As millions are pushed below the poverty line due to the rising cost of living, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the federal government are negotiating a new minimum wage for the country....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has been witnessing a steep rise in the cost of living. New policies like the removal of fuel subsidies and exchange rate reforms aimed at unifying the different rates in the country have had a drastic effect, with inflation ascending to a 28-year high of 33.2 percent. A special report by SBM Intelligence showed that in the last 12 months, the price of essential commodities, from soap to petrol to sanitary pads, has more than doubled.
In January 2024, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated a committee to review the country’s minimum wage, which is among the lowest in Africa to cushion the effect of the cost of living. According to a 2022 report by Statista which analysed the gross monthly minimum wage of African countries, Nigeria, with a national minimum of $25, is not among the top 20 countries.
Nigeria’s minimum wage needs an urgent review, not just due to the high cost of living, but also because the wage is a meagre amount compared to other African countries. For instance, Seychelles, the smallest and least populated country in Africa, had the highest minimum wage at $465 according to the Statista report, equivalent to ₦604,500, using an exchange rate of ₦1,300.
Libya, with a population of 6.812 million, has an estimated minimum wage of $321, while Morocco’s workers have an average national wage of $314. Gabon and South Africa are also among the top five countries with the highest minimum wage in Africa.
Interestingly, these countries (excluding Seychelles) also have a low Cost of Living Index, a metric used to compare the expenses of one geographic region to another by measuring the cost of food, shelter, transportation, energy, clothing, and healthcare.
Although Nigeria has one of the lowest Cost of Living Index (19 percent) in Africa, the country’s unsustainable minimum wage and the soaring inflation has made it difficult for citizens to afford basic life essentials. For instance, Morocco, Africa’s sixth-largest economy, has consumer prices, including rent, that are 29.5 percent lower than Nigeria, the continent’s fourth-largest economy.
| African Countries | Minimum Wage In Dollars | Minimum Wage In Naira $1 = ₦1,300 |
|---|---|---|
| Seychelles | 465 | 604,500 |
| Libya | 321 | 417,300 |
| Morocco | 314 | 408,200 |
| Gabon | 270 | 315,000 |
| Equatorial Guineans | 211 | 274,300 |
| Algeria | 140 | 182,000 |
| Cape Verde | 139 | 180,700 |
| Comoros | 132 | 171,600 |
| Kenya | 130 | 169,000 |
| Mozambique | 113 | 146,900 |
| Lesotho | 109 | 141,700 |
| Chad | 108 | 140,400 |
| DR Congo | 92 | 119,600 |
| Senegal | 88 | 114,400 |
| Angola | 71 | 92,300 |
| Sierra Leone | 65 | 84,500 |
| Central African Republic | 63 | 81,900 |
| Tanzania | 61 | 79,300 |
| Togo | 56 | 72,800 |
While NLC has proposed ₦615,000 as the new minimum wage, with Joe Ajaero, the union’s president noting that the amount is feasible if the government “set their priorities right”, many believe that a country operating on a budget deficit of ₦9. 18 trillion, might not afford to increase the national wage by 1,763 percent from ₦33,000 to ₦615,000.
