Nigeria’s plan to increase the national minimum wage appears stalled as the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, rejected the latest proposal from the Federal Government. This throws the negotiations into further disarray as a 31st May deadline for a new minimum wage looms.
The Federal Government, represented by the tripartite committee on minimum wage, proposed raising the minimum wage to N60,000 on Tuesday. This represents a N3,000 increase from their previous offer of N57,000.
However, the NLC, which represents Nigerian workers, called the proposal “inadequate” and demanded a significantly higher minimum wage.
“N60,000 simply does not reflect the current economic realities faced by Nigerian workers,” said NLC spokesperson Ben Ukpa. “The rising cost of living makes this offer unacceptable. We maintain our demand of N494,000.”
This significant gap between the two proposals has created an impasse in negotiations. The NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, another major labour union, have threatened nationwide strikes if a fair minimum wage is not agreed upon by the deadline.
The current minimum wage in Nigeria is N30,000, set in 2019. The labour and trade unions argue that this amount no longer provides a living wage due to inflation and rising living costs.
“We need an agreement that will genuinely reflect the true value of Nigerian workers’ contributions to the nation’s development and the current crisis of survival facing Nigerians as a result of the government’s policies,” NLC maintained.
With the deadline approaching with only a few hours, it remains to be seen if a compromise can be reached to avert the looming strike action.
Ezinwanne Onwuka, senior staff reporter and columnist with WAP is a Nigerian-based writer and content developer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her interests include reading, writing, researching and graphic designing.
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