Minimum wage: Labours demand will cripple economy — FG

According to the Federal Government, Nigeria’s economy could be severely damaged by the N494,000 new minimum wage that organised labour has suggested.

This was revealed at a press conference in Abuja by Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation.

The minister bemoaned the fact that the government would have to spend N9.5 trillion as a result of the proposed N494,000 minimum salary.

He said they had decided to raise the nation’s minimum salary to N60,000 from N30,000 in order to reflect the current state of the economy.

He voiced his displeasure with organised labor’s proposed increased minimum wage of 1,547 percent.

Idris noted labour’s N494,000 minimum wage demand will make the federal government downside its 1.2 million workforce which does not portend any good for the country’s economy.

He said, “The sum of N494,000 national minimum wage which Labour is seeking would cumulatively amount to the sum N9.5 trillion bill to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Nigerians need to understand that whereas the FG is desirous of ample remuneration for Nigerian workers, what is most critical is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not encourage any action that could lead to massive job loss, especially in the private sector, who may not be able to pay the wage demanded by the Organised Labour,” he added.

Recall that the organized labour is billed to embark on indefinite strike on Monday, June 3, over the government’s failure to implement a new minimum wage and reversal of the April 3 electricity tariff hike.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on January 1 signed the 2024 N28.7 trillion appropriation bill with projected revenue of N19.7 trillion and a budget deficit of N10 trillion.