If the Labour Party wins the presidential election next year, it plans to implement a N80,000-N100,000 minimum wage.
A few days ago, the Labour Party unveiled its manifesto after a long wait with its presidential candidate Peter Obi touting the payment of hourly wages as against the current monthly format in the country.
On Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, the party’s Deputy National Chairman, Ayo Olorunfemi, stated that the LP is considering implementing a new minimum wage of between N80,000 and N100,000, as opposed to the current N30,000.
“It depends on the nature of the job that would be given out. For instance, when you take a cursory look at the manual labourer out there, he does not take less than N2,500-N3,000 per day which is still not okay as far as the reward system is concerned. If you divide N3,000 by six hours, you will be talking about N500 per hour,” he said on the show.
“So, when you benchmark that against what we have now, certainly, you would be talking of something within the range of N500-N1,000 per hour depending on the nature of work, and at the end of the day, someone can effectively say that he can make up to N4,000 in a day. And when you multiply N4,000 in a day by 20 or 25, we are talking about N80,000 or N100,000 in a month.”
When asked to further clarify his comment, the LP chieftain maintained that the party is eyeing “N80,000-N100,000” as a new monthly minimum wage, noting that “that is exactly where we are going!”
As far as he is concerned, the present N30,000 minimum wage does not reflect the realities, saying the Labour Party would pluck holes and exploit new ways to ensure the new wage structure is implemented if the party wins next year’s polls.
“As a matter of fact, you know the amount of oil in the name of oil theft that has been leaving this country,” Mr Olorufemi added. “We know where these things are coming from. They say there is no money but we know these monies have been stashed in the rooms or toilets of a few persons.”