The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has demanded a living wage of ₦615,000 from the federal government for Nigerian workers.
Ajaero made the demand on Wednesday, May 1, during an interview appearance on Channels TV.
Rejecting Government’s Salary Increase Proposal
Ajaero also rejected the salary increase of between 25 percent and 35 percent for civil servants across various consolidated salary structures as announced by the government on Tuesday. According to the NLC President, the increase in salary announced by the government is a “mischievous step,” adding that what workers need is a new minimum wage because the old minimum wage had expired since April 18.
Accusing Government of Killing Minimum Wage Negotiations
Ajaero accused the government of killing negotiations on the new minimum wage by refusing to reconvene the meeting of the negotiating committee after it was adjourned. He said, “We should be in the regime of new minimum wage as of today. Discussions were supposed to have been concluded.”
Breakdown of the ₦615,000 Living Wage Demand
Ajaero explained that the ₦615,000 living wage demand was arrived at after evaluating several factors such as electricity, fuel, transport, housing, and feeding. He provided a detailed breakdown of the components of the living wage, including:
Housing and accommodation: ₦40,000
Electricity: ₦20,000
Utilities: ₦10,000
Kerosene and gas: ₦25,000 to ₦35,000
Food for a family of six: ₦270,000
Medical: ₦50,000
Clothing: ₦20,000
Education: ₦50,000
Sanitation: ₦10,000
Transportation: ₦110,000
Ajaero challenged anyone to subject the ₦615,000 living wage demand to further investigation and find out whether there would be any savings when paying workers at that rate.
