By Kachi Ekile
Private-sector employers have been warned by the federal government to desist from paying below the new N70,000 minimum wage.
The warning was given by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar on Wednesday, adding that paying less is a punishable crime.
Abubakar was speaking at the 13th Annual General Meeting of the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria.
Represented by the Director of Employment and Wages of the ministry, John Nyamali, Abubakar stated that the minimum wage is now a law which everyone must comply with.
“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.
“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,” he said.
