The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure that his government’s proposed bill on a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers is entirely consistent and compatible with Nigeria’s international obligations to promote and advance the right of workers to an adequate living wage. This call comes as the president has announced plans to send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine the new minimum wage as part of the country’s law for the next five years or less.
In a letter dated June 15, 2024, and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization expressed concerns that the reportedly proposed level of the minimum wage in the executive bill is grossly inadequate and falls short of the requirements of international human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party. SERAP emphasized that the executive bill should reflect international standards that Nigerian workers should be provided, at a minimum, with a living wage, in accordance with costs of living.
The organization highlighted that Nigerian workers face many human rights challenges, with most people living in poverty working yet not earning a wage sufficient to afford an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families. SERAP warned that any proposed minimum wage that fails to guarantee a life in dignity for Nigerian workers and their families would be entirely inconsistent and incompatible with international standards.
The group also urged the government to take concrete steps to defend the rights of Nigerian workers to an adequate living wage by cutting the cost of governance and implementing bold transparency and accountability measures in ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). SERAP suggested that the government should propose cuts in the huge budgetary allocations to fund security votes, jumbo salaries, and allowances paid to members of the National Assembly, and unlawful life pensions to former governors and their deputies.
SERAP also urged the government to immediately and fully recover missing public funds from MDAs, as documented in the several reports published by the Auditor-General of the Federation. The organization emphasized that these measures would enable the government to effectively comply with Nigeria’s international legal obligations regarding workers’ right to an adequate living wage.
The call by SERAP underscores the importance of ensuring that the minimum wage bill upholds the rights of workers to a living wage. This is crucial in addressing the widespread poverty and economic challenges faced by many Nigerians. The government must prioritize the welfare of its citizens and ensure that the minimum wage bill reflects the international standards that Nigerian workers deserve.
