THUR APRIL 30 2026-theGBJournal| The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called for a fundamental shift in labour advocacy—from a narrow wage-centric approach to a broader, more holistic welfare framework.
This repositioning, CPPE said, is more aligned with Nigeria’s economic realities and offers a more sustainable pathway to improving living standards, boosting productivity, and strengthening economic resilience.
According to the think-tank, Nigeria’s inflationary environment—driven largely by food, energy, and transportation costs—has significantly weakened real incomes.
For most households, especially low- and middle-income earners, food and transport account for a dominant share of expenditure.
In addition, rising energy costs, housing pressures, and limited access to affordable social services continue to compress disposable incomes.
In this context, CPPE emphasizes that the central objective of labour welfare policy should be the protection of real incomes, not merely nominal wage growth.
It noted that rising food prices, transport fares, and housing costs remain the most immediate threats to workers’ welfare.
It said Labour advocacy should therefore prioritise structural interventions that address these cost drivers.
This includes scaling up investment in mass transit systems to reduce commuting costs, policies to boost agricultural productivity and curb food inflation, measures to moderate rental pressures in urban centres, and the provision of subsidised staff canteens by medium and large enterprises as well as government institutions.
”Tackling these cost pressures will deliver more durable welfare gains than periodic wage increases.”
A broader and more strategic focus on cost-of-living reduction, social protection, job security, and improved public service delivery will yield more meaningful and sustainable welfare outcomes.
A comprehensive welfare framework anchored on structural reforms and strong institutions is imperative to improving workers’ quality of life and advancing inclusive economic growth.”
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