Why we demanded for N56,000 minimum wage – NLC

– The NLC says the minimum wage must increase from N18000 to N56000 because of the fall of Naira

– The congress say prices of things have increased in the market

– It insists salaries of workers must reflect current trends

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has explained that the reason it proposed an increment of the minimum wage to the federal government was due to the value of the naira.

The NLC had called on the federal government to increase the minimum wage from N18,000 to N56,000 and The Punch reports that Mr. Peters Adeyemi who is the deputy president of the NLC called for this increment in Abuja on Friday, April 29.

He noted that the N18000 minimum wage was approved when the Naira was exchanging at N145 to the Dollar but now it was more than N300.

He explained that things that could be bought five years ago with a particular amount were impossible now and while salaries remain static, prices of goods had risen.

“If you ask me how justified is the N56,000 wage increase inspite of the economic crisis, my answer would be yes, it is highly justified.

“First do not forget that the Naira itself has collapsed beyond the expectation of every Nigerian; I recall when we negotiated the N18,000 minimum wage, the exchange rate then was about N145 to a dollar.

“As of this morning, its about N321 to a Dollar, I heard its a bit stable now at N321, but if you do arithmetical calculations, it shows it is more than one hundred percent poor, in whatever way you want to look at it.

“What that means in effect is that the N18,000 itself has gone down beyond one hundred percent from the time it was negotiated. By implication, what N18,000 could buy as at when it was approved has reduced significantly beyond more than half. It would not be fair to say that we must continue to insist that N18,000 should be what is payable.

“Talking about the inflationary trend, if you look at the values associated with it, even the unlawful increase in electricity tariff, you will find that there has been tremendous increase in the prices of goods and services and salaries of workers have remained stagnant.”