Kwara State Government has inaugurated a 13-man Minimum Wage Implementation Committee for the state.
The committee has three weeks to work and give the government direction, with recommendations that would assist it to successfully implement the new minimum wage.
Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, represented Gov. Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq where he noted that the last time the wage was reviewed in the country was in 2011.
He said it was evident that a review was necessary despite the prevailing economic challenges.
AbdulRazaq charged members of the committee to be patriotic in handling the assignment and look at ways of domesticating the Minimum Wage Act not to have adverse effects on the developmental plans geared towards building and repositioning the economy of the state and also not erode the envisaged gains the workers crave.
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“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,” he said.
He called on the committee to identify new sources of revenue and take into cognisance 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.
The governor listed five terms of reference, which include the immediate and remote circumstance surrounding the agitation of the civil servants for the payment of N30,000.00 minimum wage in Kwara, the actual rate being paid presently.
Responding on behalf of the members of the committee, the Chairman and state Commissioner for Finance and Planning, Mrs. Florence Oyeyemi, appreciated the government for giving them the opportunity to serve, promising that they would work assiduously.
She said members of the committee were drawn from the government and various labour unions.
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