By Majeed Salaam
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called for a fundamental rethink of Nigeria’s labour welfare strategy, urging policymakers to move beyond periodic nominal wage increases and adopt a broader framework focused on protecting workers’ real purchasing power.
In a policy brief released on April 30, 2026, the Director-General of the economic advocacy group, Dr. Muda Yusuf, argued that while wage reviews remain important, they have become increasingly ineffective as a standalone response to workers’ welfare challenges in a persistently inflationary environment.
According to the CPPE, rising prices of food, transportation, energy and other basic necessities continue to erode the value of salary adjustments, leaving many workers worse off despite nominal increases in earnings.
The centre warned that Nigeria’s current macroeconomic realities demand a shift in policy emphasis from short-term wage negotiations to structural interventions capable of delivering lasting improvements in living standards.
At the heart of the policy recommendation is the argument that labour policy should prioritise the protection of real income rather than merely pursuing episodic increases in nominal wages.
The CPPE noted that for millions of low- and middle-income earners, the challenge is not simply inadequate salaries but the rising cost of living driven by structural inefficiencies, weak public service delivery and policy distortions across critical sectors.
“The central objective of labour policy should be the protection of workers’ purchasing power,” the brief stated, stressing that without measures to tackle inflationary pressures, salary reviews would continue to offer only temporary relief.
The think tank identified food inflation and transportation costs as two of the most pressing burdens facing Nigerian households and urged both government and organised labour to focus on policies that can ease these pressures.
Among its recommendations is increased investment in mass transit systems to lower commuting costs for workers, alongside stronger support for agricultural productivity to improve food supply and moderate market prices.
The CPPE also encouraged large private sector employers to adopt practical welfare-enhancing initiatives such as subsidised staff transportation and workplace canteens as part of broader employee support programmes.
According to the organisation, these interventions could deliver more immediate and sustainable welfare benefits than salary increases that are quickly wiped out by inflation.
The policy brief also drew attention to gaps in Nigeria’s social protection architecture, particularly in healthcare and retirement security.
It called for expanded access to affordable healthcare through the National Health Insurance Authority, noting that high out-of-pocket medical expenses continue to expose workers and their families to severe financial vulnerability.
Dr. Yusuf observed that retirement insecurity remains another critical concern, especially in cases where pension remittances are delayed or poorly enforced.
To address this, the CPPE urged stricter regulatory oversight to ensure full compliance with pension obligations by employers.
The centre further raised concerns over the growing casualisation of labour, warning that insecure employment arrangements weaken financial stability and limit workers’ ability to plan for the future.
It called on the government to enforce labour protections more rigorously and explore unemployment insurance mechanisms that can shield workers during periods of economic disruption.
Energy costs also featured prominently in the policy recommendations.
The CPPE described unreliable electricity supply and dependence on self-generation as major drains on workers’ disposable income, particularly for households forced to absorb rising fuel and power costs.
It advocated a more transparent electricity tariff regime, improved sector accountability and accelerated investments in power infrastructure to ease the burden on consumers.
On taxation, the think tank proposed reforms that would provide targeted relief for low-income earners, effectively increasing net take-home pay without necessarily raising gross wages.
Such measures, it argued, would offer a more fiscally sustainable pathway for enhancing worker welfare.
The organisation also recommended institutionalising inflation-linked wage adjustments and periodic cost-of-living reviews to replace reactive salary negotiations that often lag behind economic realities.
According to the CPPE, this would create a more predictable and responsive compensation framework better suited to Nigeria’s volatile inflation environment.
The centre maintained that sustainable improvements in worker welfare will only come through a comprehensive policy approach anchored on structural reforms, stronger public services and effective regulatory enforcement.
