Why NLC May Demand N1 Million As Minimum Wage — Joe Ajaero

Labour considers N1m as new minimum wage for Nigerian workers “if the value of the Nigerian (naira) continues to depreciate.”

According to Nigeria Labour Congress President Joe Ajaero, if rising inflation is not reined in, organized labor may demand a minimum wage of up to N1 million for Nigerian workers.

According to Ajaero, the need for organized labor would be dictated by the rising cost of living that has resulted from President Bola Tinubu's policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies.

The Nigerian government was given a 14-day notice to strike by the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Thursday. According to a statement from the unions, they were incensed at the government for not carrying out a 16-point deal that was signed in October 2023 and intended to alleviate the “massive suffering” brought on by the increase in gas prices and depreciation of the naira—actions that were held responsible for the inflation and hardship that were getting worse.

Starting on Friday, February 9, 2024, the NLC and TUC gave the government a harsh ultimatum: honor your half of the bargain within 14 days.

During Sunday night's interview, Ajaero stated to Arise News, “This N1 million may be relevant if the value of the Nigerian (naira) continues to depreciate; if the inflation continues unchecked because the demand of labour is equally dependent on what is happening in the society.

“You will remember that by the time we were contemplating N200,000 (as minimum wage), the exchange rate was about N800/N900 (to a dollar). As we talk today, the exchange rate is about N1,400 or even more. Those are the issues that determine the demand and it is equally affecting the cost of living. And we have always said that our demand will be based on the cost of living index.”

“You will agree with me today that even a bag of rice is going for about N60,000/N70,000 or more. A bag of locally produced corn is about N56,000 or more. Foodstuff is getting out of reach, now are we going to get a minimum wage that will not be enough for transportation even for one week?

“You have to factor in these issues and that will determine the federal government's commitment to this negotiation. It is not just that they want to give us a minimum wage. The old minimum wage will be expiring by April and ordinarily, the federal government ought to have set up a committee six months before that time so that negotiation would have commenced but the federal government didn't do that until (recently when) they inaugurated a committee and the committee has not sat.

“It appears we have going to work within one month or two to agree on a figure and I doubt how those ones are going to... especially when you look at the people that the federal government assembled as members of the committee. They looked at some of the governors that are not paying even the existing minimum wage and even they have a minister of budget who didn't implement his minimum wage as a governor. If you have these people in the government team on the issue of minimum wage, some of us have not seen a bright future in the work of this new minimum wage committee,” he said.