Ajaero asks FG, states to emulate Imo on minimum wage increment

Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has asked the federal and state governments to follow the example of Imo by paying workers a higher minimum wage.

He spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the seventh quadrennial delegates’ conference of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW).

The conference, tagged Abuja 2025, was themed: ‘Building trade unions’ future through strategic organising and investments’.

Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo, had approved an increase in the state’s minimum wage from N76,000 to N104,000.

The governor raised the minimum wage of doctors from N215,000 to N503,000, while that of tertiary institution tutors increased from N119,000 to N222,000.

The NLC president described the development as “real and commendable”.

“So many people were asking me, is this real? I said, this is a report from Imo state so far,” Ajaero said.

“I have reached out to him. Although he told me about it before now. It is real. That is the highest and to a very large extent, it is commendable.”

He said the federal government had argued during negotiations that it could pay more but did not want to destabilise the wage structure at subnational level.

“But if the states have the capacity to pay N100,000 and above, and considering that Imo state is not the highest in terms of revenue, it then means others are encouraged to do more,” he said.

“That is the whole essence of minimum wage. Minimum wage is the least; states can do better. I think this is an initiative that other governors are supposed to follow.

“You must not wait for the next three years for a wage to be reviewed especially given the current economic situation, so that people can at least survive.”

The NLC president also raised concerns over developments at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

“It therefore becomes imperative that we also alert you of a dangerous development,” he said.

“The state, having diverted 40 percent of workers’ contributions in NSITF, is now seeking to unilaterally amend the NSITF Act.

“This is to allow the government to control a fund that entirely belongs to workers.

“We had demanded that the funds be accounted for and returned so that Nigerian workers will enjoy the benefits of the agency.”