Labour to demand cost of living allowance amid worsening economic hardship — Ajaero

Ajaero

The issue of wage review beyond the national minimum wage has become a trending discourse within the Labour movement, especially because of the increasing rate of inflation even before the implementation of the N70 000 new national minimum wage.During May Day, it was also strident in the joint statement of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterparts, Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo, respectively.

In a chat with Ajaero after the May Day celebration, he gives insight into this issue among others, hinting that the issue of cost of living allowance will be next battle with the government and employers.

During the May Day celebration, NLC and TUC were loud on their demand for wage review. What informed this demand few months after a new national minimum wage?

When we went for the negotiations of the new national minimum wage , we had in mind that we were going to get a clear agreement based on the cost of living. But we met a government team that was unprepared.

We asked how much of the N70,000 they wanted to pay would go towards transport? What about basic needs? How much is housing? We tabulated the costs of cooking gas, a bag of rice, and other essentials. The government team didn’t have any response. At that time, the situation was biting seriously, and we insisted on a living wage.

In the end, we didn’t get it. We wanted to benchmark it against inflation. If inflation increases, the wage should adjust automatically. But they still refused.

So, after a national strike, numerous protests, and an agreement with the President that if we accepted N70,000, they would not increase the pump price (which they reneged on), we reluctantly accepted the N70,000. Now, the value of that N70,000 has been completely eroded.

Even the wage award they gave as relief has stopped. You can see that we have every right to demand a cost of living allowance to address our current situation. Punch