The Federal Government has said the new minimum wage will take effect from May 1, 2024.
The Minister of State Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, disclosed this on Wednesday while addressing Nigerian workers at the May Day celebration in Abuja.
Onyejeocha expressed regret that the new national minimum wage is not ready.
She, however, said that consultation is going on to ensure that the document is out together as soon as possible.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have at various times called on the current administration to hasten the upward review of wage awards.
Recently, labour unions demanded a new minimum wage for workers due to the high cost of living in the country.
They said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater for the wellbeing of an average Nigerian worker.
They lamented that not all governors are paying the current wage award which expired in April, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Act is to be reviewed every five years to meet up with contemporary economic demands of workers.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has praised the contributions of workers in Nigeria to the growth of the country.
Tinubu said this in his address to the workers presented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at an event to mark the 2024 Workers’ Day in Abuja.
The president said the Federal government is willing to accept and implement recommendations of the committee on the new national minimum wage.
