Newday Reporters

JUST IN: Senate Hurriedly Passes N70,000 Minimum Wage Bill

 

The Senate has passed a bill to amend the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, raising the National Minimum Wage from N30,000 to N70,000.

Additionally, the Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that seeks to reduce the interval for periodic reviews of the National Minimum Wage from five years to three years.

This legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, to Increase the National Minimum Wage and Reduce the Time for Periodic Review of the National Minimum Wage from Five Years to Three Years and for Related Matters, 2024” (SB. 550), was presented by Senate Leader Senator Opeyemi Bamidele of the APC, representing Ekiti Central.

The executive bill, forwarded to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu, was introduced, went through its first reading, and subsequently passed both the second and third readings before being approved.

In his leading debate on the bill’s general principles, Senator Bamidele stated, “Mr. President, Distinguished colleagues, I humbly rise to lead the debate on the general principles of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (SB. 550).

The bill seeks to amend the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, to increase the National Minimum Wage and reduce the interval for periodic reviews from five years to three years, among other related matters.

“The bill was read for the first time on July 23, 2024.

“Mr. President, dear colleagues, you will recall that recently there have been numerous agitations and demands from organized labor and other segments of our society for an increase in the National Minimum Wage due to the prevailing economic situation in the country.

In response to these demands and following a series of negotiations between the Federal Government and organized labor, the current National Minimum Wage of N30,000 has been reviewed upward to N70,000.”

 

More details soon…

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