The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is pushing for a review of the country’s ₦70,000 national minimum wage, arguing that the figure is no longer enough for workers to survive on due to rampant inflation.
The acting General Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, told journalists in Abuja on Sunday that the rising costs of food, transportation, and housing have made the current wage unsustainable.
“The truth is that ₦70,000 is not sustainable under the present economic situation,” Upah stated. “Workers are under immense pressure, and unless the government responds quickly, the crisis of survival will only worsen.”
He confirmed that the labour union is already in negotiations with the Federal Government on the matter and warned that they would not hesitate to call a strike if discussions fail.
Echoing this sentiment, the President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Mohammed, said that during earlier negotiations, their proposed figure was ₦250,000, which they consider a “living wage.”
“Right from the beginning, during the negotiation, our demand was for a living wage, and we submitted ₦250,000 as a reasonable benchmark,” Mohammed explained. “We told the government that anything short of that, only takes a worker to the gate of the office, not back home.”
He added that with soaring electricity tariffs, transportation, and food prices, the ₦70,000 minimum wage has quickly lost its value. Mohammed also commended some state governors who have been paying more than the benchmark, urging the federal government to follow suit.
The call for a review comes just months after President Bola Tinubu signed the new National Minimum Wage Bill into law in July 2024, which increased the minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
