The Federal Government is working toward early implementation of new minimum wage which has caused a lot of controversies in recent times, Mr Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) has said.

Mustapha made this known on Thursday in Abuja at the opening of a one-day symposium on the 25th anniversary of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) which has “Overcoming the Challenges of Compensation and Productivity in Nigeria” as its theme.

Represented by Mr Olusegun Adekunle, the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Office of the SGF, the SGF said that the present administration was committed to the welfare of Nigerian workers.

He said “I wish to point out that the focus of the national minimum income wage is on government employees, this critical sector ought not to be left behind and nobody will be left behind.

“Such employees are also dominantly found in the informal sector and the small scale organisations.

“However, it is important to know that the revision of the minimum wage should be taken through due process and all key stakeholders carried along.”

Mustapha said that the pay relativity question could not be resolved without the development and implementation of a new job evaluation scheme.

He, therefore, urged the NSIWC to commence the process, adding that government had also observed that productivity needed to take the centre stage in wage determination.

He also urged the commission to leverage on the pilot schemes it was working on in collaboration with the National Productivity Centre to raise a production team in the public service.

The government scribe said that public office holders must bear in mind that remuneration packages for their various offices were appropriately spelt out in the law.

He added that it would be inappropriate for anyone to allow himself to be paid higher than what the law stipulates, noting that “any infraction reported by NSIWC in the course of carrying out its mandate shall be investigated and punished by the anti-graft agencies in future.”

According to him, government is concerned about the spate of strikes in the country as it affects the economy over the last decade, especially the public sector.

He called on labour unions to resist the urge to resort to work stoppages without exhausting alternatives and more peaceful options for conflict resolution.

He said that the Federal Government remained committed to the stability and development of the economy and service delivery to the public as stakeholders in the nation. (NAN)

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