The South-East chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have proposed N540,000 and N447,000, respectively, as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

The NLC and TUC made the proposal during the South-East zonal hearing organised by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage on Thursday in Enugu.

Speaking on behalf of the NLC in the regions, Fabian Nwigbo, the chairman of the NLC in Enugu, noted that the value of the N30,000 minimum wage of 2019 had been eroded by inflation.

“If you consider what is going on in the country today, one won’t be talking about minimum wage anymore,” the NLC chair.

Mr Nwagbo described the situation as very “unfortunate,” saying that compared to the minimum wages in West African countries, Nigerian workers are the least paid.

“For us, we want to propose based on the prices of commodities in Nigeria. In 2019 when we had N30, 000 minimum wage, a paint bucket of garri was N280, rice and beans were about N450 each while fuel was N145. This has continued to subsist till today where a litre of fuel is now N750 to N800 depending on the location.

“In the current state, a paint bucket of rice costs over N4000, and garri N2,500. Two two-bedroom flats in Enugu that used to be N250,000-N300,000 are now over N650,000 in the suburbs, and in the city, they stand at N1.2 million yearly.

“Everything is moving up except the salary paid to civil servants. We are praying the leadership of this country to consider the pains and sufferings of the Nigeria workers and citizens and give us something that is close to what we can use to survive,” he appealed.

Giving a breakdown of the proposal, the chairman added that a family of six with daily feeding of N2000 each would have N12,000, and in 30 days, it would be N360,000.

“We have also put hospital bills at N20,000, education N40,000, utility, N10,000, clothing N30,000, social engagement and other things at N10,000 per month.

“If you put them together, you have N540,000 which will do a little good to the workers of Nigeria and so we are proposing N540,000 as the new minimum wage for civil servants, ” he said.

He called for a review of the minimum wage law every two years, saying that the issue of five years was no longer fashionable, as was leaving minimum wage on an exclusive list.

The labour leader, however, called for the impeachment of any governor who failed to implement the new minimum wage and extend it to the pensioners, whom he said put in their active lives in service.

“Once it is approved, every governor and council chairman should start paying it across the board. The issue of workers going to negotiate with their state governors should not arise,” he said.

In his submission, Ben Asogwa, chairman of the TUC in Enugu, said the zone aligned with the N447,000 proposed by the TUC national leadership.

“It is small to what Nigeria workers expect but we are concerned about its implementation if more is requested, given the economic factors and indices. Any governor that refuses to pay should leave office,” he said.

Earlier, Tommy Etim, chairman of the event and deputy national president of TUC expressed displeasure over the absence of representatives of the civil societies, Nigeria Union of Pensioners and others.

(NAN)