Kwara state government has inaugurated a 13-man national minimum wage implementation committee with a charge to give the government direction and come up with recommendations that will assist it to implement the new minimum wage.
Inaugurating the committee on behalf of Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq on Tuesday, the deputy governor, Mr Kayode Alabi, noted that the last time wage was reviewed was in 2011, saying that a review is necessary despite the prevailing economic challenges.
Mr Alabi charged members of the committee to be patriotic in handling the assignment and look at ways of domesticating the minimum wage Act in a manner that would not have adverse effects on the developmental plans geared towards building and repositioning economy of the state and should not erode envisaged gains the workers crave for.
“As a government, we are mindful of the fact that the expectations of the workers are high, the government is therefore poised to attend to this matter with all seriousness and fairness” the deputy governor said.
He also called on the committee to identify new sources of revenue and take into cognizance of the existing expenditure from where some savings could be made in order to mop up fund that would be channelled towards funding the wage increase.
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Mr Alabi listed five terms of reference which includes the immediate and remote circumstance surrounding the agitation of the civil servants for the payment of N30,000.00 minimum wage in Kwara State, the actual rate being paid in the state presently, the ability of the state government to pay the wage to the Civil Servants in view of the prevailing economic realities at both federal and state level, the financial implication and sustainability of paying the wage by the State government and any other recommendation/observation that could assist the government in taking a realistic position on the agitation of Civil Servants.
The Committee which has been directed to commence work with immediate effect has three weeks to submit its assignment.
Responding on behalf of the members of the Committee, the Chairman and the State Commissioner for Finance and Planning, Mrs Olasunbo Florence Oyeyemi appreciated the government for giving them the opportunity to serve, promising that they would work assiduously and would not disappoint.
Members of the Committee were drawn from the Government and the Labour Unions.
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