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The clamour for a new minimum wage has become more strident following the rising cost of living in the country. Millions of Nigerians are daily grappling with the economic hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the exchange rates by the Tinubu administration. The high cost of living has made nonsense of the extant N30,000 minimum wage.
As a result of agitations by labour leaders for a new realistic minimum wage, President Bola Tinubu recently set up a 37-man tripartite committee to negotiate the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. The leader of the committee is the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji.
The six governors in the committee representing each of the six geo-political zones are Mohammed Bago (Niger), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Charles Soludo (Anambra), Ademola Adeleke (Osun) and Otu Bassey (Cross River). Other members of the committee include the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, and the Head of the Civil service of the Federation, Dr. (Mrs) Yemi Esan.
The demand for a new minimum wage has been a recurring issue in the country. From 1981 till date, the minimum wage has been increased for public sector employees six times. It increased from N1,500 in 1981 to N3000 per month in 1991. In 2000, the federal government implemented a new minimum wage of N18,000 per month, reflecting a 500 per cent increment from the previous minimum wage. The figure was revised two years later to N18,500 in 2013 after agitations by workers. The Buhari regime bowed to pressure in 2018 to review the minimum wage to N30, 000 to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality in the country.
In the face of the current economic reality, organised labour has made a case for a minimum wage of between N200,000 and N300,000 .
We urge members of the minimum wage review committee to come up with a realistic living wage for Nigerian workers. The poor value of the naira has impoverished the workers and indeed many Nigerians that even N60,000 per month will not be enough for the least paid worker in the country considering the rising cost of food items.
The committee and the labour unions must show understanding in arriving at an acceptable and payable new minimum wage for all workers. We say this because some states are yet to implement even the N30,000 minimum wage while a few states have surpassed it. With an acceptable and realistic minimum wage, the productivity of the workers will be substantially increased. It will also lessen the tendency to embark on strike by labour unions.
The committee should recommend a minimum wage that will meet the needs of the workers. In arriving at this figure, let the committee take into account the rising prices of goods and services in the country. The committee should also take into consideration the inflation rate in Nigeria to avoid another clamour for a new minimum wage shortly after.
Already, labour has kicked against the constitution of members of the committee set up by the federal government, which included some state governors who reneged in paying the existing minimum wage to their workers. Labour is afraid that their presence might derail the outcome of the deliberations. However, it is premature for labour to kick against the inclusion of some people in the minimum wage committee at this stage. The members of the committee should be allowed to do their work.
Aside from increasing the minimum wage, the government should strive to shore up the value of the naira. The unabated fall of the naira is a worrisome development. At the moment, the dollar exchange rate has surpassed N1,500 in the black market. This has continued to raise the cost of living for not only the workers but also other Nigerians. The recent call for a new minimum wage is partly informed by the unstable value of the naira compared to the dollar, pound and euro.
If the government increases the minimum wage and the naira continues its free fall, the purchasing power of the workers will be weakened. This may fuel another demand for a new minimum wage after the present exercise. Therefore, let the government put measures in place that will attract both local and foreign investors. The diversification of the economy through agriculture and manufacturing will boost our non-oil exports and shore up the value of the naira.
