The Organised Labour has revealed that it is pushing for an
annual increase to the N70,000 minimum wage paid to workers in Nigeria.
The president of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Festus Osifo
said this on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, stressing that
it is important that the minimum wage paid to workers reflect a rise in
inflation every year.
“What we are pushing on for Labour is that instead of you
(the government) waiting for five years to increase the minimum wage, you will
now look at the inflation of the last five years and try to make some
adjustments, why can’t we reflect the inflation on an annual basis,” he asked
According to him, members of the organisation, as well as
their colleagues in the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, have begun talks in that
regard.
“For example, we have entered January 2025, by the 15th of
January 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics is going to release the
inflation figure for December.
“So, what we are pushing for as Labour is that, if for
example, the inflation figure is 35%, apply that 35% to the N70,000 minimum
wage so that it will become reflective of what the true value is.
“When we get to 2026, you will also do a similar
application. That is actually what we are pushing. We shouldn’t be waiting for
five years.
“In the new Act now is three years to do those adjustments
but we could be doing them systemically by applying the inflation as of
December of the preceding year to what the minimum wage is.
“This is part of the position that we are also going to
canvass this year. We started the conversation last year but we will continue
it in 2025,” he explained.
DAILY POST recalls that in July 2024, after months of
protracted talks, the Federal Government and labour unions reached a consensus
figure of N70,000 minimum wage which was later approved by President Bola
Tinubu.
The increase came five years after the last review which was
pegged at N30,000.
However, with the astronomic rise in cost of living,
attributed to a more than quadruple hike in energy costs and petrol subsidy
removal, labour unions have argued that N70,000 cannot take any worker home and
thus demanded a decent living wage.
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