With over 130 per cent improvement over the last minimum wage of N30,000, the organised labour said despite biting inflation and weak purchasing power of the populace, the N70,000 new wage floor is an achievement it is proud of.

President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Festus Osifo, at a joint press briefing on the sideline of the just-concluded International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, argued that achieving a three-year renegotiation circle for the first time in history is equally satisfactory.

The NLC helmsman urged the Federal Government to tame the ravaging inflation for the N70,000 to make sense to workers, saying: “Now the question is can we check the inflationary trend so that the N70,000 will make sense to us?

“Arithmetically, N70,000 is higher than N30,000 by about 130 per cent. When considering a year’s review period, it is more advantageous.”Going memory lane, the NLC chief noted that the previous minimum wage of N18,000 and N30,000 also confronted biting inflation.

“In both instances, there was inflation, whether when it was N18,000 or even when it was N30,000. But the problem we have now is that the inflationary rate has not been put under check. Everybody in Nigeria knows this. The situation is further worsened by the devaluation of the naira.

In a further self-indulged adulation, Ajaero pointed at wage awards as a novel idea that both NLC and TUC secured as part of the wage negotiations. He added: “We achieved a wage award which is a new phenomenon in the labour circle. The wage award was a stopgap before the minimum wage was negotiated.

So, if we want to discuss the economy of Nigeria, we should examine it within a context. But in terms of negotiation, I think we have done what we were supposed to do.”

Providing an update on the level of compliance especially by state governments, TUC President, Osifo said the level of compliance has been impressive.
However, Osifo highlighted the haphazard implementation of the consequential adjustments that were not negotiated by some state governments. He added that state governors decided to top up the salaries of workers with pre-determined figures.

Osifo urged state councils and affiliates of both NLC and TUC to lead the battle for the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage.
He faulted reliance on the labour centres to lead the action against recalcitrant state governments.