National
TUC Demands Adjustments To ₦70k Minimum Wage
By Benjamin Abioye
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has urged the government to adjust the minimum wage for workers annually to reflect inflation.
The TUC President, Festus Osifo, who stated this said that waiting three to five years for wage reviews no longer addresses the realities of rising inflation in Nigeria. He emphasized the importance of aligning wages with economic conditions.
“What we are pushing on for Labour is that instead of you (the government) waiting for five years to increase the minimum wage, you will now look at the inflation of the last five years and try to make some adjustments, why can’t we reflect the inflation on an annual basis?” Osifo said.
He further explained that inflation figures should directly influence wage adjustments. “For example, we have entered January 2025, by the 15th of January 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics is going to release the inflation figure for December. So, what we are pushing for as Labour is that, if for example, the inflation figure is 35%, apply that 35% to the ₦70,000 minimum wage so that it will become reflective of what the true value is,” he added.
Osifo highlighted that such adjustments could be made yearly. “When we get to 2026, you will also do similar application. That is actually what we are pushing. We shouldn’t be waiting for five years. In the new Act now, it is three years to do those adjustments, but we could be doing them systemically by applying the inflation as of December of the preceding year to what the minimum wage is.”
The TUC President also mentioned that discussions on this proposal had started in the previous year and would continue in 2025. “This is part of the position that we are also going to canvass this year. We started the conversation last year, but we will continue it in 2025,” he said.
Labour unions remain committed to ensuring workers’ wages are reflective of the economic challenges they face, with inflation being a key factor in their demands.
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