The federal government has stated that it cannot guarantee a “impossible” minimum wage that it would be unable to finance.
Prof Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, made the claim in an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday.
However, the minister stated that the government is committed to improve the welfare and earnings of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals in the country.
He said:
“We appreciate them. There are few who chose to go abroad for training. We’ve approved for some of them to go to other places to be trained. We expect that when they train, they will come back home.
“We are expanding the training of those who are around and improving the working conditions.
“In the context of the wage review that is ongoing in the country, of course with the Salary Incomes and Wages Commission, we have made submissions to have some adjustment of the remuneration of the health workforce.”
The minister’s statement came hours after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) postponed a minimum wage review memo to allow for more discussions.
Recall that in his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, President Bola Tinubu guaranteed the Organised Labour that an Executive Bill on the new national minimum wage for workers will be brought to the National Assembly for approval.
Tinubu is anticipated to decide on the government and private sector’s N62,000 proposal, as well as Labour’s N250,000 demand.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
