The South-East chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have proposed N540,000 and N447,000, respectively, as new minimum wages for Nigerian workers.
The organised labour of NLC and TUC made the proposal during the South-East Zonal Hearing organised by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage on Thursday in Enugu.
Speaking on behalf of the NLC in the Southeast, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, the Chairman, NLC Enugu State Chapter, noted that the value of the N30,000 minimum wage in 2019 had been eroded by inflation.
According to him, if you consider what is going on in the country today, one won’t be talking about the minimum wage anymore.
Nwagbo described the situation as very “unfortunate,” saying that if one compared the minimum wages being paid in West African countries, Nigerian workers were the least paid.
“For us, we want to propose based on the prices of commodities in Nigeria. In 2019, when we had a minimum wage of N30, 000, a paint bucket of garri was N280, rice and beans were about N450 each, and fuel was N145.
“This has continued to subsist till today, where a litre of fuel is now N750 to N800, depending on the location.
“In the current state, a paint bucket of rice is over N4000 and garri N2,500.
“While two-bedroom flats in Enugu that used to be N250, 000–N300,000 are over N650,000 in the suburb, in the city they stand at N1.2 million a year.
“Everything is moving up except salaries paid to civil servants.
“We are praying for the leadership of this country to consider the pains and sufferings of the Nigerian workers and citizens and give us something that is close to what we can use to survive,” he appealed.
Giving a breakdown of the proposal, the chairman added that a family of six with daily feedings of N2000 each would have N12,000, and in 30 days it would be N360,000.
“We have also put hospital bills at N20,000, education at N40,000, utility at N10,000, clothing at N30,000, social engagement at N10,000 per month.
“If you put them together, you have N540,000, which will do a little good for the workers of Nigeria, and so we are proposing N540,000 as the new minimum wage for civil servants, he said.
He called for a review of the minimum wage law every two years, saying that the issue of five years was no longer fashionable, as well as leaving the minimum wage on an exclusive list.
The labour leader, however, called for the impeachment of any governor who failed to implement the new minimum as well as the extension of the wage to the pensioners whom he said put in their active lives in service.
“Once it is approved, every governor and council chairman should start paying it across the board. The issue of workers going to negotiate with their state governors should not arise,” he said.
In his submission, Comrade Ben Asogwa, Chairman, TUC Enugu Chapter, said that the zone aligned with the N447,000 proposed by the TUC national leadership.
“It is small compared to what Nigerian workers expect, but we are concerned about its implementation if more is requested, given the economic factors and indices. Any governor who refuses to pay should leave office,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Tommy Etim, Chairman of the event and Deputy National President of TUC, said it was a mark of honour for them to have engaged in a sensitive assignment on the national minimum wage.
Etim, however, expressed displeasure at the absence of representatives of civil societies, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, and others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that none of the governors or their representatives from the zone attended the hearing, including Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra, who is the chairman of the event and a member of the Tripartite Committee. (NAN)
