Prioritising workers’ welfare as minimum wage implementation kicks off 

As states and organised labour draw up modalities to begin the implementation of the N70,000 new national minimum wage, the need for governments to prioritise the welfare of workers amid rising inflation that has eroded their purchasing capacity is crucial, GLORIA NWAFOR reports.

Since President Bola Tinubu approved the N70,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers in June, there have been discussions with labour leaders across states on implementation modalities.

  
States, including Delta, Kano, Abia, Kwara, Borno, and Jigawa among others, have set up implementation committees, even as some have expressed difficulties, cited financial constraints and limited federal allocation.
  
However, for these, organised labour has vowed to picket states that refuse to implement the N70,000 new national minimum wage.  The new National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Muhammed, has said: “For states not ready to implement the new minimum wage. Let me tell you categorically, it is impossible. We are coming for them.”
  
He urged states that governments should implement the new wage to improve the standard of living of their citizens since the incomes of state governments have continued to rise following enhanced allocation from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
  
Muhammed urged that states could achieve this by reducing wastages and blocking leakages of government funds, even as he also advised that the government should embrace the policy of indexing income to correspond with the rate of inflation.
  
Already, labour has emphasised the importance of putting people first, stressing that governance must prioritise the well-being of citizens through fair wages, safe working conditions and social protection.
  
According to labour, the correlation between workers’ welfare and national productivity is undeniable. This is despite an over 100 per cent increase in Nigeria’s minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, the country continues to have one of the lowest minimum wages in Africa.   

This new wage structure, set to last for three years, represents a significant departure from the previous one, which was in effect for five years.  Currently, Nigeria is grappling with a high inflation rate of 33.4 per cent, with food inflation nearing 40 per cent.  
  
As a result, Nigerian workers remain among the lowest earners globally, with their purchasing power severely eroded by rising prices. The high inflation rate has forced many Nigerians to allocate the bulk of their modest salaries to necessities such as food and utilities, leaving little to no room for discretionary spending on luxuries or leisure activities. 
  
The Guardian gathered that the situation demonstrates the harsh economic realities faced by the average Nigerian worker, despite the government’s efforts to alleviate their financial burdens through wage adjustments.
  
Already, at the federal level, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) said the computation of the new minimum wage for junior federal workers has been completed, stating that the senior cadre would be ready in a few weeks.
   
The computations, The Guardian gathered, were being done to ensure a seamless rollout of the new wage structure, which is expected to bring relief to workers, particularly those in the junior cadre.

  
The consequential adjustment is a critical component of the new wage structure, stemming from the recent agreement between the Federal Government and labour unions of which the data are crucial for calculating the Federal Government’s total wage bill under the new wage remuneration structure.
  
For instance, in Delta State overseeing about 50,000 civil servants, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, at the state’s executive council meeting recently, said that focusing on alleviating the people’s suffering as a result of the country’s current economic predicament was paramount. He stated that the adoption of the minimum wage would go a long way towards addressing some of their issues through negotiations with labour heads, even as he promised to prioritise workers’ welfare and implement measures to pay the new minimum wage.  
   
In all these, stakeholders have said that workers would enjoy the dividend of the new minimum wage if the government prioritises their welfare.  They argued that the success of any government should be measured by its impact on the lives of the people, not by promises or control.
   
They called for a return to a nation where the people are the focus, stating that this would reduce corruption, insecurity and the exodus of citizens seeking education, medical treatment and a better life abroad.
   
Highlighting the importance of the workforce, they urged the government to recognise that improving workers’ conditions was not charity but a necessity for national productivity and growth.
  
 Head of Media, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Benson Upah, while highlighting the importance of a reasonable minimum wage, stressed its role in protecting workers’ welfare, particularly in the face of rising inflation and economic challenges.  

He noted that with the sharp increase in living costs, there was a need for workers’ welfare to be taken as a priority.  Upah warned of the adverse effects of government policies such as fuel subsidy removal, currency devaluation, energy tariff hikes, and interest rate increases, cautioning that the policies would continue to worsen economic hardship for Nigerians, particularly the poor.

   
Noting that the economies of most states are driven by workers’ wages, he warned that governors who plan to pay miserable wages to their workers pose a grave danger to not only the workforce but the national economy at large.
  
An economist, Vincent Chin, emphasised that economic resilience is built on societal well-being, urging government leaders to look beyond economic development and prioritise the overall well-being of citizens. 

He stressed that nations that invest across a range of development dimensions such as education, health, infrastructure and governance have been better able to cushion the socioeconomic challenges facing them.
   
He analysed that countries with improved abilities to convert wealth into well-being, as well as those with high overall well-being, tended to mitigate drops in economic performance and limit the growth of unemployment rates, while countries with lower levels have fallen further behind, particularly in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and employment. 

According to him, countries better at converting wealth into well-being were able to recover more quickly from the 2008–2009 financial crisis.
He said: “Countries need to take a more comprehensive and sustainable approach that incorporates and optimises societal well-being. Analyses have shown that some lower-income countries are better off than high-income countries because they look beyond economic metrics and invest in well-being more broadly.”