On Wednesday, the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress withdrew from minimum wage negotiations following the Federal Government’s proposal of ₦48,000. This offer fell significantly short of the unions’ demand of ₦615,000 for the new national minimum wage.
This was the second time in two weeks that the negotiation had run into trouble. The last session, held on April 29, deadlocked after organised labour insisted on ₦615,000 minimum wage.
The Federal Government disagreed with labour’s demand, which it deemed unreasonable.
However, the National President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, explained that the amount was arrived at after analysing the current economic situation and the needs of an average Nigerian family of six.
Rationalizing the ₦615,000 demand, the labour leader stated, “Living wage is such that will, at least, keep you alive. It is not a wage that will make you poorer and poorer. It is not a wage that will make you borrow to go to work. It is not a wage that will lead you to be in the hospital every day because of malnutrition. For that living wage, we have tried to look at ₦615,000.
“Let me give you a breakdown of how we arrived at that figure. We have housing and accommodation of ₦40,000. We asked for electricity of ₦20,000 — of course, that was before the current tariff increase. Nobody can spend this amount currently. We have a utility that is about ₦10,000. We looked at kerosene and gas, that is about ₦25,000 to ₦35,000.
“We looked at food for a family of six. That is about ₦9,000 in a day. For 30 days, that is about ₦270,000. Look at medical. With the ₦50,000 provided, there will be no surgery or whatever.
“For clothing, we looked at ₦20,000. For education, ₦50,000. I don’t know about those who tried to put their children in private schools, they will not be able to cope with this amount. We also have sanitation of ₦10,000.
“I think where we have another bulk of the money is transportation. This is because the workers stay on the fringes and because of the cost of petrol, which amounted to ₦110,000.
“That brought the whole living wage to ₦615,000, and I want anyone to subject this to further investigation and find out whether there will be any savings when you pay somebody at this rate,’’ the NLC president explained.
However, during a press conference held in Abuja on Wednesday, the NLC President revealed that, contrary to the Federal Government’s ₦48,000 offer, the organized private sector had initially proposed an offer of ₦54,000.
He blamed the government and the OPS for the breakdown in negotiation, saying, “Despite earnest efforts to reach an equitable agreement, the less than reasonable action of the government and the organised private sector has led to a breakdown in negotiations.”
He further said, “The Government’s proposal of a paltry ₦48,000 as the minimum wage not only insults the sensibilities of Nigerian workers but also falls significantly short of meeting our needs and aspirations.
“Though it is worth noting that even the least paid workers in the private sector receive ₦78,000 as clearly stated by the OPS, highlighting the stark disparity between the proposed minimum wage and prevailing standards further demonstrating the unwillingness of employers and the government to faithfully negotiate a fair national minimum wage for workers in Nigeria.’’
He accused the government of failing to provide data to support its offer, noting that this undermined the credibility of the negotiation.
“Furthermore, the government’s failure to provide substantiated data to support their offer exacerbates the situation. This lack of transparency and good faith undermines the credibility of the negotiation process and erodes trust between the parties involved.
“As representatives of Nigerian workers, we cannot in good conscience accept a wage proposal that would result in a reduction in income for federal-level workers who are already receiving ₦30,000 as mandated by law, augmented by Buhari’s (former President Muhammadu Buhari) 40 per cent peculiar allowance (₦12,000) and the ₦35,000 wage award, totalling ₦77,000 only.
“Such a regressive step would undermine the economic well-being of workers and their families and is unacceptable in a national minimum wage fixing process,” he said.
