Nigerian Workers Drowning Under Inflation Despite New ₦70,000 Minimum Wage, NLC Cries Out

 

Nigerians are grappling with a harsh economic reality where the cost of essential services has outstripped the newly approved ₦70,000 minimum wage, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said on Friday. Despite President Bola Tinubu’s administration's approval of a new wage structure intended to ease the financial burden on workers, inflation, skyrocketing tariffs, and crushing taxes have eroded its impact almost immediately.

Joe Ajaero, the President of the NLC, painted a grim picture of the current situation for workers during an address that was both a call for unity and a plea for urgent action. According to him, the country's workers find themselves battling a host of financial pressures that threaten not only their livelihood but their very survival.

Electricity tariffs, Ajaero revealed, have now ballooned to a point where they surpass the ₦70,000 minimum wage. "We are paying more for light than we are earning," he said, highlighting the unbearable contradiction workers face. He emphasized that workers' earnings are being swallowed almost whole by rent, transportation, and telecom tariffs, with little to nothing left to sustain a decent living.

Added to this is a tax regime that, according to the labour leader, has become another heavy yoke around workers' necks. Salaries are being taxed so heavily that the marginal benefit from the new minimum wage has been almost completely wiped out. “It is a period where tax on your salaries is almost higher than the minimum wage increase on your salaries," Ajaero lamented, warning that unless something drastic is done, the future for Nigerian workers remains bleak.

The new minimum wage, fought for vigorously by the NLC and its allies such as the Trade Union Congress (TUC), was meant to offer a respite from the crushing cost of living. However, Ajaero noted that while federal workers might see some benefit, implementation across local governments, teaching staff, and the informal sector has been patchy at best and non-existent at worst.

Workers’ plight is compounded by a lack of social safety nets — essential buffers that workers in many developed economies can rely on to survive tough times. "We need to fight for them," Ajaero stressed. He challenged the labour movement to reflect seriously on survival strategies and on building a stronger alliance with civil society actors to resist the growing pressures.

The battle for fair wages and better living conditions, he suggested, is no longer just a fight for union members but one that touches every Nigerian who labours under these harsh conditions. The NLC, he said, is extending a hand of fellowship to the TUC and other partners to rebuild a united front capable of confronting these daunting challenges.

“We have to work on those things that affect us most,” Ajaero urged. His call was not merely about solidarity within the labour movement, but about rekindling a wider national conversation on dignity, survival, and fairness for the working masses.

The NLC president did not mince words about the urgency of the situation. "History beckons that if we fail to work together, we will all perish," he said, stressing the need for collective action. The current period, he warned, is not business as usual, but a time that demands boldness, creativity, and solidarity among all who believe in justice for workers.

Throughout his address, the sense of crisis was palpable. Ajaero’s repeated references to "survival" — not prosperity or progress — underscored just how dire things have become. Workers are not living; they are struggling to survive.

Transportation costs, which have seen a sharp and steady rise, have eaten deeply into workers’ wages. Telecom tariffs continue to climb unchecked, making communication — a vital tool for both professional and personal life — increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, rent prices in cities across Nigeria have soared, leaving workers to choose between living in squalor or spending the bulk of their wages on accommodation.

Despite these challenges, Ajaero struck a hopeful note, expressing belief that with unity and determination, Nigerian workers can still reclaim their dignity. The NLC’s extended hand to the TUC and its overtures to civil society groups signal a broader strategy that sees the workers’ struggle as part of a larger societal battle for economic justice.

Friday’s address serves as a stark reminder that while battles may be won on paper — like the approval of a higher minimum wage — the real war for workers' rights and livelihoods is far from over. It is a call to action, a plea for unity, and a warning that unless Nigeria's leaders take urgent steps to address the root causes of workers’ suffering, the nation risks plunging deeper into economic despair.

As the NLC braces for the next phase of this struggle, the resilience and solidarity of Nigeria’s workers will be tested like never before. The hope remains that with a united front, history will record not their defeat, but their triumph against a tide that seems determined to sweep them away.