Global wages outgrowing inflation, says ILO
29 November 2024 |
5:37 am
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said global wages have been growing faster than inflation in recent times with emerging economies experiencing stronger growth than advanced economies.
‘Labour ministry not created to provide jobs’
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said global wages have been growing faster than inflation in recent times with emerging economies experiencing stronger growth than advanced economies.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, stated that the ministry was not established to provide jobs for Nigerians. This was as the Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Orientation, Sunday Dare, revealed that about 14 key reforms were underway with the ultimate goal of attaining economic growth.
A new ‘Global Wage Report 2024-25’ highlighting global wage trends and inequality, stated that in 2023, global real wages grew by 1.8 per cent, with projections reaching 2.7 per cent growth for 2024, the highest increase in more than 15 years.
The report found that such positive outcomes mark a notable recovery when compared to the negative global wage growth of -0.9 per cent observed in 2022 when high inflation rates outpaced nominal wage growth.
While advanced G20 economies registered a decline in real wages for two consecutive years (−2.8 per cent in 2022 and −0.5 per cent in 2023), real wage growth remained positive for both years in emerging G20 economies (1.8 per cent in 2022 and 6.0 per cent in 2023).
Welcoming the return to positive real wage growth, ILO Director-General, Gilbert Houngbo, however, said economies must not forget that millions of workers and their families continue to suffer from the cost-of-living crisis that eroded their living standards and that wage disparities between and within countries remain unacceptably high.
Houngbo said since the early 2000s, on average, wage inequality, which compares the wages of high and low-wage earners, decreased in many countries at an average rate that ranged from 0.5 to 1.7 per cent yearly, depending on the measure used.
He said the most significant decreases occurred among low-income countries where the average yearly decrease ranged from 3.2 to 9.6 per cent in the past two decades.
According to him, wage inequality is the highest in low-income countries, with close to 22 per cent of workers there classified as low-paid. Noting that women and wage workers in the informal economy were more likely to be among the lowest paid, he said the finding reinforces the need for targeted actions to close wage and employment gaps and ensure fair wages for all workers.
ILO economist and a co-author of the report, Giulia De Lazzari, called for national strategies to reduce inequalities that require strengthening wage policies and institutions.
She said it was equally important to design policies that promote productivity, decent work and the formalisation of the informal economy. By strengthening wage policies to reduce inequality, Lazzari said, there is also the need for targeted policies to foster inclusive economic growth, adding that reducing wage inequality requires both strong wage policies and structural support for equitable growth.
The study maintained that by addressing these challenges, countries could make real progress towards reducing wage gaps and promoting fair, sustainable economic growth for workers worldwide.
On key ILO recommendations, the study stressed the need for economies to set wages through social dialogue, taking an informed approach, promoting equality and equal opportunity of treatment and outcomes, using strong data, and addressing causes of low pay.
The labour minister, at the yearly conference of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in Abuja, yesterday, stressed that the provision of employment for youths was not the ministry’s responsibility. He, however, said that his ministry was mindful of Nigeria’s enormous youth population and the need to gainfully engage them.
According to the former minister of police affairs, the main task was to create an enabling environment and never to secure jobs for anybody.
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