Minimum wage: Lagos NLC proposes N794,000; TUC N447,000

The Lagos State Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Funmi Sessi, on Thursday proposed N794,000 as minimum wage for the average Nigerian worker.

She made the declaration during the South-West Zonal Public Hearing on the National Minimum Wage held in Lagos.

The hearing, organised by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, was one of the six held simultaneously across the six geo-political zones of the country.

According to her, it is expedient to consider the current cost of living in Nigeria when determining the Wage.

“The cost of essential services such as food, housing, transportation, healthcare, education has risen tremendously.

“It has risen astronomically, making most of these services and goods out of the reach of the workers presently.

“A quick analysis on the cost of living for a family of six include food: with the increase in cost of food items, each person will have to spend about N1,000 each on breakfast, lunch and dinner,” she said.

Sessi urged the Federal Government to live up to its responsibilities by bequeathing a decent, befitting and a living wage to its workers.

She said that such would restore the pride and glory of the country, back to the comity of countries that pay a decent wage to its workforce.

“By this, government will be able to retain its best brains and reduce attrition or “Japa Syndrome”, which has caused negative publicity for the country,” she said.

TUC makes demand

Also, the State Chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Gbenga Ekundayo, demanded N447,000 per month as minimum wage for workers.

Mr Ekundayo said that this would give Nigerian workers a minimum level of comfort that would enable them to cope with the current economic hardship.

According to him, the hardship in the country has turned many workers into beggars.

“This minimum wage is required to narrow the widening gap of poverty among the employed and mitigate the erosion of living standards of Nigerian workers,” he said

Other dtakeholders said workers in the country deserved a living wage set at a level that was fair and commensurate with the economic realities.

Speaking, the Director-General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Mr Issa Aremu, lauded the hearing, saying it turned out to be successful.

Aremu also commended the level of mobilisation of NLC and TUC; employers association, manufacturers, as they discussed the need to have a good outcome from the negotiation.

According to him, it shows that if organised labour, government and employers of labour come together, they get better results.

“I am excited that the culture of social dialogue has come to stay, and that we should carry that spirit, so that very soon, we will resolve it without unnecessary strike and lock out on the part of the government.

“My advice to the government as well as organised labour is that, let them replace unnecessary suspicion, mistrust, “diatribes” with dialogue, and when they do that, we can have the kind of result we have today,” he said.

Edun speaks

Earlier, the Chairman of the South-West Public Hearing, Wale Edun, said pensioners should also be included in the process of negotiation.

Mr Edun is the Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister of Economy.

“They should be part of the conversation and we can only appeal that in this whole process, those who have worked diligently and retired honourably should be looked after, taken into account.

“They should not be left behind, forgotten; let us remember, in all these process, our pensioners,” he said.

While delivering his speech, he said the hearing, which was inclusive, underscored the committee’s commitment to transparency, fairness, and democratic ideals that govern the nation.

FCT too

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT chapter, has proposed N709,000 as new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

The NLC FCT Chairman, Stephen Knabayi, made the submission at the North Central Zonal Public Hearing organised by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage on Thursday in Abuja.

In the North Central zone, no fewer than 15 organisations met and presented their submissions to the council.

Knabayi, while making the submission, said the Congress took cognisance of the present economic conditions in the country in arriving at the figure.

According to him, the sum proposed will help cushion the effects of the economic challenges and ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians.

“We have a common position. This position considers the current economic plight in the country.

“We have the submission that N709,000 per month should be the minimum wage for the workers in the country.

“We believe that Nigeria has what it takes, the leadership should commit themselves to getting this money paid and for us to have better treatment for the working people of Nigeria,” he said.

The Trade Union Congress(TUC), FCT chapter, making its submission at the public hearing, proposed N447,000 as the new minimum wage.

Mr Amaege Chukwudi,who represented the  TUC chapter,  said: “This will give Nigerian workers a minimum level of comfort and enable them to cope with the current level of economic hardship, which has turned the majority of them to beggars.

“So for us in the FCT, we expect the minimum wage to run across the three tiers of government “he said

Chukwudi appealed for policy reform that would engender massive food supply in the country.

He urged the Federal Government to provide buses to ease movement of workers , fix refineries, and ensure stable electricity supply, among other recommendations.

Speaking, Prof. Mohammad Mohammed, of the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria, said the minimum wage for workers should be N440,333.33.

The professor also appealed that a consequential adjustment should be included in the approved minimum wage for workers.

Representatives of the Forum of Retired Directors of Federal Civil Service proposed N70,000 minimum wage for workers at the hearing.

They also appealed for a review of pension allowance as stipulated in Nigerian law.

Speaking, Chairman of the Zonal Committee, Festus Osifo, said the committee would make recommendations for effective and full implementation of the new minimum wage, once approved and signed into law.

“We will try to put in place very strong sanction and punitive measures to ensure that once passed into law, it is implemented across the states”, he said.

The hearing was well attended by government representatives and stakeholders, both from the public and private sector.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria