Labour Union explains why it’s demanding N400,000 per month as new minimum wage

The labour union has proposed a minimum wage of $300 (N436,500) for Nigerian workers ahead of negotiations on the new national minimum wage.

Chairman, Trade Union Side, Joint Meeting of the National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Comrade Benjamin Anthony, made this proposal at the 2023 meetings of the Separate and Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council held in Goshen City, Nasarawa State.

The union said that the current minimum wage of N30,000 has since been countered by the high exchange rate coupled with the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy which has impacted on the high cost of living in the country, hence the demand for a new wage.

Anthony, represented by the Secretary of the Union, Comrade Boma Mohammed, also complained about the recent delays in the payment of salaries by the Federal Government to workers, saying the trend must be stopped and avert the repeat of such things as the suffering in the land, which is already unbearable.

He said, “In light of the above, Labour has proposed a Living Wage of $300 (N436,500) for Nigerian Workers. This is due to the fall in the value of our currency, today if you carry N100,000 to the market you will come back with a leather bag of items.

“We call on Government to immediately pay the arrears of the N35,000 wage award along with the current and expedited action on the process of getting a new living wage to bring succour to the working class people,” he added.

This comes after the Vice President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the committee in Abuja on Tuesday, saying the decision was aimed at ensuring a decent living wage and in compliance with the existing National Minimum Wage Act of 2019, which will expire in a few months.

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