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Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Nigeria (RATIFICATION: 1961)

Other comments on C026

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 1 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes the adoption of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2011, which raises the national minimum wage from 7,500 to 18,000 Nigerian nairas (NGN) (approximately US$114) per month as from 15 March 2011. It notes, however, that the scope of the National Minimum Wage Act, 1981 remains unchanged and continues therefore to exclude, among others, establishments employing less than 50 workers, part-time workers, workers paid on commission or on piece-rate basis, as well as workers in seasonal employment such as agriculture. Noting that these exclusions, especially those referring to establishments with less than 50 workers and to agriculture, concern a very large number of workers, the Committee hopes that the Government will consider the possibility of extending the scope of the minimum wage legislation to all workers in need of such protection. In addition, the Committee understands that the main trade unions call for a further increase of the minimum wage to take account of the high inflation, and in particular the significant increase of the price of oil and food commodities. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any measures it intends to take to maintain the purchasing power of the national minimum wage.

Article 3(2). Consultation and participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations and of other qualified persons. The Committee understands that the establishment of the new minimum wage rate was the subject of tripartite negotiations, that state governments were invited to submit memoranda setting out their views on the minimum wage rate they considered they could afford to pay, and that the State National Council endorsed the proposal to increase to NGN18,000 the national minimum wage. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the procedure followed to establish the new national minimum wage rate in 2011 is institutionalized or whether it intends to formally establish such a procedure involving the participation, on equal footing, of representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations, as well as the consultation of other persons specifically qualified on account of their occupation or responsibilities.

Article 3(2), 4 and Part V of the report form. Binding nature of minimum wages – Enforcement and practical application. The Committee notes that the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2011 has revised the amount of fines for non-compliance with the national minimum wage. In addition, it understands that the implementation of the new minimum wage rate is facing significant difficulties in a number of federate States, including at the level of public administrations. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure effective compliance with the national minimum wage by all employers to whom it applies, both in the private and the public sectors. The Government is also requested to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, and, in particular, if such information is available, the number of workers remunerated at the minimum wage rate, statistical data showing the evolution of the minimum wage as compared to the average or median wage or the inflation rate, and labour inspection results showing the number of infringements of the minimum wage legislation observed and the measures taken to bring them to an end.