It is quite possible that the minimum wage of the Nigerian worker may go as high as ₦1 million if the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) should have its way. Comrade Joe Ajaero, the president of the union has made this known in an interview.

Ever since last May when the petrol subsidy was removed, inflation has continued to rise unabated, therefore making household goods to be unaffordable. It is such a reality that would no doubt affect any request that the NLC makes when meeting with a federal government committee tasked with an imminent upward review.

A ₦30,000 initially proposed by the government in 2019 is expected to expire next month, so the union is looking forward to negotiating a new rate which would reflect the current state of the economy which seems to be struggling remarkably.

Mr Ajaero, speaking as a guest on the Arise TV ThisDay Live talk show with the host Dr Reuben Abati, on Sunday 11 February, painted a picture of what was at stake.

This ₦1 million may be relevant if the value of the Nigerian (naira) continues to depreciate, says the unionist who sees a graver situation that is more difficult than ₦200,000 that was previously anticipated the last time the union met with the government last year.

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He said to the host that by the time we were contemplating ₦200,000, the exchange rate was about ₦800/₦900. As we talk today, the exchange rate is about ₦1,400 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 ₦60,000/₦70,000 or more.

A bag of locally produced corn is about ₦56,000 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?

This question has already prompted an NLC and Trade Union Council 14-day strike warning to the federal government over agreements that are currently going unmet.

According to a previously released statement, the warning would have started to read from Friday, 9 February, within which timeline, the concerned authority is supposed to take action.

Meaningful action, based on NLC’s terms means that the federal government should quickly implement a 15-point pact it entered with the union. Part of the agreement covers a ₦35,000 minimum, which has so far been paid only once.

There were also value-added tax relief promised, but the union says there is no evidence that most of the promises made last October had been fulfilled.

Even though things are so rough, other independent groups like the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) want the labour union to exercise more patience, but there does not seem to be much of it left.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.