RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES TO WAGES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NIGERIA AND UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

The right of employee to earn wages in every employment relations cannot be overemphasized. Wage or remuneration is the motivating factor for the contract of employment. Wage is what the employee gets from the employer in exchange of his labour. When an employee is well remunerated there is a tendency that the employee will be encouraged to optimally perform and vice versa. The right of employees to earn wage is a global phenomenon as a good wage is the driving force for industrial peace and harmony in any employment relationship. The question is whether the Nigeria worker has a right to earn wages. This work conducts an appraisal of the right of employee to wages in Nigeria in comparative analysis with United Kingdom. From the analytical survey of the available literature, it became crystal clear that there are legal frameworks embodying the right of employees to wages in Nigeria, but these legal frameworks does not adequately protect the rights of employees to wages in Nigeria when compared with other jurisdiction. This is the reason why there is mass exodus of Nigerian professional to other countries of the world. This paper contends that there is an urgent need to amend the current legislations on the right of employees to wages in Nigeria to bring employees in Nigeria at per with its counterparts in other jurisdictions on the right to wages especially living wage.