Earned Wage Access Alone Won't Solve Low Wage Problems

Wage inequality remains at high levels, compounded by our rising inflation.

Everything has been affected - food, transport, rent, clothing, health, leisure activities and more.

Minimum wage of ₦30k is inadequate in todays inflationary environment.

Whilst exceptions and outliers exists the fact is social mobility is becoming a challenge in Nigeria.

Whether children are able to do better than their parents (Inter-generational mobility) or whether individuals ascend the socio-economic ladder in their own lifetimes (Intra-generational mobility), wages will form a crucial component of that amongst others.  

A lot of work is being done by all levels of society to address the situation including, in the immediate term, taming inflation and establishing a new minimum wage. The hope and expectation is, over time, the current situation will return to some sort of normalcy.

The impact of low wage on workers.

Low wages make it challenging for workers to invest in education or training to upskill themselves, to buy a car or rent a property, to eat a healthy meal or maintain good health, to marry or have family stability including taking adequate care of children. Essentially there's increased stress from financial worries and this shows in the pattern of goods and services that are purchased thus having a knock on impact on the economy itself.

The bottom line is low wages can have a detrimental impact on financial wellbeing.

Earned Wage Access (EWA) can provide short-term relief, but it doesn’t address the underlying issue of low wages.

EWA doesn't give additional money to ones wages beyond providing access to a portion of the money earned but not been paid within the pay period. That ability to provide a worker with just-in-time (on-demand) access to cash has shown that it can be a life saver for workers.

Hence, advocating for fair wages and better income opportunities remains crucial especially as the effects of low wages go beyond just numbers to shaping lives and futures. Let’s advocate for a more equitable society where everyone can thrive.