In Nigeria, after months of negotiations, unions and President Bola Tinubu finally agreed on Thursday, July 19, to raise the minimum monthly wage for civil servants to 70,000 naira (about $44). This is double the amount that was in effect until now. However, this gesture is limited in scope given the inflation rate in the country and falls far short of the organizations’ demands.
1 min
Federal employees, civil servants, airport workers and public school teachers will benefit from this wage increase. NigeriaThe minimum wage, which was previously 30,000 naira, has now increased to 70,000 naira, or around 34 euros.
This new minimum wage is far from the 250,000 naira that the unions were demanding. They had to accept a much lower offer for ” helping Nigerians cope with the difficulty of life ” as quickly as possible.
Negotiations will take place every three years to re-evaluate this minimum wage. But this progress will have a hard time making a difference compared to the exponential increase in the cost of living in the countryAs of June, inflation was still above 34% in Nigeria, while food inflation was close to 41%.
On the social network X, for example, a Nigerian user noted that the minimum wage for civil servants would barely be enough to buy a bag of rice of the cheapest brand on the market. Other Nigerians simply hope that this increase will actually be implemented by the governors of the different states of the country.
Read alsoNigeria: General strike suspended for minimum wage negotiations