By Victor Ahiuma-Young
LAGOS— MINISTER of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said, yesterday, in Abuja that the Federal Government was working towards a new minimum wage for workers.

Dr. Chris Ngige

The minister while receiving the Secretary General of the International Trade Union Congress, ITUC, Sharon Baron, who paid him a visit in Abuja, reaffirmed the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to the enhancement of welfare of Nigerian workforce by ensuring that employers of labour at all levels comply with the Minimum Wage Act.

Ngige  in a statement by Samuel Olowookere, Deputy Director (Press), Ministry of Labour, said: “Minimum wage is good, we are already working on it. We have a technical working committee in place and the current administration is poised to ensure that employers at all levels comply with this law by ensuring that everybody is carried along through the composition of an all inclusive committee.”

According Ngige, although the current economic situation presented a daunting challenge,  the country has managed to mitigate its impact by reducing over dependence on oil and venturing into agriculture and solid minerals among others.

“We have managed to survived this difficult time and learn our lesson by diversifying our economy into agriculture and reduced our over dependence on importation, we are now 80 percent self-reliant in rice production and other staple foods.”

The minister expressed Federal Government’s support to the efforts of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, at combating slave labour in Qatar.

He said: “You can count on our support in the fight against slave labour in Qatar, my ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have addressed this matter leading to the proposed agreement between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and Qatar being put on hold in view of the wide report of unfair and slave labour practice in that country.”

Ngige informed the Secretary General of ITUC that Nigeria had requested ILO, to upgrade its Country office in Nigeria and had also extended invitation to the Director-General of ILO Mr. Guy Ryder, to pay a working visit to Nigeria.