As per the 46th national collective agreement, the minimum wage of the Nigerian textile and apparel workers will increase by 13 per cent to N32,000 (US$101) per month. The said agreement has been signed by the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) and the Nigeria Textile Garment and Tailoring Employers Association (NTGTEA).

Post the wage hike, the minimum wage in Nigerian textile and garment industry would be more than 70 per cent of the current national minimum wage of N18,000. Sources say that the increase in minimum wage rate will enable the labourers in the textile industry to deal with the economic recession.

Through the collective bargaining process, there was 18 per cent and 15 per cent rise in the wage rate in 2012 and 2014 respectively, according to NUTGTWN. Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other areas of workers’ compensation and rights.