Earlier in May 2024, organized labor (in both public and private sector)—under the auspices of the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), after putting together some numbers they considered personal living expenses of the Nigerian worker—embarked on a series of nationwide strikes and public agitations in a bid to get a minimum wage increase from the previous N33,000 to N615,000.
While organized labor across Nigeria is currently jubilant over their recent win in obtaining a minimum wage increase by fiat, every student of praxeology in Nigeria receives this news with mixed feelings and the utmost reservation, because we are cognizant of the outcomes which inevitably follow from such interventions in the free market.
That a higher wage is preferable to a lower wage is not disputed.
A minimum wage law means that those whose DMVP is below the legal minimum are prevented from working.
Mr. Joe Ajero, the President of the NLC, in his statement as quoted by the Premium Times, is seen making the threat that, “if, however, the negotiation of the minimum wage is not concluded by the end of May, the Trade Union movement in Nigeria will no longer guarantee industrial peace in the country.” This, once more, provided evidence that use of threat and violence are inherent in labor unionism.
The Nigerian worker ought to see that it is in his best long-run interest that mere short-run gains that compromise social cooperation are renounced.
What concerns the student of praxeology is the rigorous investigation of the means chosen to attain these higher wages.
https://mises.org/mises-wire/new-minimum-wage-increase-nigeria-pyrrhic-victory-organized-labor
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