ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The salaries of public sector workers in Nigeria who earn the minimum wage will double after the government reached an agreement Thursday with unions representing threaten further strikes while the cost of living continues to rise.
The new minimum monthly wage has been set at 70,000 naira ($44), six times lower than what the unions were demanding. They accepted the offer with “mixed feelings” given the country’s economic problems, Nigerian Labour Congress president Joe Ajaero said Thursday after a meeting with the president Ball Tinubu in Abuja, the country’s capital.
The new pay policy will not take effect immediately, as federal lawmakers must still pass a new law to approve it.
Since taking office in Nigeria in May last year, Tinubu has implemented policies that include eliminating fuel subsidies and unifying the country’s various exchange rates, leading to the devaluation of the naira against the dollar. Petrol prices have more than doubled and inflation has risen further as a result, to 34.1% last month, the highest level in almost three decades.
Trade unions demanded an increase in the current minimum wage of 30,000 naira to almost 500,000, which the government rejected, resulting in another strike that Africa’s most populous country brought to a standstill.
Although the new minimum wage is still far below what workers requested, Nigerian governors said when it was first proposed that many of their states could not afford it. The new law would force them to implement the wage increase.
Despite being one of Africa’s largest crude oil producers, Nigeria remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Chronic corruption means that the lifestyles of its officials never reflect those of the general population.
While teachers and medical professionals often have to strike to protest against the meager wagespoliticians still earn huge salaries and regular financial compensation, even for unofficial positions.
Last year, when President Tinubu millions of dollars approved In the expenditure on SUVs, his wife was one of the beneficiaries, whose position is not constitutionally recognized.
