The organised private sector in Ekiti, Sokoto, and other states has faulted the demand by the Nigeria Labour Congress for N1m minimum wage.
The reaction follows comments by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, that organised Labour might ask for N1m during the minimum wage negotiations with the Federal Government if the value of the naira continued to plummet.
Reacting to the proposal, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, said the Federal Government would make a reasonable decision in line with national interest and after due consideration of available resources and other factors.
In the past months, the costs of goods and services had skyrocketed following the removal of the fuel subsidy while the value of the naira had continued to fall due to the forex crisis.
The NLC and Trade Union Congress had earlier pegged their minimum wage demand at N200, 000 but the NLC president in his Monday interview argued that the food inflation and high cost of living had made their previous demand unrealistic.
When asked if the unions’ demand for a living wage could be as high as N1m, Ajaero said, “This N1 million may be relevant if the value of the naira continues to depreciate; if the inflation continues. The demand of Labour is equally dependent on what is happening in society.
“You will remember that by the time we were contemplating N200,000, the exchange rate was about N900. As we talk today, the exchange rate is about N1,400 or even more.
“Those are the issues that determine the demand and it is equally affecting the cost of living and we have always said that our demand will be based on the cost of living index.’’
The Federal Government has since constituted a 37-man Committee saddled with the responsibility of pegging the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
