The Socialist Labour Movement has backed calls for an increase in Nigeria’s national minimum wage to N300,000, arguing that the current N70,000 wage can no longer provide workers with a decent standard of living.
The group said the economic realities facing Nigerian workers have made the existing minimum wage increasingly inadequate, particularly as the prices of food, housing, transportation and other basic necessities continue to put pressure on household incomes.
The call comes amid renewed demands from labour groups and workers for a review of the N70,000 national minimum wage introduced in 2024.
The Socialist Labour Movement has argued that the value of the current wage has been severely eroded by inflation and the rising cost of living. In an earlier analysis, the group said the N70,000 wage was inadequate to meet the basic needs of an average Nigerian worker and family.
The organisation's position comes at a time when the issue of workers' wages is again becoming a major national conversation.
In August, labour leaders called for a fresh review of the national minimum wage, saying the N70,000 benchmark had been overtaken by economic realities. At the 2026 Nigeria Rights of Workers Summit in Kebbi State, labour representatives said the current wage could no longer adequately respond to the increasing cost of living.
The pressure for a higher wage has also come from other worker groups. The Federal Workers Forum recently asked the Federal Government and National Assembly to increase the national minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000, arguing that the existing salary structure no longer reflects the realities faced by federal civil servants.
For workers, the argument is straightforward: earning N70,000 a month does not necessarily mean having N70,000 available for food and other household needs. Rent, transportation, electricity, school expenses, healthcare and food can consume a large portion of a worker's income before other personal expenses are considered.
The Socialist Labour Movement has therefore called for a wage that reflects the actual cost of living rather than one that merely meets a legal benchmark.
The group has also criticised the slow pace of wage implementation in some parts of the country, noting that even the existing N70,000 minimum wage has not been fully implemented by all states.
In its 2026 position on the issue, the Democratic Socialist Movement similarly argued that an average family could not realistically live for a month on N70,000 under current economic conditions. It cited rising food prices, rent and transportation costs as some of the major pressures on workers.
The debate over the minimum wage has become particularly important since the Federal Government removed the petrol subsidy and introduced other economic reforms that significantly changed the cost of living.
While the government has maintained that the reforms are necessary to stabilise the economy and create conditions for long-term growth, workers and labour groups have continued to demand measures that will cushion the immediate impact on households.
The N300,000 demand therefore represents a call for workers' earnings to catch up with the realities of the economy.
Supporters of the proposed increase argue that better wages could improve workers' purchasing power, reduce financial stress and help families meet basic needs.
However, increasing the minimum wage also presents challenges for employers and governments, particularly states and businesses that may struggle to meet higher salary bills without corresponding increases in revenue or productivity.
This makes the wage debate more than a simple question of increasing a figure. It also involves discussions about productivity, taxation, government revenue, business sustainability, inflation and the overall cost of living.
For Socialist Labour, however, the starting point should be the welfare of the worker.
The group maintains that Nigerian workers should not be expected to continue working full-time while their earnings remain insufficient to meet basic living costs.
As pressure builds for another review of the minimum wage, the Federal Government, organised labour, employers and other stakeholders are expected to face renewed negotiations over what should constitute a realistic living wage for Nigerian workers.
For millions of workers, the central question is increasingly becoming how far N70,000 can actually go in today's Nigeria.
And for Socialist Labour, the answer is clear: the current wage is no longer enough, and workers deserve a minimum wage of N300,000.
Post a Comment