…says N70,000 now poverty payBy Victor Ahiuma-YoungThe Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has asked its affiliates and workers across the country to prepare for serious battle for a new national minimum wage, declaring that the current N70,000 wage has become a “poverty wage” that can no longer meet the needs of Nigerian workers amid soaring living costs.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, gave the charge Monday at the opening ceremony of the 2026 NLC Rain School held at the Workers’ Solidarity Centre in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he said organised labour would soon begin negotiations for a living wage and would not approach the talks from a position of weakness.
The annual programme brought together labour leaders, political office holders and gender activists for ideological training and strategy sessions with the theme, “The Working Class and the Politics of 2027: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities.”
Addressing participants, Ajaero said organised labour was preparing for another round of minimum wage negotiations and warned that workers would not approach the talks from a position of weakness.
He said : The battle for a living wage will soon begin in earnest. As we discuss the politics of the future, we must remain grounded in the immediate material realities confronting our class. We are preparing for the renegotiation of the national minimum wage. Let us be clear: the paltry sum that currently passes for a minimum wage is no longer sustainable. It is a poverty wage.
