Hello Everyone, Good Morning and welcome to my blog. I am much excited to participate in this week's prompt of the #HiveGhana Community. This week's prompt are very interesting and Educative. So i will be sharing on the Minimum wage in my Country Nigeria.
The Minimum wage issue in Nigeria has affected both the well to do and the common man as the increase in basically almost everything has affected everyone. It has been a subject of debate for years now. Last week, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) one of the umbrella for workers forum went on a strike by shutting down the Nation and protesting for an increase in the Minimum wage which is currently pegged at 30,000 Naira. The cost of living in Nigeria rises due to inflation, and a lot of Nigerians are facing great challenges accessing basic needs s such as food, health care, education and shelter. The minimum wage in Nigeria is insufficient to support the common person. When i was working in the hospital alot of workers died because of their inability to access healthcare and alot of students have dropped out of school because their sponsors found it difficult to afford their fees. It has really been a challenging moments in Nigeria. We were struggling to survive this when the New Government came into power and the first thing they did was Fuel Subsidy removal which has resulted to an increase in transportation cost, increase in prices of goods and services and bringing about general hardship to Nigerians.The minimum wage cannot even cover this basic expenses therby leaving workers struggling to make ends meet.
The current minimum wage is not enough for the common Man and the the Government should seek for measures to tackle inflation by increasing the minimum wage so that it could meet basic living expenses and lead to a better living standard as more money circulates in the economy. Increasing the minimum wage will ensure the sustainability of businesses, foster economic growth thereby reducing poverty and create more opportunities for economic empowerment.
If I could change something about this situation in Nigeria, I would implement policies and programs that are aimed at promoting skills development, Job creation and labor market reforms so that these workers will earn a living for themselves beyond relying on the minimum wage. There is an adage in my state that our present Governor brought which is tagged "DAKKADA" meaning Arise. Presently the Governor of my state has tried to promote skill development, asking workers to own a farm land where they can plant which will make them earn from it either for commercial use or for their families thereby creating Jobs for people that knows how to farm yet they do not have a farm of their own. With this the rate of inflation in the country will reduce and workers will not be suffering and depending on the minimum wage.
Another thing i would do is that i will ensure that the Government and even the private sectors are transparent and accountable in all their dealings thereby making all the citizen to benefit from the wealth of the nation and not just allow wealth into the hands of a few and thereby making them take advantage of those that do not have access to the wealth.
This is my thought on the topic.
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I still remain @gloreal.