The National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) reports that the National Minimum Wage review process has begun. This was mentioned in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the head of public affairs for the commission, Mr. Emmanuel Njoku.
Ghana revealed this week that the compensation for state employees had increased by 30%. Some other African countries have raised similar alarms in response to rising headline inflation.
Njoku added that the commission has held several meetings and training sessions in order to get ready for the statewide monitoring of the Minimum Wage Act 2019, which was due for review in 2024. The monitoring, he added, was scheduled to start on January 23 and would assist determine the level of compliance of both public and private businesses.
According to him, the monitoring team will among other things inquire if employers keep adequate records of wages and conditions of service of employees.
“The exercise will enlighten the public and private employers and organisations on the economic benefits of adhering to the payment of the National Minimum Wage.
“It will also help in obtaining baseline data on remuneration policies and practices of private sector organisations in order to enrich the commission’s data bank on staff compensation.
“The monitoring exercise will cover the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” he said.
According to Njoku, the monitoring team for the exercise would include representatives from the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of National Planning. Other stakeholders he names include the Head of Service of the Federation, the National Bureau of Statistics, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The spokesperson recommended collaboration between the monitoring officers and all levels of the federal, state, and local governments as well as firms that are controlled by the government, those in the private sector, and labor unions. In Nigeria, a minimum wage review has begun.
