Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has announced a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants in the state.
He made this announcement during the commissioning of the new Labour House in Edo State on Monday. The new wage is set to take effect from May 1st, 2024.
This decision comes amidst a backdrop of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) pushing for an increase in the minimum wage to match the rising national inflation, which reached 33.2 per cent in March 2024, up from 31.70 per cent in February.
Food inflation also rose to 31.7 per cent in March from 30 per cent in February.
The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had proposed N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country. This proposal came after President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, established a 37-member panel on January 30th.
The panel, comprising representatives from the federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, was tasked with recommending a new national minimum wage.
During the inaugural meeting of the panel, Shettima urged members to expedite their deliberations and submit their reports promptly, as the current N30,000 minimum wage was set to expire at the end of March 2024.
