A former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Senator Adams Oshiomhole, has lamented that the present day Nigerian workers are poorer than those who worked for the country in the past.
Oshiomhole, a former Governor of Edo State, also decried the present N70,000 minimum wage, arguing that the celebrated wage when converted to dollars, is equivalent to only $42.
The former labour leader spoke at the National Institute of Security Studies, Abuja, during a distinguished personality lecture organised for members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 17.
Comparing the first minimum wage in the country under the administration of Shehu Shagari as President, he noted that the N125 minimum wage at that time was equivalent to $160.
The lawmaker, who spoke on the title of the lecture: “National Minimum Wage: Reward system and productivity in Africa”, said: “When minimum wage in Nigeria was established under President Shagari – I think around 1981 – it was around N125, which was about $160 a month.
“Today, with the fat increase – 100% increase that the labour achieved last year, which is now being implemented this month – according to our current exchange rate, is $42.
“So, if you divide N70,000 by N1,650, it gives you $42. So, the working people are much poorer now than we were so many years ago. So, this opportunity will depreciate, and that affects the quality of life and everything.”
He urged the Federal government and other states generating high revenues to pay workers more than the agreed N70,000 minimum wage.
The Senator representing Edo North in the National Assembly also called for the expansion of minimum wage law to domestic staff, among others, through the amendment of the law.
He said: “But again, if you look at the law in Nigeria, which I hope will be able to amend very soon, although the Federal government and the states have agreed on a minimum wage, for example, at N70,000, there are still people who are paying less than that.
“Even under the law, because it says you have to have about 25 to 50 employees minimum for that law to be applicable to a particular enterprise. But with the changing technology, a small ICT company employing 10 people can generate much turnover. So, using the number of employees was appropriate when the economy was more broad-driven not with ICT.”
