Cost of Living: Federal Workers Demand N300,000 Minimum Wage

The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has called on the Federal Government to urgently review the national minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000, citing the rising cost of living and declining purchasing power of workers.

The forum made the demand in separate letters addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

The letters, dated Wednesday, were signed by the National Coordinator of the FWF, Andrew Emelieze, and the General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele.

Under its proposed salary structure, the forum wants Level 1 Step 1 workers to earn N300,000 monthly, with salaries rising progressively to N1.5 million for Level 17 Step 1 officers.

Specifically, the proposed structure places Level 2 workers at N330,000; Level 3 at N360,000; Level 4 at N390,000; Level 5 at N420,000; Level 6 at N450,000; and Level 7 at N480,000.

It proposed N510,000 for Level 8 workers, N550,000 for Level 9, N600,000 for Level 10, N700,000 for Level 12, N750,000 for Level 13, N800,000 for Level 14, N1 million for Level 15, N1.2 million for Level 16 and N1.5 million for Level 17 officers.

The workers said the demand had become necessary because of what they described as the incomplete implementation of the N70,000 national minimum wage approved in 2024.

According to the forum, federal workers have yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and other allowances arising from the wage review.

“It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage,” the forum said.

It recalled that the 2024 wage review raised the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, but alleged that federal civil servants effectively received a flat N40,000 increase across the various salary levels.

The forum argued that the statutory three-year period for reviewing the minimum wage should not stop the government from taking urgent action to address the worsening economic hardship faced by workers.

“As a matter of fact, it is suicidal for the federal workers to continue in this ugly situation. Hence, based on the current cost-of-living crisis, it can only be a matter of justice that the federal wages be immediately reviewed to meet up with the current economic realities in Nigeria,” it said.

The FWF urged the government and relevant authorities to consider its proposal as an urgent intervention aimed at restoring workers’ purchasing power and cushioning the impact of the rising cost of living.