Already, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have presented the new demand to the Government through a Joint Memorandum submitted to the Tripartite Committee on the Review of the National Minimum Wage.
The N66,500 new demand, according to the Memorandum was arrived at, based on three approaches and the result of an independent study carried out.
“Based on the three approaches, and the independent study result reported above, the two Labour centres demand for a new monthly National Minimum Wage of N66, 500, which is approximately the average of the implied minimum wages derived under the four approaches,” the Memorandum said.
The four approaches are: Minimum wage for some African countries; Analysis based on the minimum cost of providing basic needs; A living wage approach and Analysis based on rising cost of living.
Labour said it is no longer news that the current national minimum wage of N18, 000, which was approved in 2011, can no longer sustain the standard of living of an average Nigerian worker.
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It said: “It is barely enough to meet to meet basic needs in terms of feeding, paying for house rent, children’s school fees, transportation fare, medical bills, utility bills and occasionally catering for the extended family system in line with the country’s value system.
“Life indeed has become unbearable for an average worker of this country because of the quantum of the current national minimum wage vis-a-vis its usefulness in the market environment.
“Consequently, there is an urgent need to review upward the minimum wage of N18, 000 to meet the current economic realities and lift many workers out of the poverty trap. That step will go a long way to satisfy the International Labour Organization provision on minimum wage fixing.”
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