On Wednesday, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, criticized the salary increment recently sanctioned by the Federal Government, labeling it as deceptive.
Ajaero proposed that organized labor should advocate for a living wage of N615,000 for civil servants in Nigeria.
The Federal Government had endorsed salary increments of 25 percent and 35 percent for the remaining six consolidated salary structures.
However, Ajaero pointed out that the previous minimum wage of N30,000 expired on April 18.
Speaking on Channels Television, the NLC President remarked, “I think the recent announcement appears deceitful because there is no actual wage increase being announced by the government. To announce it now raises concerns for us at the NLC and even at the TUC. Also Read: May Day: Wike Assures Workers Their Welfare is Government’s Top Priority
A living wage should be sufficient to sustain basic needs. It should not push individuals further into poverty or compel them to borrow money just to commute to work. It should not result in frequent hospital visits due to malnutrition. That’s why we have advocated for a living wage of N615,000,” Ajaero explained.
He then detailed the breakdown of how they arrived at this figure. “We’ve allocated N40,000 for housing, N20,000 for electricity (though this figure may not suffice with the current tariff hike), N10,000 for utilities, and N25,000 to N35,000 for kerosene and gas. Daily food expenses for a family of six amount to N9,000, totaling N270,000 monthly. Medical expenses are estimated at N50,000, provided there are no major surgeries.”
For clothing, we’ve allocated N20,000, education N50,000, and sanitation N10,000,” he continued. “However, the largest portion of the budget goes to transportation, totaling N110,000, due to the high cost of fuel, especially for workers living on the outskirts.