We all know that trade union members are poorer now than they were 5, 10 or 20 years ago. And yet the corrupt elite have never been richer – as demonstrated, for example, by the monetisation of the APC and PDP presidential primaries.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food prices are now more than 20 times higher than in 1998. To be able to afford the same amount of food as in 1998, and to take into account the increase in the wealth in the country the minimum should now be at least N250,000 a month.
The cost of transport has at least doubled in the last six months. As a result, many civil servants in Abuja, for example, are now only going to work three days a week.
President Tinubu has completely accepted the free market neoliberal policies of the IMF and the World Bank. During his swearing in ceremony he announced that fuel subsidy was at an end and he later abolished the official exchange rate. As a result, costs have massively increased.
How can workers afford to buy or cook their food if the minimum wage is only increased every five years or more according to the existing law?
The NLC should demand an increase in the minimum wage to at least N250,000 and a move to annual increases at least as high as inflation.
