The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has said that he increased workers' minimum wage to N70,000 from previous N40,000 due to the present economic reality of the country.
Speaking on Channels Politics Today on Monday evening, the Governor said that when he increased the wage to N40,000 in 2022, the Dollar was N450 to Naira. “Workers deserve more. This amount cannot even be enough for them to take care of their welfare” he said.
Obaseki announced the new minimum wage while commissioning the new Labour House in Edo state on Monday. The new wage comes into effect on May 1st, 2024.
This is as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) battles the Federal Government over increasing the minimum wage to match increasing national inflation and skyrocketing food inflation.
The inflation rate for March 2024 hit 33.2 percent from 31.70 per cent in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Food inflation also rose to 31.7 per cent in March from 30 per cent in February.
The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), 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 expires at the end of March 2024.
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