FG Commends Zara Stores MD For Compliance With N70,000 Minimum Wage Policy
The Federal Government has commended Chief Akai Egwuonwu, an industrialist based in Anambra for complying with the new national minimum wage for his employees numbering about 2,000.
Mrs Benedene Oji-Ogbuehi, State Controller Federal Ministry of Labour in Anambra presented the commendation letter to Egwuonwu in his Awka office on Thursday.
Egwuonwu is the Managing Director of Stine Rice Mill and Zara Departmental Stores among others.
Oji-Ogbuehi said the recognition was in appreciation of his efforts to enhance the welfare of his workers and to encourage others to follow suit.
She said part of the office’s duty wax to ensure compliance to the minimum wage policy and that it was necessary to commend him for leading the way to private sector compliance in Anambra.
The letter read in part, to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Anambra commends you for being the first in the private sectors to implement the
National Minimum Wage for your workers, despite the economic situation of Nigeria”.
She said apart from meeting the new minimum wage policy, the Industrialist had demonstrated love for humanity by considering the wellbeing of his staff.
In his response, Egwuonwu said the need to increase the wage if workers has become imperative given the increasing cost of living and falling purchasing power.
He said N70,000 was a far cry from what is needed to meet basic existential needs of the average worker in the current economy and called on businesses to endeavour to give their workers minimum comfort.
Egwuonwu called in Federal Government to provide better operating environment to enable business survive.
“This was borne out of necessity, the N70,000 is actually not enough for anybody to live on in current Nigeria, a plate of food is N1,500, bag of rice is N92,000, they must look good and survive well and for them to meet these needs, I think the minimum should be N150,000 per month.
“Doing business in Nigeria today is not easy, we expect the government to provide an enabling environment for us, we need cheaper energy, good roads for lesser fuel for cheaper transportation as well as tax holidays.