Increase In Workers’ Productivity Is Key To New Minimum Wage Implementation – Rewane

The Chairman, Presidential Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC), Mr Bismarck Rewane, has said that if there is no increase in productivity, the value of increased wages will reduce to a point.

Rewane who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, explained that the point is to look for ways to improve workers productivity by providing investment opportunities for businesses to thrive.

He also stated that labour productivity in the last five years has been negative, which has led to an increase in the poverty index.

“In the past 5 years, labour productivity has been negative. Poverty is a function of productivity, even if I increase your salary if there is no increase in productivity, the value of your salary will reduce to a point.

“What we should be looking at is how to ensure that the Nigerian workers can be productive by providing new and existing investments; power, energy, petroleum, manufacturing, agriculture.”

He further explained that investments needed, can only come if the investors are certain that there will be returns.

“Investment comes about because people know that they will get a return in investment; the return is a function of pricing.

“The moment people know that the pricing is now business friendly and it makes sense, investments will come in and within months you will see the impacts and the trends will be there. Investments will go into power, refining of petroleum products, pipelines, airport concessions.”