The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has requested that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) be exempt from the new national minimum wage implementation alongside organized labor.
Ajayi-Kadir expressed appreciation for the President’s achievement and the promised support, stating: “We commend the President for this breakthrough and anticipate the promised assistance.
“In the private sector, we rely on the President’s promise that the federal government will help us meet the minimum wage agreed upon with labor.
“During the final stages of the tripartite negotiations, we highlighted the challenges facing businesses in the private sector and emphasized the need to address these issues to improve our capacity to pay the proposed minimum wage.
“We pointed out that these constraints could hinder our members from fully complying with the new minimum wage law once it is enacted.
“The expectation is that the President will promptly address these challenges, which will significantly aid in integrating the private sector into the new minimum wage agreement.”
In light of these concerns, Ajayi-Kadir detailed the demands from the Organized Private Sector (OPS):
– Exemption of SMEs and MSMEs from the new minimum wage due to their operational challenges.
– Central Bank redemptions of all validly transacted outstanding forex forwards for companies in the productive sector.
– Reversal or limitation of electricity tariff increases to 100% for a minimum of 20 hours of supply.
– Duty exemptions on imported conversion kits and government subsidies for their procurement.
– A freeze on the introduction of new taxes on businesses for the next five years.
– A fixed rate of N800 for import duty assessment on all production inputs.
President Tinubu recently approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers and pledged to review the national minimum wage law every three years. He also committed to finding ways to assist the private sector and local governments in meeting the new wage requirements.
