Labour will demand new minimum wage, NLC warns

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it would soon submit a proposal demanding for a new minimum wage of N48,000, based on the impact of the devaluation of the naira on wages.Speaking in Lagos at the first TheCable Colloquium, titled, “The Naira on Trial: To devalue or Not,” Deputy National President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Aremu, warned against further devaluation, saying that previous devaluation has corroded the value of the minimum wage.

“The last time we signed the minimum wage, which is N18,000, which is the current rate, and this was between 2009 and 2010, this translated to $124. But now on account of depreciation alone, this $124 has dropped to less than $60. So wages have been completely eroded on account of devaluation. “So in nominal terms, if we are talking just on account of the exchange rate, the minimum wage which is currently N18,000 should be about N48,000. And I am leaving this warning, if you dare devalue again, be sure that labour will also have to hike its own price in the market,” Aremu said.