The Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organization has thrown its weight behind the three day warning strike embarked upon by organised labour, saying the current economic crisis requires Nigerians to move beyond the traditional struggle for wage increases to a broader campaign for living dignity and national prosperity.
GAFAMORG, in a statement issued on Friday, said the strike reflected genuine concerns over declining purchasing power, soaring food and transport costs, unpaid wage related obligations and the need for a new minimum wage that would reflect the realities of Nigerian households.
The organisation, however, warned that simply increasing salaries without addressing inflation and the rising cost of essential goods and services could leave workers no better off.
“The question is no longer how much more should workers be paid, but what Nigerians must earn, and what government must provide, for people to live with dignity and build prosperity,” GAFAMORG stated.
The organisation said the current wage debate should therefore be reframed around purchasing power, arguing that the real value of a salary should be measured by what it can buy rather than by the nominal amount paid to workers.
It said, “A wage increase alone is not enough. A nominal increase can be wiped out by inflation tomorrow. What matters is not merely what a worker earns, but what that income can actually buy.”
Seven point agenda
GAFAMORG proposed a seven point framework which includes an emergency relief package for workers and pensioners, a new national living wage process, wage and pension indexation, a sustainable petrol price and transport solution, a social wage framework, inclusion of informal workers in wage institutions and the establishment of a National Living Wage and Purchasing-Power Council.
The organisation called on the Federal and state governments, in collaboration with organised labour, to negotiate and publish an emergency relief package within 14 days.
The proposed package would include wage awards, transport support and payment of arrears, with clear eligibility criteria, funding sources, payment schedules and periodic reviews based on changes in food, transport and energy prices.
It also proposed the adoption, by January 2027, of a national cost of living basket covering food, housing, transportation, energy, healthcare, education, water and communications.
According to the organisation, the methodology and data used in determining the basket must be publicly available and reflect regional differences in the cost of living.
GAFAMORG further called for legally enforceable quarterly reviews of wages and pensions, with adjustments triggered when the cost of essential goods or inflation rises by five per cent from the previous adjustment.
Fuel price not enough
On petrol pricing, GAFAMORG said the reduction of the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit alone should not be presented as evidence that Nigerians have achieved economic relief.
It called for a 90 day energy and transport stabilisation plan focused on domestic refining, reliable supply, transparent petrol pricing and affordable mass transportation.
The group also demanded regular publication of refining, importation and price components, alongside targeted and audited support for vulnerable households and public transport users.
Informal sector
GAFAMORG said millions of Nigerians working outside the formal economy must not be excluded from the national conversation on wages and economic wellbeing.
It called for a national informal work forum within 60 days, with consultations across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Farmers, traders, artisans, transport workers, market women, pensioners, women, youths, self employed persons and civil society organisations, it said, should have a permanent voice in institutions responsible for determining national living standards.
“Informal workers cannot be invisible. They also pay rent, transport fares, fuel costs, school fees and medical bills,” the organisation said.
Proposed council
GAFAMORG also proposed the establishment of an independent National Living Wage and Purchasing Power Council within 90 days.
The council, according to the organisation, should comprise representatives of government, labour, employers, informal workers, farmers, pensioners, women, youths, civil society and experts.
It would publish monthly cost-of-living data and quarterly purchasing-power reports, recommend wage adjustments, monitor wage erosion and assess the delivery of social services.
The council would also be empowered to trigger a policy response when purchasing power falls below an agreed national threshold.
GAFAMORG said the proposed framework should introduce a new relationship between living wage, social wage and purchasing-power protection.
It said economic reforms should ultimately be judged by their impact on ordinary households.
“There should be no economic reform without purchasing power protection, no wage negotiation without a living-wage test, no pension policy without inflation protection and no prosperity agenda that excludes informal workers,” the organisation said.
GAFAMORG urged organised labour, civil society, farmers, traders, artisans, pensioners, professionals, women, youths and communities to participate in its People's Living Dignity Test 2026, saying household experiences should form part of the evidence used to assess the country's economic condition.
The organisation said the central question Nigerians should ask in the current wage debate is simple: “What will the wage actually buy?”
It added that the answer to that question should form the basis of any credible national prosperity programme.
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