MINILS DG seeks inclusion of human resources in federal monetary policies

“The minimum wage is significant, but in real terms, when you take inflation and the devaluation of the naira into account, you will see that the new minimum wage is even less than the old minimum wage,” he said.

He charged members of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) to be concerned with appropriate monetary policy to make purchasing power sustainable, suggesting that stakeholders should reconsider the floating of the naira, which he argued is not appropriate for a developing nation like Nigeria.

“Our currency needs to be well managed. There’s nowhere in the world that you allow your currency to be subject to the vagaries of market forces. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should take a relook at it, and I commend the efforts made so far.

“You’re targeting inflation and hiking interest rates. Who can borrow money at a 36% interest rate? And you allow the naira to float in a way that makes what the government and labour have agreed upon in minimum wage appear as if you’ve actually devalued the purchasing power of the working people. So, what the president has given away with the right hand has been taken away by devaluation. The president is talking about eradicating inflation and ensuring a double-digit growth rate, but monetary policies are taking us in different directions, and that cannot be the result.”

The MINILS Director General, who stated that the conference, themed “Human Resource Management in a VUCAR (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and risky) World: Building Resilience and Agility,” is timely, praised the CIPM for addressing the challenges facing human resources in the dynamic world we inhabit today.

He also challenged the government to take labour market institutions or those institutions dealing with human resources more seriously.

“The federal government should make them partners in the reform agenda. Finance them very well. Promotion of labour education involves money. For example, the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies (MINILS) or the National Directorate of Employment (NDE),” he said.

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