Workers have demanded a minimum wage of N436,500, or $300, as part of their negotiations for a new national minimum wage in Nigeria.
This was revealed by Comrade Benjamin Anthony, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress at the Joint Meeting of the National Public Service Negotiating Council, on Tuesday.
Anthony, while speaking at the 2023 meetings of the Separate and Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council in Goshen City, Nasarawa State, said that the current minimum wage of N30,000 was no longer sufficient to meet the basic needs of workers, as the country faced high inflation and currency devaluation.
He blamed the government for removing fuel subsidies and allowing the exchange rate to soar, which he said had increased the cost of living for millions of Nigerians. He also lamented the delays in salary payments by the federal government, which he said had caused hardship and frustration for workers.
He argued that a minimum wage of $300 was justified, as it would reflect the purchasing power of the currency. He said that N100,000 could barely buy a leather bag of items in the market, whereas it could buy much more a few years ago.
He urged the government to pay the arrears of the previous wage award and to speed up the process of setting a new living wage that would improve the living standards of workers.
