The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the state government to increase the minimum wage for workers to ₦150,000, citing the rising cost of living and recent wage hikes in other states.
State NLC Chairperson, Comrade Funmi Sesi, made the demand on Thursday while responding to the recent upward wage reviews by the governments of Imo and Ebonyi states.
According to Sesi, Lagos workers currently earn a minimum wage of ₦85,000 and deserve more, especially given the higher costs of accommodation, transportation, food, and basic utilities in the state.
READ ALSO: LP accuses NLC’s Ajaero of blackmail, intimidation
“The time has come for an upward review of minimum wage in Lagos. At least someone has taken the bull by the horns and opened the space,” she said, referencing the recent wage increases in other parts of the country.
She further stated that there would be no reason for criticism if Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu decided to implement a higher wage, arguing that workers deserve better pay and decent working conditions that reflect Lagos’s economic realities.
Comrade Sesi also expressed hope that the wage increases in Imo and Ebonyi would trigger a ripple effect across all Nigerian states.
Earlier, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma announced an increase in the minimum wage for civil servants from ₦76,000 to ₦104,000. Similarly, the Ebonyi State Government raised its workers’ minimum wage from ₦70,000 to ₦90,000.