By Chukwuma Umeorah
• President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero (5th left), Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, The Sun Publishing Limited, Onuoha Ukeh (4th left) with Editors of The Sun and officials of NLC, during visit to the newspaper’s city office in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Dele Onatade
President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Joe Ajaero, has said that organized labour may increase the minimum wage demand for N615,000 if the raging inflationary pressures, increased tariffs, taxes and rising cost of petrol and other economic challenges persist.
Ajaero made this assertion when he led a delegation from the NLC on a courtesy visit to the Ikeja office of The Sun Publishing Limited on Thursday.
His remarks came against the backdrop of ongoing discussions between labour unions and the federal government regarding a suitable wage structure reflective of prevailing economic realities. He raised concerns over the adverse effects of inflation on the purchasing power of Nigerian workers, falling short of adequately addressing the escalating cost of living.
According to him, “The current demand of N615,000 was reached before recent government reforms like the increase in electricity tariff, the introduction of cybersecurity taxes, and inflation which have been on an upward streak. Since the start of this administration, the cost of everything in the country has gone up, but the wage of workers remains the same.
“If we revisit the demands again, it might be more, and if things continue the way they are going, N1 million may not be enough,”, Ajaero explained.
He stated that the government needed to act fast to address inflation and other variables escalating the nation’s current economic challenges.
Ajaero explained that the N615,000 demanded was essentially an outcome of an independent research conducted by the NLC and TUC on the cost of meeting the primary needs of an average family around the country taking into consideration only essentials like feeding, clothing, healthcare, education while excluding non-essential like expenditure on calls and data, offerings in churches and mosques, community dues, entertainment, savings.
He expressed dismay at the government’s reluctance in the minimum wage discussions and their refusal to pay workers enough to sustain them while government officials continue to receive huge salaries alongside several allowances.
He however, revealed that the Federal government has issued a letter seeking the tripartite committee on the National minimum wage to reconvene next Wednesday, 15th May 2024. Ajaero reiterated the stance of Organized Labour, stating, “If negotiations are not concluded by the end of May, we may not be able to guarantee industrial peace in the country. The old minimum wage expired on the 18th of April and by now it is expected that a new regime of minimum wage ought to have started immediately, but as we speak today, there is no minimum wage law in existence in the country.”
While advocating for a substantial increase in the minimum wage, Ajaero stressed the imperative of balancing the interests of both workers and employers to ensure sustainable economic growth.
