Nigerian lawmakers pass minimum wage bill, ending labour dispute

Nigerian lawmakers passed legislation on Tuesday to more than double the minimum wage to N70,000 a month, ending months of wrangling between the government and labour unions. The wage bill, which passed at an accelerated hearing, amends the 2019 minimum wage law, cutting the review period for public wages to three years from five years. Nigeria’s main labour unions had agreed on the new minimum wage on Thursday after talks with the government after months of deadlock and the threat of strikes. The bill passed without any opposition at the senate and the lower parliament. It will become effective as soon as President Bola Tinubu gives his assent.

The minimum wage will rise from N30,000 a month after Nigeria’s two biggest union federations, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), argued that soaring prices and a weakening currency caused by reforms instituted by President Tinubu were hitting workers hard. Africa’s most populous nation is grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, stoking fears of Kenyan-style protests that have rocked that country for nearly a month.