In its fight for a new minimum wage that it insisted would alleviate current economic pains of Nigerians, the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has again given a breakdown of how it arrived at a new figure of N615,000, explaining how the wage increase would revive the industrial sector.
The congress also gave reasons why the electricity sector might not improve anytime soon.
The demands for a new minimum wage came in the wake of the expiration of the old minimum wage on February 18, 2023, and the NLC’s unwavering position which it said would ensure that workers could keep pace with the rapidly escalating cost of living.
In his assessment of the situation, the President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, explained that: “Having watched the removal of fuel subsidy, it is obvious that things have changed a lot.”
He explained that the current minimum wage of N30,000 is grossly inadequate, unable to even cover the basic necessities for a family of four, let alone the rising costs of transportation, food, housing, education, and healthcare.
Ajaero’s calculations, painted a grim picture, with the average cost of living for a family of six estimated to be a staggering N270,000 per month, excluding expenses for communications, religious obligations, security, and social needs.
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“Look at even the value of the currency. If you check all these things, we can negotiate,” he emphasized, underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive review of the minimum wage.
“We were told that there would be more money after the removal of subsidy. And indeed, we have been told that the government has been making and saving trillions after the subsidy removal. But we haven’t seen the effect of the savings anywhere. And inflation is rising every day.
“You may wish to increase salaries based on the inflation rate. Once the rate of inflation goes up; you increase salaries; you adjust the wages.”
Speaking on the concerns raised by some that the recommended N615, 000 minimum wage would cause inflation to soar to unimaginable heights, Ajaero said: “Wage increase doesn’t cause inflation; it reduces inflation. It’s only when workers earn wages that production goes up. That’s when they buy food, shoes and all that. If they are not paid, those factories will go down. If they don’t have purchasing powers, those industries will suffer.
He contended that the NLC’s demand is not an arbitrary figure, rather a carefully considered response to the harsh realities being faced by workers in Nigeria.
Ajaero pointed out that the labour movement would not have asked for such a drastic increase before the removal of the fuel subsidy, but the subsequent surge in prices of essential commodities has left them with no choice.
“A bag of rice is now more than N70,000. How about bread? Don’t even go there. These are the things that necessitated the demand for N615,000,” Ajaero said.
He stated that the NLC’s position was further bolstered by the United Nations’ stance that no family could survive on less than two dollars per day. The current minimum wage, he said, could not provide a dignified standard of living.
“And if you take it from that angle, if you take a family of six, you are going to have 12 dollars. In 30 days, you will have 360 dollars.
“Then, you come to the issue of cost of living index. We gave the government a breakdown. We gave everyone in that family N500 per meal. One person will have N1,500 per meal in a day. The six people in the family will need about N270, 000 for feeding in a month.
“We look at about N40,000 per accommodation. We look at education, and we put N50,000 for that. We are not even talking about private schools.
“For medicals, no surgeries, no serious ailments, we put N50,000. For electricity, we put N20, 000. That was before the recent increase in electricity tariff. And you can’t determine the band where you are, so you don’t know how much you would be paying for electricity. We put cooking gas or kerosene. Most people refill gas twice in a month. You’re talking about N34,000 in a month.
“Then, we look at sanitation and put N10, 000. We didn’t put communication; we didn’t add money for religious obligations; we didn’t add security and social obligations. No luxurious living, no cable TV, no telephone, and so on,” Ajaero said.
He, however, assured that the NLC is willing to negotiate, only if the government addresses the underlying issues fueling the cost of living crisis.
He explained further: “We can shift grounds if those things are taken care of. But from what we’ve seen, from our demands, the issue of tax is not even there. By the time they remove taxes, the money will not even be enough. The worker will still be at a disadvantage.”
On the argument that the NLC’s demand for a radical minimum wage increase would not only be unrealistic, but would also contribute to further inflation in the country, Ajaero disagreed, contending that inflation has already risen alongside the prices of essential goods, while wages have remained stagnant. He noted that a wage increase would actually reduce inflation, as workers would have more purchasing power to stimulate production and keep industries afloat.
“We are being told it is not realistic. It will cause inflation. But the price of everything has gone up. The only thing that has not increased is the worker’s wage. Transportation went up, cost of gari went up, cost of rice went up, and cost of housing went up. The only thing that has remained constant is the wage.
“I think if we balance it up with real wage and cost of living, then we can negotiate along that line. That is the situation. If we are to make that demand afresh today, it will be higher. Things are not checked, and if things continue this way, in another month, one million naira would not be enough.
“Inflation is high in Nigeria. The value of the naira is down. Because of the uncertainties in the value of the naira, that is why we said the review period would not be more than two years.
“Before now, it has been five years. If you leave the economy the way it is today, without controlling these other variables, you can’t survive in the next five years.”
He also spoke on the pathetic power situation in the country. “The electricity sector will remain comatose.
You can’t command power into existence in Nigeria; you plan for it. There is no power plant that is being built in Nigeria at the moment. If you’re not building new power plants today, you won’t have any power plants working in two year’s time. So how are we going to have constant electricity supply?”