The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the failure of several state governments to fully implement the new minimum wage and consequential salary adjustments, with some states only adding a mere N5,000 to workers’ pay.
NLC President, Mr. Joe Ajaero, raised the concern on Tuesday in Abuja at the 6th National Gender Conference organised by the NLC National Women Commission.
The conference was themed, “Accelerate Action for Gender Equality: Imperative for a new NLC Gender Policy.”
Ajaero said the realities on the ground showed that workers were earning less despite the introduction of the new minimum wage due to deductions from taxes and inflation.
“The salaries of some workers are currently below the amount they were receiving before the new minimum wage of N70,000 was implemented, as a result of taxes and inflation,” Ajaero said.
Ajaero accused some governors of implementing the wage review superficially, the existing salary without fully engaging in the required consequential adjustment negotiations.
“The issue of implementing a minimum wage is the worst crime I have ever seen.
“In some states, you just notice N5,000 on top of your salary. So what is the essence of consequential adjustment?
“At the NLC level, we have negotiated for N70,000. At the level of consequential adjustment, the NLC was not contacted.
“So I wonder why workers should be short changed, I do not understand,” Ajaero said
Wage no longer enough
He warned that the N70,000 wage was no longer enough to sustain the average Nigerian worker due to rising electricity tariffs and inflation.
“If you want to be a serious worker and go to work for 24 days or 20 days a month, the N70,000 will disappear, that’s a fact today.
“School fees seem to be rising, transportation is worse, inflation is going high. These are issues that confront us as workers,” he stated.
He noted that while some workers were silently frustrated by the flawed implementation, they had not formally submitted complaints to the NLC leadership.
“So many people are lamenting in their closets about how they implemented the minimum wage,” he added.
Women still face workplace discrimination
Mrs Salamatu Aliu, Chairperson of the NLC Women’s Commission, represented by her deputy, Mrs Deborah Yusuf, said women in Nigeria and across the world continue to face discrimination, harassment, and limited opportunities in the workplace and society.
“Women are being relegated to lower-status and lower-paid jobs and under-represented in leadership and decision-making processes and bodies.”
Aliu noted that the NLC was taking intentional steps to promote women’s participation in leadership roles and union activities.
“The NLC has deliberately taken progressive steps in promoting the leadership role of women in various spheres.
“These are part of the strategies for recognising and promoting the active participation of women in the trade unions as consciously stipulated in the NLC Gender Policy.
“Currently, the NLC is in the process of updating and finalising the review of the Gender Policy, in line with current gender trends,” she said.
ILO pledges support for gender equality
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) also pledged continued support to the NLC in its push for gender equality and workers’ rights.
ILO’s Country Director to Nigeria, Mrs Vanessa Phala, represented by Mrs Chinyere Emeka-Anuna, said:
“The organisation was committed to promoting the rights of workers in the world of work and to achieving gender equality.”
She added that the ILO would support the NLC’s efforts as part of its commitment to the global sustainable development goals.
