“One Pays N200K”: African Countries Paying Highest Minimum Wage as Nigeria's Subsidy Removal Empties Pockets
- Nigeria is one of the African countries paying the lowest minimum wages on the continent
- The country's minimum wage is set at N30,000, which is about $64.7 when converted to the CBN exchange rate
- Recently, Nigeria removed the subsidy on petrol, causing workers in Nigeria to demand an increase in the minimum wage
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Following the insistence on removing the fuel subsidy in Nigeria by President Bola Tinubu, workers in Nigeria began agitation for an increase in the minimum wage.
Analysts believe that Nigeria pays some of the lowest minimum wages in Africa despite being the biggest economy on the continent.
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In Nigeria, the minimum wage is set at $64.7, about N30,000, using the exchange rate of N463 per dollar determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The workers’ agitation is that the current minimum wage paid by the Nigerian government can hardly pay bills in light of rising inflation and, now, the increase in the pump price of petrol, which has caused the cost of transportation and other goods to skyrocket.
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Organised labour in Nigeria threatened a nationwide strike over the increase in petrol prices, asking the government to increase the minimum wage, which is currently set at N30,000.
According to Nairametrics, Nigeria’s Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) revealed its demands after calling off the planned nationwide strike following the removal of fuel subsidies.
In a statement signed by the union’s President, Mr Festus Osifo, and General Secretary, Mr Nuhu Toro, on Monday, June 5, 2023, the TUC made a list of demands to the FG.
The demands include the increase of minimum wage to N200,000 from the current N30,000 before the end of June 2023 and a tax holiday for government and private sector workers earning less than N200,000 or $500.
Reports reveal that countries such as worn-torn Libya, Seychelles, and other smaller African economies pay four times higher minimum wages than Nigeria.
The Nigerian government has always given excuses for low revenue generation for the failure to increase the minimum wage in the country.
Below are 10 African countries paying the highest minimum wage.
- Seychelles: N200,000
- Libya: N149,000
- Morocco: N130,000
- Gabon: N118,000
- South Africa: N112,000
- Mauritius: N111,120
- Equatorial Guinea: N92,000
- Congo: N71,000
- Algeria: N70,000
- Kenya: N65,000
Tinubu to increase minimum wage? President makes new announcement
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had revealed a need to increase the national minimum wage to improve the living condition of Nigerians.
Tinubu made this call on Friday, June 2, during his meeting with governors under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential villa in Abuja.
He noted that a review of the national minimum wage must reflect the current realities of Nigerians, The Nigerian Tribune reported.
Source: Legit.ng
