making legislation which has even reduced the time of negotiation from five years to three years in view of the soaring effect of foodstuff. It is now necessary that we review it every three years instead of five years.”

Akapbio’s remarks have elicited a series of reactions on social media, especially on X, with many questioning his claim.

“This is a joke of the highest order. You might want to check some of the laws governing minimum wage,” Tohluh Briggs said in the comment section.

“Really? What happened? What changed?” Philemon Kuza asked.

WHAT IS MINIMUM WAGE?

The minimum wage is the least amount that employers are obligated to pay their employees. It is established by the National Minimum Wage Act to ensure that workers earn a basic standard of living and to prevent unfair treatment.

The current minimum wage in the country is N30,000 per month. The rate was previously reviewed every five years to reflect changes in living costs and economic conditions. It was last reviewed in 2019 during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

On June 3, Nigeria’s economy came to a standstill as labour unions staged a nationwide strike over the wage dispute.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) initially demanded N494,000, citing inflation and worsening economic conditions.

Following intense negotiations with federal government representatives, the unions scaled down their demand to N250,000.

On July 11, President Bola Tinubu met with labour leaders over the matter.

After further negotiations on July 18, the unions agreed to the N70,000 proposed by the president.

VERIFYING AKPABIO’S CLAIM 

To verify Akpabio’s claim, TheCable reviewed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 to determine who is obligated to pay the minimum wage and who is exempted.

Section 3 (1) of the act states that every employer shall pay the national minimum wage to every worker under his or her establishment.

According to the law, any agreement for the payment of wages less than the national minimum wage is void.

But there are exceptions.

Section 4 of the act stipulates that the minimum wage requirement does not apply to employers with fewer than 25 employees.

According to the law, an establishment with the following employees is exempted from the minimum wage:
(a) part-time basis,
(b) commission or piece-rate;
(c) establishment employing less than 25 persons;
(d) workers in seasonal employment like agriculture; and
(e) any person employed in a vessel or aircraft to which the laws regulating merchant shipping or civil aviation apply.

VERDICT

Based on the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, Akpabio’s claim that any employer who hires a maid or gatekeeper will pay N70,000 minimum wage is false.

The law mandates employers with more than 25 workers to pay the minimum wage.

The Cable