Why Minimum Wage Should Be Reviewed Annually— NLC

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero has said that the national minimum wage should be reviewed annually to enable workers to cushion the negative impact of the economic hardship in the country.

Recall that the National Minimum Wage Act of 2019, Section 3(4) mandated that “the national minimum wage expires after five years and shall be reviewed in line with the provision of the Act.”

However, Section 7 of the act noted that “The Tripartite Committee shall have all the powers to make recommendations on the national minimum wage, more especially to exercise the powers of review given under section 3 (4) of this Act”.

Ajaero being a member of the tripartite committee on Friday revealed that part of the minimum wage negotiation would be the annual review of the wage against the initial five-year period of implementation.

According to him, the decision is based on the daily devaluation of the naira against the dollar, inflation surging to an all time high of 29.90 per cent since the inception of democracy, food insecurity and the uncontrolled hardship felt by Nigerians.

“If the naira continues to depreciate, N1m would be a child’s play to the minimum wage. As of today is above N1,500 per 1$. Why are we scared when we demand that workers be paid N1m when those in the national assembly are receiving over N15m, for jobs not commensurate to that of the workers?

“Why can’t a worker get N1m in a situation where you need a bag full of naira to get a handful of goods? Unless it is checked, the demand will have no end.

“The minimum wage, we are going to insist for the review to be annual, because if we decide on any amount, the value changes per hour and it will be illogical to sustain it for five years. These are the dynamics of the negotiations”, Ajaero noted.

He also urged the federal government to honour its October 2024 agreement, while noting that actions to compel them if it fails is already in motion.