How we arrived at N200,000 minimum wage — NLC President

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, has said the union got about 90% of its demands through negotiations that preceded the recent strike suspension.

Recall that the Organised Labour, last Monday, suspended the proposed indefinite strike over the removal of petrol subsidy and disagreement with the government over palliatives to cushion the effect of the policy.

The strike suspension triggered a backlash from some Nigerians who accused labour of selling out to the Tinubu administration.

In an interview with Vanguard, Ajaero explained how the NLC arrived at N200,000 it proposes as new minimum wage expected to be negotiated next year.

He said, “the essence of every negotiation is to reach an agreement that is enforceable and implementable. So when negotiations start, unless there is any stalemate, its whole essence is for an agreement. When we started, we had our demands, it’s not by force that demands must be met hundred percent. I know that we got ninety percent of our demands and there was nothing left for us than to sign an agreement. To negotiate without signing an agreement makes the agreement incomplete. So, that was it.

“We demanded for CNG as an alternative to petrol, we have plans towards attainment that because it can’t be achieved the following day or in one week. So, plans were laid down for it, we insisted that the refineries must work.

“We are aware the refineries won’t work the following day, plans were on ground for us to even go and inspect what’s happening in the Port-Harcourt refinery to make sure that it is completed and come into stream by December. We asked for wage award, the President offered N25,000 for the least-paid worker in Nigeria for just six months and we said no, we got for every person across board.

“We got the six months ceiling removed and we equally moved the N25,000 the President announced in a nationwide broadcast to N35, 000. That one has gone beyond what you may think is hundred percent and almost all other issues.

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The NLC President said going by the current economic realities in the country, the least paid worker in Nigeria should earn a minimum of two hundred dollars per month.

“That’s not even up to ten dollars a day. I am not talking of ten dollars per hour , it’s not up to ten dollars a day. So, if you even put it at seven dollars a day, that was at the international… But even if you bring it to the cost of living index and then you decide to situate it; look at transportation, if we assume that a worker doesn’t have a car, we assume he will enter three drops to work, we assume that he will enter three drops back, N2,000 is settled minimum if he doesn’t enter bike to get to where he is living because none of our workers lives in the city centre.

“Now, if you look at this N2,000 for thirty days, you are seeing almost N60,000 or even N50,000 if you want to remove the weekend. You look at his accommodation. Since he’s living in the fringes, you can give him close to N20, 000, if he must live in two two-room apartments or whatever in a decent place for him and his family, that one is settled. Now you look at feeding. Even if you put him on one loaf of bread, husband and wife with four children, one loaf of bread in the morning, no tea, no sugar, situate it about N1,000. You look at their lunch, even if you give them N200 per lunch, you are going to get another N1,000. You can equally look at their dinner at N200 without meat, for thirty days, that is almost N3,000.

“For thirty days, you have about N90,000. If you add N90,000 to almost N60,000 we already have about N150,000. Now, I am not talking about school fees. If you look at school fees for four children, even if they are in kindergarten, there is no way you will not have almost N200,000. Now if divide that N200,000 by three months and that makes up a term, you will be having about N65,000.

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“You have already passed N200,000. You are doing all these things that the children and the wives and others are not even entering motor to anywhere, you are doing this thing because they will not be sick throughout that period, you are doing this thing that they will not even eat meat or any diet.

“You are doing all these things that they will not wear clothes whichever way. So, if you go to the cost of living index, you will discover that N200,000 cannot even sustain that family. But it will sustain them by the time you do one or two things.

“If what we are pushing, the CNG or even electric whatever, if you bring down transportation cost, if you have an effective transport system, you bring down transportation cost, then you are talking. If you have a school system that guarantees free education, it will bring down that cost, if you have a healthcare facility, that would have taken care of the health of such people, then N200,000 can work.

“But if you don’t have any of these, even that N200,000 will be a mess. But we are equally looking at that N200,000 based on what the mysterious economists are talking about that you need to bring inflation and whatever down. So, all things being equal, that’s the only way you can do it without creating unnecessary inflation but, at least, they could be able to go to the market.

“These things I mentioned, there is no soap for them to bathe, there is no toothbrush, there are no clothes, there is nothing.So, you can see that that is the actual projection, plus or minus. So, that’s what is going to inform our decision. So, whether you are going to look at it from an inflationary trend or the cost of living index, the reality cannot bring it less than N200,000.”

How we arrived at N200,000 minimum wage — NLC President