The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suggested that the new minimum wage in the country may be negotiated to a higher amount, possibly reaching N100,000 or even N200,000. This consideration comes in light of the rising cost of living in Nigeria.
Initially, both the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had planned a strike in response to the removal of fuel subsidies, but the strike was suspended following a late-night meeting with government authorities in Abuja.
NLC President Joe Ajaero clarified that the decision to postpone the strike was made to allow the government more time to fulfill its commitments as part of the agreement reached with organized labor. The NLC’s earlier demand had been for a minimum wage of N35,000.
“So, it is not a minimum wage but it is a wage added to the minimum wage. So, should we in March, April, or before that time negotiate the new wage to be N100,000 or N200,000, it would be inscribed as minimum wage law which should be the law in existence,” he said
on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Maintaining that the N35,000 wage award is not an addition to the country’s minimum wage of N30,000, the NLC chief said many factors would be considered in arriving at a new minimum wage.
“Certain things would come into play when we discuss it – inflation, cost of living. Every other thing would come into it,” he added. “We would not go to ask for N65,000. We would go for a realistic amount because N65,000 is about $70 which is not up to minimum wage.”
According to him, for a new minimum wage to take effect, the National Assembly will play a crucial role.
“The minimum wage is a product of law. Until it is legislated in the National Assembly, it is not a minimum wage,” Ajaero argued
