Minimum Wage: Will Tinubu Increase NYSC 'Allawee'? Here Are 3 Things You Should Know
- President Bola Tinubu's administration may increase the NYSC members' allowance following the N70,000 minimum wage agreement with the labour
- Tinubu pegged the minimum wage at N70,000 after extensive engagement between the government, labour and the organised private sector
- Senate President Godswill Akpabio's comment during the passage of the new minimum wage bill, among other things, suggests that the president may increase the corps members' allawee
President Bola Tinubu-led federal government has pegged the new minimum wage at N70,000. This development has been accepted by Nigerian workers and passed into law by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
However, the federal government, under President Tinubu, may increase the monthly allowance of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members from N33,000 to N70,000, the new minimum wage.
Source: Twitter
How Buhari increased NYSC allawee to N33k
This is because when the minimum wage was increased in 2019 to N30,000, the federal government increased the allowance for corp members to N33,000 from N18,000, a largely welcomed development.
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Though former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the minimum wage on April 18, 2019, the NYSC allawee commenced in January 2020 and was included in the 2020 budget.
If Tinubu would go by his predecessor, his administration may include a new wage for corp members in the 2024 budget.
NYSC authority hints at new allawee
Also, NYSC Director-General Brigadier General Y.D Ahmed hinted at the possibility of President Tinubu's administration including the corps members in the new minimum wage during his visit to the Ogun state NYSC orientation camp on July 6.
Ahmed addressed the 2,762 Batch 'B' Stream I corps members during his visit, commending their enthusiasm and encouraging them to embrace the camp's discipline and collectivism. He also hinted that they may benefit from the new minimum wage agreement if the National Assembly approves it.
Akpabio's comment on the new minimum wage
Although the president of the Nigerian Senate did not explicitly mention that corps members will be included in the new minimum wage, his comment suggested that the bill would be all-inclusive, a statement that may favour the NYSC corps members.
According to Akpabio, the new minimum wage applies to all employers, including those in small-scale and informal sectors, such as employers of domestic workers or tailors.
His statement reads:
“If you’re a tailor and you employ additional hands, you can’t pay the person below N70,000. If you have a housemaid, you cannot pay them below N70,000. If you hire a driver or a gateman, you cannot pay them below N70,000.”
Lawyer's react
Meanwhile, Barrister Oladotun Hassan, in an interview with legit.ng, posited that increasing the corps members' allowance is at the discretion of the president. He added that the NYSC members are not in the circle of the employed. He urged the president to increase their allowance.
He said:
"I considered the need for the federal government to equally ensure that for the NYSC level, they should also start to ensure that the corps members start to enjoy the N70,000 largess. It is very important to clarify that in as much as the corps members are not within the labour bracket, they are not fully employed under the civil service rule or under the NLC standard wages. They are only collecting an allowance, and allowance is different from wages and salaries."
Minimum wage: Labour announces plan to meet governors
Legit.ng earlier reported that organised labour has announced a plan to open negotiations with the governors to fast-track the implementation of the new minimum wage.
The NLC and TUC made this known shortly after the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the minimum wage bill into law.
President Bola Tinubu transmitted the bill to the national assembly on Tuesday, July 23, following his agreement with organised labour.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
