The Organised Labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has firmly rejected any proposal by the government to set the new minimum wage at N100,000.
They have called for a serious commitment to negotiations on workers’ wages, emphasizing that their demand for N615,000 is based on the bare minimum required for a decent living.
The labour unions walked out of the negotiation meeting last week when the government offered N48,000 as the new minimum wage. The Chairman of the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage, Alhaji Bukar Goni, has since invited the unions to a follow-up meeting, indicating that the government is willing to reconsider its position.
Speaking to Vanguard in Abuja, NLC Head of Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah, expressed the unions’ expectations. “Our expectations are that the government should be serious this time around. We expect them to take more seriously the issue of wages of workers,” Upah said.
Upah elaborated on why the labour unions might reject the N100,000 offer. “When we demanded N615,000, we broke that down using the barest minimum. For instance, we put accommodation at N40,000 and feeding at N500 per day for a family of six.
This estimate is very conservative. Since then, the government has hiked electricity tariffs by 250%, adding new costs. So, if the government is serious, it should not be thinking about N100,000.”
He added, “When you create poor citizens, you create a poorer country.”
Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, a member of the NLC delegation, echoed these sentiments, stating that N100,000 is insufficient to sustain a worker and their family. “I don’t think one hundred thousand naira is a kind of thing we want because it’s far below expectation. We will accept something that can at least keep somebody alive. In the private sector, even artisans are not taking one hundred thousand a month,” Ndubuaku said.
Ndubuaku stressed the need for a comprehensive review of the government’s financial capabilities. “The onus is on them to tell us why they cannot pay N615,000. If a father comes home and says the only money he has is one thousand naira but is seen spending lavishly elsewhere, the family will refuse it. The same logic applies here. The government must explain its spending priorities.”
He criticized the government’s spending patterns, highlighting recent budget allocations that he deemed unnecessary. “You want to build a coastal highway while existing roads are not passable, you budget trillions for new projects, and you want to spend billions on hajj subsidy and import vehicles for Customs instead of buying made-in-Nigeria cars. This shows they have money but don’t know what to do with it, except not feed their workers.”
The labour unions remain open to negotiation but demand transparency and a realistic assessment from the government. “We must discuss with them to ensure the figure presented is realistic and based on facts and statistics,” Ndubuaku said.
He concluded by emphasizing the unions’ careful calculations. “For provision of food for one person, we put N500, though the National Bureau of Statistics indicates an average of N900. We took the minimum to be realistic. We will insist that the government breakdown every item—food, hospital, accommodation, transportation. We don’t want anyone to say we presented arbitrary figures.”
As the negotiations continue, the Organised Labour insists on a fair wage that reflects the true cost of living in Nigeria.