The world is undergoing a difficult period presently, as regards the economic downfall that has plagued many nations. While this is almost a general issue, some countries suffer it more than others because the minimum wage for their workers has changed a bit, and given the advent of inflation, the high cost of living has reached its peak, leaving the workers in such countries with an unsustainable salary. Today, I'd love to share the situation in my country regarding this matter.
I'm a citizen of Nigeria, and that's where I also reside and work as a civil servant. Our minimum wage prior to this inflation was 33,000 naira, which, when compared to the exchange rate of 560 naira to one dollar then, means we earn about 59 dollars monthly. However, since the advent of inflation and the devaluation of our currency, we still earn that same minimum wage of 33,000 naira, while the exchange rate is now about 1470 naira to one dollar, meaning we now earn around 23 dollars monthly, which is an almost 300% difference.
This is quite ridiculous, and had the labor union not taken a stand to call for the reconsideration and increase of the minimum wage, then the government wouldn't have done anything, and yet many people can't even survive with that amount being earned as a minimum wage in this era. Many things have been affected by this inflation that lead to high costs of living, and that's why the government ought to look into this and increase the minimum wage, but then seems less concerned about it.
Among things that increase and make survival harder for the common man is fuel, which was once sold at 160 naira per liter and now it's around 800 naira per liter; that's a 400 percent increase, and bag of rice increases from 15000 naira per bag to 80000 naira per bag; that's about 433 percent increase, and the same is the case for basic goods and food items; even in services, the charge price has increased. For instance, my commute to work used to be 6,000 naira per month, and now it's at least 18,000 naira per month; that's alone more than half of the minimum wage for just transportation.
All of these put together make sustainability difficult for the common man, who earns the minimum wage of 33000 naira, and the government needs to do something to change the narrative; otherwise, many people would ditch their government job for other professions, or better yet, double their profession for the opportunity to have multiple streams of income, and ultimately that'll affect their efficiency in their primary job with the government.
The labor union once requested that the new minimum wage should be at least 650,000 naira, but the government offered a ridiculous increase that was rejected by the union. The union then reduced their expectations to 250,000 naira, but the highest government is offering so far is 62,000 naira, which isn't even up to a 90% increase compared to the formal minimum wage, despite how everything has increased in value beyond 300%.
Personally, I believe if the government is not willing to increase the minimum wage, then they should look for ways to regulate the prices of everything to go back to normal or, if possible, lower than they used to be, and to also work on strengthening our currency to have an edge over the dollar rather than it devaluating by the day.
If that wouldn't be done, then a minimum wage of at least 300,000 naira would be an ideal increase to survive the advent of this inflation, and that would also only make sense if the value of items wouldn't keep increasing more and more as time goes on. That's my take on this, and I hope the government does either of these things in the near future for the good of the workers of our dear country.
Thanks for your time, I hope you enjoyed the read, have a wonderful day ahead and stay bless.
All photos taken and edited on canvas