• 32 states express readiness, yet to implement
• Cross Rivers, Zamfara, Imo, Katsina silent on implementation
• Osifo urges govt on inflation-adjusted wages
• Workers task Tinubu on living wages, say they can’t survive on pay
With feelers suggesting that many of the state governments have yet to communicate when the N70,000 minimum wage implementation will commence or lack the resources to pay, there are signals of a possible fresh struggle ahead of the full take-off of the year, The Guardian can report.
Workers, especially in the public sector, are earnestly awaiting the take-off of implementation, which the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, will start nationwide this month. But at best, workers are only hopeful as there are no concrete assurances when payment will start.
Amidst cautious hope, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the state governments of possible implosion if they renege on the implementation forthwith.
Despite the threat, the financial positions of many states do not support immediate implementation, those familiar with the financial positions of the states told The Guardian.
Sadly, about six months after the minimum wage law was signed, N70,000 has lost its value considerably. When adjusted for basic food items, N70,000 has lost about one-third of its value since July when the law was passed.
Hence, some labour leaders are already calling on employers to begin to reconsider the minimum wage as it does not reflect the current cost of living.
Since July when the law was passed, prices of fuel have increased by about 100 per cent, leading to an upward review in the prices of associated commodities and services, including transport.
According to data confirmed by organised labour, about 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had expressed their readiness to begin implementation in the New Year.
Cross Rivers, Zamfara, Imo and Katsina are named as the only four states that have yet to pronounce an implementation date.
Ebonyi, Osun, Benue and Kebbi states approved N75,000. Ondo approved N73,000, while Kogi and Kaduna are set to pay N72,000. It was N71,000 for workers in Kano and Gombe states.
Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Jigawa, Borno, Edo, Kwara, Nasarawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Bauchi, Yobe and Plateau states, as well as FCT, settled for N70,000.
If the states that have communicated their readiness to pay the minimum wage keep their word, the implementation rate for the public sector will be 87 per cent, which will be heart-warming for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart. However, the concern has shifted attention to the loss of value of the benchmarked amount to inflation and devaluation.
President of TUC, Festus Osifo, insists that the N70,000 is too little for workers to survive on for 30 days considering the persistent rise in prices of food items.
Osifo explained that with inflation inching to 35 per cent and food inflation near 40 per cent, N70,000, which is less than $50, is “not acceptable”.
The exchange rate is currently about N1600/$. Rather than the four-year export timeframe, Osifo has advocated an inflation-adjusted salary structure.
He said the proposal would create a systematic framework for wage adjustments, avoiding the prolonged negotiation and financial struggle workers face between reviews.
“What we are proposing is simple. Instead of waiting three or five years to adjust wages, we should use yearly inflation data to ensure workers’ earnings remain reflective of economic realities. For instance, by January 15, 2025, when the National Bureau of Statistics releases the inflation rate for December 2024, there is a recommendation that a certain percentage, as dictated by the inflationary trend, should be applied to the current N70,000 minimum wage. This way, workers’ purchasing power will remain stable.
“We have started discussions on this issue. In 2024, we began pushing for this reform, and we will intensify our efforts in 2025. Yearly adjustments based on inflation data from the preceding year are not just logical but necessary to protect workers’ livelihoods,” he said.
With wages expected to be reviewed every three years as stated in the law, workers have identified worsening hardship caused by high inflation rate and poverty as a major concern.
Workers lamented that with the high cost of food and transportation due to the increase in the pump price of petrol, they spend nearly 100 per cent of their earnings on food and transport.
According to the 2024 World Bank report, about 47 per cent of Nigeria’s population now lives below the international poverty line of $2.15 per day.
The significant rise from the 38.8 per cent rate recorded in 2023 underscores deepening economic challenges in Nigeria, where incomes have struggled to keep pace with rising costs.
When President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, Nigeria’s inflation rate was 22.41 per cent but it rose to 34.6 per cent in November 2024, highlighting the difficulties incomes face in catching up with the cost of living.
