The Ondo state government has reached an agreement with the Nigerian Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Joint Negotiation Council to commence payment of the N30,000 minimum wage to workers in the state.
The parties arrived at the consensus on Saturday after numerous meetings and negotiations with stakeholders and union leaders including the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Joint Negotiation Council, with the last meeting which held on Saturday sealing off the deal.
Mr Oluwadare Aragbaye, Ondo State Head of Service, expressed gratitude regarding the development and also said that 33 percent for retirees from 2014 was also approved by the government, as well as peculiar allowances for some workers.
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Meanwhile, the Herald reported that despite the increase in Minimum wage, “In Nigeria, the minimum wage is so low, it does not cover the cost of even the most basic shopping basket”
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.
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.