The new minimum wage may be negotiated to N100,000 or N200,000 due to the rising cost of living, according to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
While the union and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had intended to strike on Tuesday as a result of the loss of fuel subsidies, they decided against it after meeting with government officials in Abuja late Monday.
However, according to NLC President Joe Ajaero, the move was made to give the government time to implement its share of the deal signed with organised labour, and that the N35,000 salary award – part of the government’s offerings – is not a new minimum wage, which he indicated might go as high as N200,000.
“So, it is not a minimum wage but it is a wage added to the minimum wage. So, should we in March, April, or before that time negotiate the new wage to be N100,000 or N200,000, it would be inscribed as minimum wage law which should be the law in existence,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
‘Realistic Amount’
Maintaining that the N35,000 wage award is not an addition to the country’s minimum wage of N30,000, the NLC chief said many factors would be considered in arriving at a new minimum wage.
“Certain things would come into play when we discuss it – inflation, cost of living. Every other thing would come into it,” he added. “We would not go to ask for N65,000. We would go for a realistic amount because N65,000 is about $70 which is not up to minimum wage.”
According to him, for a new minimum wage to take effect, the National Assembly will play a crucial role.
“The minimum wage is a product of law. Until it is legislated in the National Assembly, it is not a minimum wage,” Ajaero argued.