Many civil servants, who spoke with The Guardian, said there was nothing special about the new wage, even if it is implemented, as it cannot address their financial challenges.
For instance, Ifeoma Chima, a level-7 worker at the Ministry of Health, said despite her salary witnessing an increase of N40,000, it still does not take care of her basic financial needs.
She added that civil servants would anticipate such reviews from the government and implement measures to enhance their overall welfare, considering the current realities of inflation and the high cost of living.
“We want the government to review and adjust the salary structure because of the current inflation and the high cost of living. We also want them to implement policies that will improve our welfare, including healthcare and housing benefits,” Chima stated.
Another civil servant, Sunday Bassey, said the economy is in a bad state and has affected civil servants in a way that they cannot afford to bear basic needs.
He lamented how he and his family did not enjoy the Yuletide when compared to previous years because of low income.
“My younger brother, who stays in the East, celebrated his marriage in the Christmas season; I could not afford to travel due to the high cost of transportation. I had to send my token across. It has gotten that bad. The government should measure up with its policies to favour the common man,” he said.
Given the expectations in the New Year, even as they noted that real wages have reduced drastically, organised labour has called for a wage review going into the first quarter of 2025.
The National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Muhammed, said the association has started making moves to approach the government for wage review, saying that the minimum wage came when Nigerian workers were suffering a high inflation rate.
He said immediately after the approval of the minimum wage, the government went ahead to increase fuel pump prices and electricity tariffs as well as made other policy pronouncements that made life unbearable for workers.
He urged for workers’ cooperation and support while they approach the government for a solution, adding that they were ready to ensure compliance with minimum wage implementation across states.
“We have asked that the wage review should kick in immediately. In other lands where governance is for the people, the wage review would have already started,” he said .
Head of Media of the NLC, Benson Upah, said that the government, at all levels, should do better than they have done so far, given the projected improvement in their revenue collection on the one hand and the sickening poverty of the majority of the citizens on the other.
Noting that the government must be sensitive to its environment, he said workers expect better governance with more engagements by governments as major stakeholders at different levels.
He said there has to be an understanding of the labour administration laws, which have been reviewed for some years now but are allegedly held captive by the executives of the government for passage into law.
He said he expects a government that will ensure that the laws governing workplace relations are so robust that the workplace is protected rather than becoming places where people go to suffer and are not prone to accidents.
“We expect governance to be run in such a way that it will be more effective and will impact the lives of Nigerians better through decent income, housing, access to better nutrition, medicare, education, and quality public services.
“Those are part of the ways you can measure government. It is not propaganda. Governance is not about coming to read a budget that is not founded on reality. It is not about pronunciation. Government is about how those policies and actions impact the lives of the people,” he said.
Secretary, TUC, Lagos State Council, Abiodun Aladetan, said workers across the country are demanding urgent interventions to alleviate their suffering.
Chief among them, he said, is the implementation of a living wage that transcends the limitations of a static minimum wage indexed to the prevailing inflation rate.
He said such an approach would ensure that workers’ remuneration retains its value amidst fluctuating economic conditions.
In addition, he said, there is an imperative need for the government to introduce targeted subsidies for essential goods, transportation, and energy, while also ensuring that public services such as healthcare and education are affordable and accessible.
Aladetan, who is also the Lagos secretary of ASCSN, said to address the economic challenges, the government must adopt a multipronged strategy.
According to him, short-term measures, including price control mechanisms and the reintroduction of electricity subsidies, can provide immediate relief.
“Simultaneously, incentivising local production and reducing import dependency will not only stabilise prices but also stimulate job creation. These efforts must be complemented by medium-term initiatives, such as diversifying the economy through investments in agriculture, manufacturing, and technology, as well as stabilising the naira through sound monetary policies.
“In the long term, structural reforms are indispensable for fostering sustainable growth. This includes the institutionalisation of periodic wage reviews to align earnings with inflation, as well as robust investments in education and skills development to empower workers and enhance productivity. Policy consistency and transparency are also critical in building investor confidence and fostering a stable economic environment,” he said.
