The prevalence of unfriendly policies, high tax regimes and high costs of doing business are frustrating some private sector players from paying the N70,00 minimum wage, the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has said.

Speaking in Abuja, yesterday, at its employment summit, the Director General of NECA, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, insisted that most employers were paying above N70,000 even before the new wage became law.
His words: “One of the critical pillars of minimum wage is a sustainable economy and an economy that is thriving. If the economy is not thriving, businesses are not doing well, and the living wage becomes a mirage.

“We will not play the generalisation game. If there is a private sector player that is not paying, then let us name the company. So this generalisation of some people not paying, we think it is just an unnecessary distraction for us. While it is possible that some are not paying, and predominantly those that are out of our space, the reality remains that almost all the private sector organisations are paying.”

He stated that NECA would soon embark on a fact-finding mission to find out why organisations are not complying with the law.

He added: “So, the issue is that let us interrogate why some are not paying. The economy that this administration inherited was not business-friendly. We have more than 300 businesses that have closed shop. Is it somebody who is struggling to stay afloat that will prioritise salary payment? Businesses must survive first before the issue of salary payment can be discussed. For us as a body, we believe strongly in the concept of minimum wage. We were part of the committee that negotiated the N70,000 wage.”