By Abiola Olawale
The Senate on Tuesday passed the 2024 National Minimum Wage Amendment Act Bill after President Bola Tinubu had transmitted the new wage bill of N70,000 to both chambers of the National Assembly. The Senate also revealed those categories of workers who won’t benefit from the 70,000 minimum wage.
The new bill replaces the National Minimum Wage Act, No. 8, 2019, which approved an N30,000 minimum wage with five years to negotiate a new wage. The new wage review period has now been reduced to three years following Tuesday’s legislation.
The development came after months of negotiations between the 37-member Tripartite committee headed by Bukar Aji.
Meanwhile, checks revealed that a 10-man sub-committee of the Tripartite committee comprising the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Onyejeocha Nkiruka; Governor Mohammed Bago of Niger State; labour leaders, private sector operators, four from National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission, among others, in a report recommended the categories of workers who are not eligible to receive the minimum wage.
In the report, the committee recommended the introduction of flexibility to exemption, by making it possible for organisations to be able to apply for exemption.
The committee explained that the arrangement is to encourage startups and entrepreneurship.
A breakdown of the report shows that to qualify for exemption from the mandatory payment of minimum wage, a 50million under a Nano business(Business managed by 1-3 persons with capital below N50,000m) and micro business enterprise, has 10 or a smaller number of employees, startup businesses, legal or statutory exemption and commission contract
Others include establishments that have less than N50-million revenue per quarter or N200 million revenue per annum, organisations with less than 10 staff, establishments of not more than three years in existence, industries which have their staff remuneration and compensation regulated by other Acts of the National Assembly or any other business which the Minister of Labour and Employment or the Executive Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission finds to be reasonably justified to be waived or exempted, provided that such waiver shall not be given unless the reason for its application is based on evidence of lower revenue, insolvency, debt crisis or other justification that threaten the existence of the establishment, which shall not apply to governments or ministries and parastatals and agencies.
According to the Committee, before arriving at its recommendations, the committee took note of the exemption of workers on seasonal employment such as agricultural farmlands, exemption of any person working in a vessel or aircraft to which laws regulating merchant shipping or civil aviation applies.
The committee also noted that “The formal sector wage pattern: governments, corporate organisations and other organised private sector businesses. The wage pattern in this category is mainly every month. Workers and their employers in this category are usually the focus of the national minimum wage laws.”
“There is yet, a serious challenge when it comes to coverage of or compliance with, as the case may be, the national minimum wage even amongst this category of employers.
“Therefore, it is difficult to have an accurate assessment of the pattern either because some establishment shortchanges by strategically avoiding the threshold or, in the case of state governments, refusing to comply with the law, “ the committee noted.
It pointed out “the informal sector wage pattern, in which workers do not have any earning yardstick, wages in this sector are multi-dimensional. Compensation and remuneration in this category range from commission, to piece-rate. Some are paid daily after close of business which might be dependent upon daily sales. Some are employed on apprenticeship, to work and learn, while helping to build or grow the business with the agreement to get settlement by taking a share of the business, beco
