The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to provide assistance to the private sector to implement the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage.
According to The PUNCH, the MAN’s Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, highlighted the challenges facing businesses and the need for government intervention to ensure compliance with the new wage law.
“As you are aware, the final outcome of the tripartite committee comprising the government, laboir, and the private sector was a stalemate at N62,000 offered by the Federal Government and the private sector on the one hand, and N250,000 by labour on the other,” Ajayi-Kadir stated.
He highlighted the need for government intervention to address the challenges facing businesses, which could hinder their ability to comply with the new wage law.
“We maintained that those binding constraints may constitute impediments to the full compliance of our member when the minimum wage is signed into law,” Ajayi-Kadir added.
Tinubu recently announced the approval of a N70,000 minimum wage and pledged to review the national minimum wage law every three years.
He also promised to assist the private sector and sub-nationals in meeting the wage requirements.
This decision follows prolonged negotiations between the government, labor unions, and the private sector.
Ajayi-Kadir expressed optimism about the positive developments and urged the private sector to hold on to Tinubu’s promise of support.
“We commend Mr. President for achieving this breakthrough and look forward to the promised assistance,” he said.
The MAN DG reiterated the importance of addressing the challenges faced by businesses to ensure compliance with the new wage law.
“The assumption is that Mr. President will give expedited consideration to those challenges and take necessary steps to address them. This will go a long way in onboarding the private sector in the new agreement on the minimum wage,” Ajayi-Kadir explained.
MAN presented a list of demands to the government, including exemptions for SMEs and MSMEs from compliance due to their operational challenges, CBN redemptions of validly transacted outstanding forex forwards for companies in the productive sector, and a reversal of the increase in electricity tariffs or a 100% increase in tariffs for a minimum of 20 hours of supply.
Other demands included duty exemptions on imported conversion kits and government subsidies on their procurement, a freeze on new taxes on businesses for the next five years, and a fixed rate of N800 for the assessment of import duty on all production inputs.
“We are optimistic that the positive atmosphere created by the recent agreement between the government and labor would facilitate speedy consideration and acceptance of the aforementioned,” Ajayi-Kadir noted.
He allso called for a revisit of the recent Financial Reporting Council regulation to limit its application to private businesses and the discontinuation of the Price Verification Portal, which he described as inimical to the smooth operation of businesses.
“The basis for setting it up no longer exists. This has been implemented by the CBN,” he emphasized.
The MAN DG underscored the significance of the new minimum wage agreement and the need for government support to ensure its successful implementation.
“We should hold on to the promise of Mr. President that the federal government will find a way to assist us to pay the minimum wage agreed with Labor,” he stated.
Ajayi-Kadir concluded by expressing hope that the government’s intervention would help the private sector meet the new wage requirements and improve the overall economic landscape. “We look forward to a collaborative effort between the government and the private sector to achieve this goal,” he said.
