Nigerians have overwhelmingly favored a minimum wage of N100,000 for workers, with 87% voting in favor, according to a poll conducted by the Governance Advancement Initiative for Nigeria (GAIN).
Dr. Malcolm Fabiyi, in a statement on Monday announcing the poll results, stated that respondents also expressed their support for organized labor in any form of demonstrations to ensure the implementation of N100,000 as an irreducible minimum wage.
The statement mentioned that 1460 respondents from across the six geopolitical zones participated in the polls, which was conducted by GAIN to assess the performance of the government at the national and state levels after one year of the new democratic dispensation.
Respondents were asked to share their views on two labor-related minimum wage issues. In response to the first question, respondents were provided with nine monthly wage levels and asked to select one as the new national minimum wage. The wage levels presented ranged from N452K to N180,000. The results indicated that 87% of Nigerians support a minimum wage of at least N100,000 per month, while a slight majority of 58% support a minimum wage of at least N150K.
In response to the second labor-related question, 85% of respondents indicated that they would support demonstrations by the labor union to advance demands for a higher minimum wage.
The results overwhelmingly indicate that Nigerians are aligned with the agitations of the labor union for a higher minimum wage and are willing to fight for its actualization. Additionally, the results suggest that Nigerians are mindful of the potential impact that higher minimum wages can have on businesses and the overall economy and have reasonable and practical expectations for sustainable wage levels.
Tags
local