The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has revealed the rationale behind the union’s demand for a new national minimum wage of N615,000.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Comrade Ajaero explained that the figure was derived from a comprehensive assessment of the cost of living for Nigerian workers and the general population across the country.
“Our figure was a product of a painstaking effort through which we captured the cost of living of Nigerian workers and masses in all parts of the country,” Ajaero stated.
He further elaborated that the NLC’s research, based on a family of two parents and four children, indicated that the basic necessities for an average family amounted to N615,000 per month.
Ajaero emphasized that any wage below this amount would result in workers and their families living in perpetual poverty. “Any figure below this amount becomes a starvation wage and condemns Nigerian workers and their families to perpetual poverty,” Ajaero warned.
The NLC president urged the government and employers to consider the union’s demand in the interest of justice, equity, and national development.
