Di Nigerian goment dey propose to add N18,000 to di current N30,000 national minimum wage, making it N48,000 for di new minimum wage, according to di leadership of di organised labour.
But dis na a far cry from di N615,000 wey di labour unions for Nigeria bin don present to goment as wetin dem believe suppose be di new minimum wage, a proposal di goment also describe as unrealistic.
Di national President of di Trade Union Congress, Festus Usifo, tok say N48,000 dey even lower dan wetin di least earning federal worker dey currently earn.
Remember say President Bola Tinubu bin announce a N35,000 wage award to federal workers from October 2023 until a new minimum wage go start. E mean say di least personnel for di Nigeria civil service dey currently earn at least N65,000 monthly.
“Di goment proposal of a small N48,000 as di minimum wage na insult to di sensibilities of Nigerian workers and e also fall short of meeting our needs and aspirations,” di NLC and TUC tok for a joint statement on Wednesday.
Goment authorities neva make any comment yet about dis recent development.
“As at wen we bin negotiate N18,000 for 2011, di money fit buy two bags of rice. Wen we bin negotiate di N30,000 for 2019, e fit buy at least one and half bags of rice. Today, N48,000 no go fit buy one bag of rice, so how pesin fit survive on dat amount?” Usifo tok for TV interview on Wednesday.
Comparing old and di proposed new minimum wage
A brief comparison of some economic indicators for 2019, wen di last national minimum wage bin dey reviewed, and now, show say big difference dey.
For instance, di inflation rate for Nigeria by December 2019 na 11.98%, while inflation currently dey at 33.69% as at April 2024.
Similarly, di official exchange rate for 2019 na N306 and N360 to $1 for di official and parallel market respectively, while as at dis Thursday, di exchange rate na more dan N1,501 to one USD.
Di average cost for transport within di city for 2019 na N198, but for 2024, na N969. For inter city transportation, di average cost now na N7,152, up from N1,666 for 2019.
For 2019, di price of a 50kg bag of rice na between N20,000 and N25,000, depending on whether you dey buy local or foreign rice. Di same 50kg of rice now dey between N62,000 and N80,000.
Yams wey bin dey sell for about N200 per 1kg tuber, now dey go for an average N1,000 as at February 2024.
All di above figures na according to data from di Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
Nigerians react
Nigerians on social media also criticise di proposed N48,000 minimum wage saying e no reflect di realities of di day.
Plenty pipo don dey share dia opinions on social media, and some of dem even put a sum wey dem tink suppose be di new minimum wage.
Aby Ayaan, wey im handle for X na @bb_khamees tok say: “48,000 minimum wage, no fit buy a bag of rice, e no fit buy full tank (of petrol), e no fit pay rent, e no fit buy used motorcycle, e no fit pay school fees, e no fit last for a month, e no fit pay dowry, Nigerians just dey manage life, no be enjoying.”
Abdulaziz Abubakar add for im own post say make organised labour no gree accept anything less dan N150,000 as monthly minimum wage.
Di NLC and di TUC don give di federal goment until di end of May 2024 to conclude negotiations and announce a new national minimum wage, if not, dem no go get any oda choice but to go on industrial action.