The Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour, Sen. Mao Ohuanbuwa, on Friday said the National Assembly will fast track the passage of the new national minimum wage bill, once the executive bill is sent to it.
Ohuanbuwa made this known while speaking with journalists in Geneva, Switzerland.
He said the Senate President had already given the assurance that the bill would be given express hearing and passage by the legislature.
Ohuanbuwa said, “We are going to fast track the bill for accelerated passage and that is what the Senate President had said.
“It is unfortunate that both the ministry and the executive have been going back and forth. We thought that by now, that would have been resolved.
“So we are looking forward to that bill because it is going to come out as an executive bill.
“We are looking forward to rounding off or concluding that bill before we go on our annual break.
“But the way it is, it looks like we are going to wait. You know there is little or nothing we can do because it is an executive responsibility.
“They are the ones who will make the payment. Ours is that we have to support and agree that there is very urgent need to review the minimum wage.’’
He said the need to review the minimum wage is sacrosanct.
“But we cannot go ahead as a parliament to legislate on that without the executive coming up with a bill. We are waiting for them to do that.
“We will allow the executive and the labour leaders to resolve their differences. What we had promised and we still stand on is that once that bill comes to us, we are going to give it accelerated hearing.’’
He called on the Federal Government and the organised labour to resolve their differences on the issue of the new national minimum, in the interest of Nigerian workers.
Ohuanbuwa said that states should be allowed to negotiate with labour on what they would be able to pay.
NAN