The demand by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for the federal government to increase the minimum wage from N30,000 to between N150,000 and N200,000 is unrealistic, according to an economist, Dr Tope Fasua.
Fasua said this on Channels Television, while also lashing out at the NLC for making such an outrageous demand as minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
“I honestly feel that it would be insane for the government to agree to increase the minimum wage from N30,000 to between N150,000 and N200,000 if you ask me,” the Nigerian businessman and writer said.
“That is because once the Federal Government commits to that, it simply means that they are also committing the private sector into paying such a massive minimum wage,” the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) candidate during the 2019 Presidential election said.
The NLC and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) recommended palliatives for workers and vulnerable groups to ameliorate the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The TUC in particular demanded that minimum wage should be increased from its current N30,000 to N200,000 before the end of June 2023 with consequential adjustments on Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), like feeding, transport and housing among others.
It demanded tax holidays for employees both in the public and private sector that earn less than N200,000 or $500 monthly, insisting that a petrol allowance should be introduced for that earning between N200,000 to N500,000 or $500 to $1,200 yearly, whichever is higher.
It demanded that the Nigerian government should provide mass transit vehicles for all categories of the populace and put in place an immediate review of the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover more Nigerians.
For the medium term, the labour union demanded the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) across the country, in line with the earlier promise made by the government.
It further said that the framework and timeline would be developed and agreed by both parties.
It added that labour and government would design a framework that will be geared towards reducing the cost of governance by 15 per cent in 2024 and 30 per cent by 2025.
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