Reps pass bill to compel foreign coys to pay minimum wage

Members of the lower legislative House on Wednesday passed through second reading a bill seeking to compel companies with foreign interests in the country to pay the National Minimum Wage.

Tagged: “An act to amend the ‘National Minimum Wage Act 2004, seeks to exclude the establishments that have foreign participation from the list of establishments exempted from the payment of National Minimum Wage and for other related matters,” the bill is being sponsored by Hon. Peter Akpatason (APC-Edo).

According to him, companies that make profits worth billions of naira in Nigeria do not have up to 50 workers, but do not pay the N18,000 national minimum wage.
Akpatason noted that to have excluded foreign owned companies from the payment of minimum wage was not only a great disservice to the nation, but has robbed the country huge revenue.

Read also: Report… Nigeria’s aviation, a sector in need of makeover

He said there is need to delete subsection 1e which provides that “person working in ships and airplanes were excluded in the principal Act, to effectively address the lacuna.”
He further said: “in addition to broadening the scope of participation to incorporate more categories of Nigerian workers eligible to benefit from minimum wage payment, these proposed amendments also represent a clear demonstration of this 8th Assembly to timeously address issue of obsolete laws in support of the change agenda of this government.”
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity for further legislative inputs after it was passed by the House.

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