The newly appointed Head of the Civil Service in Zamfara State , Alhaji Mujtaba Isah, has urged the Nigeria Labour Congress and workers to seek the implementation of a living wage rather than agitating for an increase in the minimum wage.
Isah argued that the minimum wage would never solve the myriad of problems confronting Nigerian workers. Speaking in an interview in Gusau, Zamfara state capital, Isah said that the time had come when workers should realise that the minimum wage, which had been reviewed upwards by previous administrations in the country, had yet to solve their financial problems.
According to him, “We have noticed series of demands for minimum wage by the Nigerian Labour Congress, but in return the minimum wage increase usually cause serious inflation, thereby making life more miserable for ordinary Nigerians.”
The Zamfara HoS, therefore, suggested that the NLC should focus on the demand for a living wage, which could cater for their monthly needs as practised in most advanced countries of the world.
Isah stressed that a living wage is always designed to take care of the needs of all civil servants from the lowest to the highest level. He expressed sympathy on the living condition of civil servants, particularly those in the lower cadre, whose salary could not sustain for even a week, stressing, “Something must be done, if we really want a vibrant civil service”.
