Challenges of Minimum Wage Implementation and Management in the Nigerian Public Sector a Game Theory Analysis

Minimum wage is a major instrument established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to protect workers from unjustified low pay and to ensure equitable share of the proceeds of labour. This helps to alleviate poverty among low-income earners and ensure they are able to take care of their basic needs. However, in most developing countries like Nigeria, workers struggle to survive as the minimum wage is hardly enough to take them home. In some cases, the government find it difficult to honor agreements like wage increase or changes in working conditions; hence the incessant protests and strikes by the workers union represented by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC). The government also finds it difficult to raise wages for workers resulting in disagreements. Using the Game Theory, this study therefore shows how both the government and the workers union can manage the challenges of wage disputes through bargaining so that everyone is better off. As a result, the government and the economy will not lose millions of Naira due to deadlocks and strikes, while workers will not lose productivity and wages due to ‘No work, no pay’ policy of the government. It is recommended that both the government and the labour union should negotiate their diverse terms for each party to have a better pay-off.