In Nigeria, the minimum wage is so low, it does not cover the cost of even the most basic shopping basket
Picodi
The concept of having a national minimum wage in a country is hinged on the need to protect workers from earning below the average cost of living.
However, protecting and ensuring that workers in Nigeria earn enough to function with a bearest average living cost is far from it’s reality.
In an analysis made by Picodi.com, a foreign company which deals in coupons, Nigeria ranked the country with the highest increase in its minimum wage from N18, 000 to N30,000 in 2019.
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However, in its study which included 54 countries that operate national minimum wage, despite the increase in its national minimum wage in 2019, Nigeria still ranks the country with the second lowest minimum wage of all 54 countries considered.
See Ranking;
Picodi, in the analysis, used Nigeria’s net pay, that is the payment made after all tax and necessary deductions have been made, and arrived at a sum of N26,697.
It further took a survey of basic food prices, specifically rice, bread, meat, eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables and arrived at a total amount of N32,421, an amount higher than the minimum wage in Nigeria.
See Prices Below:
- Milk (10 litres) — ₦8,443
- Bread (10 loaves, 500 g each) — ₦3,334
- Rice (1.5 kg) — ₦1,002
- Eggs (20) — ₦809
- Cheese (1 kg) — ₦1,238
- Poultry and beef (6 kg) — ₦8,357
- Fruits (6 kg) — ₦4,588
- Vegetables (8 kg) — ₦4,650