The organised labour has proposed a minimum wage of $300 (N436,500) for Nigerian workers ahead of fresh negotiations with the Federal Government.
Chairman, Trade Union Side, Comrade Benjamin Anthony made this proposal at the 2023 meetings of the Separate and Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) in Goshen City, Nasarawa State, on Tuesday.
The union argued that the current minimum wage of N30,000 has since been eroded by the high exchange rate coupled with the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy which has translated into the high cost of living in the country, hence the demand for a new wage.
Anthony, who was represented by the Secretary of the Union, Comrade Boma Mohammed, also frowned at the recent delays in the payment of salaries by the Federal Government to workers, saying the trend must be stopped and avert the repeat of such things as the suffering in the land, which is already unbearable.
He said; “In light of the above, Labour has proposed a Living Wage of $300 (N436,500) for Nigerian Workers. This is due to the fall in the value of our currency, today if you carry N100,000 to the market you will come back with a leather bag of items.
“We call on Government to immediately pay the arrears of the N35,000 wage award along with the current and expedited action on the process of getting a new living wage to bring succour to the working class people”.
Meanwhile, this is also as the Nigerian Labour Congress said that the N200,000 minimum wage it earlier proposed was no longer realistic.
National Vice President, Tommy Etim said the congress would base its national minimum wage negotiation on the current economic reality.
He said, “You are aware that when we opted for the N200,000, the socio-economic challenges were not as biting as they are now. And when you now look at the exchange rate, it was not what it is now. The naira rate not been devalued as it is now. So, N200,000 is no longer tenable.”
