From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has explained why it is demanding N615,000 as the national minimum wage for workers in the country.
A statement by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, yesterday, provided a breakdown, consisting of the cost of basic needs like housing, power, utilities, medical and food among others.
According to him, housing/accommodation costs 40,000, electricity/power 20,000, utility water 10,000, kerosene/gas 35,000 and food 270,000 (9,000 per day for 30 days), medical 50,000, clothing 20,000, education 50,000, sanitation 10,000, and transportation 110,000, resulting in a total of N615,000.
The statement read: “It has become imperative at this point that we inform Nigerians who may not have known already the foundations upon which our initial demand for a N615,000 new National Minimum Wage is based upon.
“The figure was a product of a painstaking effort through which we captured the cost of living of Nigerian workers and masses in all parts of the country. It was essentially an outcome of an independent research conducted by the NLC and the TUC on the cost of meeting the primary needs of an average family around the country. Our research was based on a family with both parents alive and four children without the burden of having other dependents with them.
“A questionnaire was designed and sent to all the state councils of the NLC and the TUC from where these questionnaires were sent to our members in all the local government areas in the country to gather the monthly cost of living for the average family as described above. Below is a summary of our findings and we hope that this will enable Nigerians understand what propels our demand so that better clarity is made to create better engagement around the ongoing national minimum wage negotiation process.
“A cursory look at the table above shows that we have deliberately removed certain elements from the basket used in calculations of this nature. However, it should also be noted that we have not included things like expenditures on calls and data, offerings in churches and mosques, community dues, entertainment, savings and security among others. These are, therefore, just for the bare necessities.
“It should be noted that we arrived at this figure before the increase in electricity tariff, and the recent scarcity of petrol across the nation, leading to the appearance of long queues, with attendant increased transport fares. Any figure below this amount becomes a starvation wage and condemns Nigerian workers and their families to perpetual poverty.
“We have to remember that the old one having expired on April 18, 2024, a new one is expected to have come into effect on April 19, 2024. However, because of government’s inability to comply with the law that demanded for negotiations for a new national minimum wage to have begun six months before the expiration of the existing one, concluding the new one has become unfortunately delayed.
“We are sure that our social partners would see our demonstration of understanding, sacrifice and reasonableness in our demands, thus accept this figure without much delay. We also enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to implore the government and employers to meet our demands for the sake of justice, equity and national development.”