The Federal Government has issued a stern warning to private-sector employers, stressing that paying below the new N70,000 minimum wage could lead to imprisonment.

Speaking at the 13th Annual General Meeting of the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria in Ikeja, Lagos, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Kachollom Daju, represented by John Nyamali, Director of Employment and Wages, said the minimum wage is now a law.

?The minimum wage is now a law, and as a result, it is a punishable crime for any employer to pay less than N70,000 to any of its workers. Emphasizing the necessity of the updated wage to address current economic conditions, the government asserted that no Nigerian worker, whether in public or private employment, should earn less than this minimum.

?The private employment agencies should make it compulsory in any contract they take from their principal that their workers should not earn less than the minimum wage. The least paid worker in Nigeria should earn N70,000, and I think that should be after all deductions.

?The minimum wage is a law, and you can be jailed if you fail to implement it. The Federal Government is committed to ensuring that the least paid worker goes home with N70,000,? she disclosed.

Responding to the government?s directive, the President of the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria, Dr Olufemi Ogunlowo, called for clarity on whether the N70,000 minimum wage applies net or gross, urging the government and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to address any ambiguities in the Act.

?We are already committed to the minimum wage and providing decent jobs for Nigerians while preventing the exploitation of human resources,? Ogunlowo said.

Chairperson of the NLC, Lagos State chapter, Funmilayo Sessi, on her part, underscored the impact of economic challenges on workers? incomes, urging private employers to promptly implement the N70,000 minimum wage.

?The N70,000 isn?t sufficient in today?s economic realities. Once the consequential adjustment is finalized, all private employment agencies must begin paying their workers the N70,000 minimum wage,? Sessi insisted. ?The NLC in Lagos State will ensure strict enforcement, and EAPEAN should avoid any conflict with the NLC regarding the minimum wage.? (Nigerian Tribune)

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