Nigeria’s Labour Minister says FG to increase workers’ salary

The federal government has revealed that it will increase the salaries of civil servants in the country to meet the current economic realities.

Minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige in his speech at the public presentation of NLC’s 40 publications titled, ‘contemporary history of working-class struggles’ held in Abuja on Monday, September 19, said the federal government knows that the N30,000 national minimum wage has lost its value.

“Yes the inflation has increased worldwide and it is not confined to Nigeria, that is why in many jurisdictions, it is an adjustment of wages right now.

“As the Nigerian government, we shall adjust in conformity with what is happening in wages.

“More importantly, the 2019 national minimum wage act, right now has a clause for the review, which we started then, I do not know whether it is due next year or 2024.

“But before then, the adjustment of wages will reflect what is happening in the economy. The adjustment has started with the Academic Staff Union of University (ASSU) because of the stage they are with their primary employers, the Ministry of Education is collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

“Under the principles of offer and acceptance, which is that of collective bargaining, ASUU can look at the offer they gave us and make a counter offer, but they have not done that. If they do that, we are bound to look at their offer. These are the ingredients of collective negotiations.”

He added, “If you don’t work, you won’t eat,” adding that labour provided the riches of any nation as well as the prosperity of every family.

He, however, advised the executives of affiliate unions of the Nigeria Labour Congress to familiarise themselves with labour laws.

Plans, he added, were being put in place to convert the Michael Imoudu Institute of Labour Studies, Ilorin, Kwara State, into a degree-awarding institute.

He said that in the current economic situation, the current minimum wage of N30,000 would not, in the present economic reality, pay workers’ transportation fares to work for a month.

Also speaking, the President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, said that the sole aim of the labour movement in the country was to protect the interest of workers.

If not for the struggle of the founding fathers of the movement in the country, the story would have been different today, he said.