The laws that guides the basis of minimum wage in a country tends to protect the interest of the masses by ensuring they get paid the amount befitting for their labours. Since every organisation is expected to fulfil the provisions provided my a country's constitution, having this in mind, abiding by the set guidelines helps keep the dubious nature of most employer under control. This only works in a country where there is structure put in place to monitor wages and to ensure strict compliance of companies to minimum wages.
what is the minimum wage in my country? The last time I checked it was increased from 30k to 70k around 2024, though the implementation took awhile. In those days I was still serving and our expectations was so high, we kept waiting for the government to do the needful because as at then, corp members were being paid 33k an amount that barely last few weeks. In the community where I served, since it was a rural area, we had access to some natural resources that helps prevent further usage of our monthly allowance.
It wasn't a funny experience, we kept waiting but nothing happened, though we kept hearing rumors of some civil servants receiving the new minimum wage but we never got any. It was till January 2025, before corp members received their first share of the promised minimum wage. I could remember how it felt, it was like a miracle occur but the glory was short lived. I mean I finished serving and I went back to being unemployed which is the reality of most Nigeria corp members after service.
If it was doubled, How would it help in my day to day activities? that is ironic. Currently, I own business of my own, along side other side hustles I'm involved in. Which means I'm not in any way entitled to the minimum wage but then, even if I was, doubling the minimum wage and receiving it, are two different things entirely. Despite the fact that our government had increased the minimum wage, only the government sector and few private organisations abide by it. A lot of employers in my country still pay wages below the minimum wage.
The scarcity of jobs is something known by everyone in my country, government jobs might come with job security and incentives but it is really difficult to get one, since the slots are being shared among people within the government sector, average men and women can only hope to get a slot. This is not a matter of skills and talents, it is a matter of how connected a person is.
As a result of this, a lot of people settle for private organisations, there are some with gigantic salary but not many, majority of employers in the private sector take advantage of the job scarcity issue in the country. For a citizen who had searched for jobs for years without getting offer, the moment he or she is able to secure a job, as long as he or she gets paid, an amount that can sustain them till the next one comes, they wouldn't mind if it is below minimum wage or not.
So even if it was doubled or tripled, it would barely have effect on the lives of the masses, only if the government found a way to ensure strict compliance to it. How much will the minimum wage be, before I can consider myself rich? Let's say I'm employed in an organization that complice with the minimum wage, I would say about 400k would make sense, considering the crumbling economy and other job related expenses.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Minimum wage in hive learners community.
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