The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has authorized an increase in the minimum wage for workers in the state from N40,000 to N70,000.
The announcement was made by the governor while speaking at the commissioning of the newly built ultra-modern Labour House secretariat complex for labour unions in the state, along Temboga Road, Ikpoba-Hill, Benin City on Monday, April 29, 2024.
Governor Obaseki said the new minimum wage in the state will take effect from May 1, 2024.
This is coming at a time when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Federal Government and other stakeholders are in discussion to increase the N30,000 minimum wage to match the increasing national inflation and skyrocketing food inflation.
The removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the forex windows in 2023, immediately led to food inflation and a spike in the prices of other goods and services, with members of the Labour union describing the minimum wage as grossly inadequate.
The inflation rate for March 2024 hit 33.2% from 31.70% which was recorded in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Food inflation also rose to 40.1% in March 2024.
Organized labour had demanded N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country.
The labour unions’ agreement was after President Bola Tinubu, through Vice President Kashim Shettima, on January 30, set up a 37-member panel at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja.
With its membership cutting across federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, the panel was tasked with recommending a new national minimum wage.
At the inaugural meeting of the panel, Shettima urged members to ‘speedily’ arrive at a resolution, and submit their reports early as the current N30,000 minimum wage expired at the end of March 2024.
