*New Minimum Wage Will Take Effect From May 1, 2024, FG Clarifies
*Tinubu Lauds Nigerian Workers
THE President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has picked holes in the recently announced Federal Government’s pay raise, describing it as a mischievous move.
Recall that on Tuesday, the Federal Government approved a pay rise of between 25 and 35 per cent for civil servants across various consolidated salary structures.
This is even as the Federal Government, on Wednesday, May 1, clarified that although the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage was yet to conclude its negotiations, workers would not lose anything, as the new minimum wage would take effect from May 1, 2024, not January 1,2024, as previously announced.
Speaking on a television programme on Wednesday, May 1, Ajaero said the last minimum wage of N30,000 expired on April 18, noting: “We should be in the regime of new minimum wage as of today. Discussions were supposed to have been concluded.
“The Federal Government, through the National Assembly, legislated on it, but we saw that the discussion entered voice mail, because the Federal Government refused to reconvene the meeting that was adjourned.
“I think the announcement now appears mischievous, because there is no wage increase that the government is announcing. For them to announce it now is an issue that we are worried about at the NLC and even at the TUC.”
Ajaero further stated that organised Labour has agreed on N615,000 as the living wage for civil servants, adding: “Living wage is such that will, at least, keep you alive; it is not a wage that will make you poorer and poorer.
“It is not a wage that will make you borrow to go to work. It is not a wage that will lead you to be in the hospital every day because of malnutrition.
“For that living wage, we have tried to look at N615,000.
“Let me give you a breakdown of how we arrived at that figure. We have housing and accommodation of N40,000. We asked for electricity of N20,000, of course, that was before the current tariff increase. Nobody can spend this amount currently. We have a utility that is about N10,000. We looked at kerosene and gas, which is about N25,000 to N35,000.
“We looked at food for a family of six, that is about N9,000 in a day. For 30 days, that is about N270,000. Look at medical, N50,000, provided there will be no surgery or whatever.
“For clothing, we looked at N20,000. For education, N50,000. I don’t know if those who tried to put their children in private school will be able to cope with this amount. We also have sanitation of N10,000.
“I think where we have another bulk of the money is transportation, because the workers stay on the fringes and because of the cost of PMS (petrol), which amounted to N110,000.
“That brought the whole living wage to N615,000, and I want anyone to subject this to further investigation and find out whether there will be any savings when you pay somebody on this rate.”
The Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, while addressing Nigerian workers at the May Day celebration in Abuja, on Wednesday, May 1, said it is regrettable that the new national minimum wage was not ready before the day, but that a wide consultation was ongoing to ensure that the document is out together as soon as possible.
The NLC and TUC had at various times called on the President Bola Tinubu administration to hasten the upward review of wage awards, with the organised Labour demanding N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers to cope with the many economic realities and high cost of living in the country.
The labour unions said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater for the wellbeing of an average Nigerian worker, lamenting that not all governors are even paying the current wage award, which expired on April 18, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed into law by then President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Act was to be reviewed every five years to meet up with contemporary economic demands of workers.
Meanwhile, Tinubu has lauded the contributions of workers in Nigeria to the growth of the country.
The President, who made the commendation in his address to the workers, as presented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, at an event to mark this year’s Workers’ Day in Abuja, said the Federal government was opened to receive the recommendations of the committee on the new national minimum wage.
He assured that the reform agenda of the current administration was geared towards the progress of Nigeria.
