Nigerian lawmakers passed legislation on Tuesday to significantly increase the minimum wage to N70,000 (U.S.$43.89) per month, bringing an end to months of negotiations between the government and labor unions.
The wage bill, which was expedited through the legislative process, amends the 2019 minimum wage law by reducing the review period for public wages from five years to three years.
Following months of deadlock and the threat of strikes, Nigeria’s main labor unions agreed to the new minimum wage last Thursday after talks with the government. The bill passed unanimously in both the senate and the lower parliament and will take effect once President Bola Tinubu provides his assent.
The minimum wage will increase from N30,000 (U.S. $18.81) per month, a change advocated by Nigeria’s two largest union federations, the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC). They argued that the current economic conditions, marked by soaring prices and a weakening currency resulting from President Tinubu’s reforms, were severely impacting workers.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
