Stoking Avoidable Labour Unrests

By Alabi Williams / posted 10 June 2024

Nigerians are still weighing costs of last week’s industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). Some confessed that Labour did well to knock some seriousness into this government, which since inception has relied more on soap-box promises, than make the country livable, better than it was before May 29, 2023. Others lamented that Labour compounded their woes, by tampering with remnant electricity supply in the national grid. The grid had been on and off for the past nine years, due to negligence on the part of government. But switching off the grid completely, citizens rued, was like a death-wish to struggling businesses that needed it to augment costly fuels. Some have said the affront amounted to sabotage, recommending treason.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, said “nowhere in the world has labour ever tampered with the national grid. It is treason. A treasonable felony is an economic sabotage, you don’t do that.” He made the charge when he addressed the national executive council of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), last Thursday. Labour responded that its action was constitutionally protected and challenged the SGF that those politically exposed persons and their business partners, who loot and ruin the country are those to be charged with treasonable felony.

Perhaps the SGF forgot that the grid had been sickly and that it collapsed 99 times under President Buhari, despite repeated financial interventions from government. It has collapsed nine times since Tinubu took over. The SGF should tell Nigerians, which countries condone such economic wastage, where nobody is charged for sabotage.

To enable the 37-man Tripartite Committee set up to negotiate the new minimum wage do a thorough job, the office of the SGF had generously requested for N1 billion. The memo containing the request leaked and citizens wondered why government should invest that much on the committee’s assignment. The money was cut down to N500 million as take-off tranche. It is apparent now that the committee did not deliver and should be disbanded.

Last Monday and Tuesday were hectic for citizens, as their afflictions became manifold. Businesses were grounded and everything was at standstill. Travellers who went to airports to catch early morning flight met empty pavilions. No attendants to answer their queries. Citizens weren’t sure Labour had summoned sufficient courage to fight government. It was also not clear how many affiliate bodies were ready to join the face-off. Besides, talks were still ongoing to appease and calm workers.

As passengers milled aimlessly at usually busy airports in Abuja and Lagos, it turned out that Aviation workers, comprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees, the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers had voted in favour of the strike. It was a nasty experience for travellers.

Workers in the Maritime sector showed same solidarity with Labour. Other critical sectors that made the two-day strike memorable were; the Academic Staff Union of Universities, the National Union of Electricity workers, the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Joint Health Sector Unions, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Nigeria Union of Railway Workers, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, who helped to ground the National Assembly.

It was a comprehensive outing for workers and government acknowledged it by quickly inviting the unionists for another round of talks on Monday, June 3. The matter had become an emergency. But government had enough time to have averted a bloody-nose and save the economy from avoidable losses. Did government take the workers for granted, such that they were unable to reach an agreement despite grandiose promises?

Government inaugurated the Tripartite Committee in January 2024. As at May 1, there was still no agreement, but President Tinubu did not fail to renew the pledge to pay a wage that will address current economic challenges. In his May Day message, the President said; “You would recall that on January 30, 2024, the Federal Government convened a 37-member Tripartite Committee on minimum wage. The Committee’s mandate was to provide counsel and suggest a national minimum wage that aligns with our current economic conditions.

“Since then, the Committee, in collaboration with Labour leaders has been diligently working towards proposing a new national minimum wage. Unfortunately, despite concerted efforts, the Committee was unable to reach a consensus at its last meeting. This shall be resolved soon and I assure you that your days of worrying ate over.”

That assurance was empty. Labour was careful not to fall for that gambit. Since the imposition of petroleum tax (otherwise known by government as subsidy removal) on May 29, 2023, the political authorities and labour had engaged in conversations around making life bearable for citizens. The petrol tax and other import levies imposed by the Federal Government have made living very tough for ordinary families.

Food inflation has reached 40 per cent record high, chiefly due to high transportation cost. The naira has suffered massive devaluation in one year, such that imported household items and industrial inputs have become too costly and less affordable. Energy costs have made production a herculean task for manufacturers. Cost of building materials have climbed higher by more than 300 per cent in one year, whereas a dull housing sector is not a good omen for any economy.

The efforts at mitigating cost of living have been feeble and of little consequence. Apart from distributing grains in the name of palliatives, the government proposed wage award of N35,000 for workers is not sufficient to vanquish the hunger that stalks the land. Even for the Federal Government, this obligation is hard to keep. State governments do not feel the wage award is binding on them, despite improved earnings from the Federation Account. They are not faithful to paying the wage award.

For Labour, the wage award and other palliatives by government have never been the real deal; those are tactics by government to buy time and distract from the minimum wage matter. So, workers have insisted on May 31 as deadline for the matter to be resolved, after which it might no longer undertake to guarantee industrial harmony.

To commence action (industrial disharmony), the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), jointly announced on Friday, May 31, an indefinite strike action at midnight of Sunday, June 2. The final push was government’s failure to substantially shift ground beyond the N60,000 offered as living wage. Government had negotiated N57,000, and later added N3,000.

As of Sunday night, nobody was sure the dimension the strike threat could assume. The National Assembly had belatedly stepped in to negotiate as the last effort to save the day. Where was the NASS in the last five months? The Tripartite Committee couldn’t arrive at a consensus, waiting till the eleventh hour to pull some stunt. It doesn’t take the lawmakers much time to fix allowances for their luxury.

Later, the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, weighed in to persuade Nigerians that the N494,000 wage proposed by labour would cripple the economy. He said: “Nigerians need to understand that whereas the FG is desirous of ample remuneration for Nigerian workers, what is most critical is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not to encourage any action that could lead to massive job loss, especially in the private sector, who may not be able to pay the wage demand by the organised Labour.”

That last-ditch effort to recruit Nigerians on the side of government did not work. The Labour leaders represent a cross-section of workers in the public and private sectors. They are aware of the challenges in manufacturing and high production costs. From their interaction with the media, Labour did not expect government to pay the entire wage it has proposed. Instead, Labour has demonstrated a flexibility that has seen it climb down from an initial N615,000 to N494,000, an indication that it will climb further down if government becomes more reasonable and realistic.

People in government know that their miserly offering of N60,000 cannot guarantee better life for the least paid worker. Does government take into account today’s prohibitive costs of transportation, feeding, housing and health, to begin with? If government’s economic policies substantially reduce the burden of these cost on citizens, then it could in good conscience begin to propose N60,000. But that is not the case. Citizens provide their own water, pay for electricity that is not available and procure education for children. The only time citizens feel this government is when they threaten more taxes and levies.

It is dubious of this government to compute the cumulative cost of Labour’s proposed wage on the economy and not give the flip side of what N60,000 minimum wage will amount to. It is a fruitless propaganda not to compute the cumulative cost of lawmakers’ salaries and allowances as well as those of the executive on the economy.

Now that governors have joined the fray, announcing their refusal to pay N60,000 minimum wage, government should gear up for large-scale industrial unrest across the country. This government cannot add that to its huge trust deficit with citizens. A chaotic industrial environment in addition to a more chaotic set of economic policies will distort the graph towards 2027. In the reckoning of citizens, this government can no longer thump its chest as the best thing to happen to Nigeria.

In the first three months of 2024, no fewer than 30 governors are reported to have spent N986.64 billion on sitting allowances, travelling, utilities and sundry luxuries. Yet, they cannot pay a minimum wage of N60,000. All things may just be working together for Nigeria’s survival; the ultimate unravelling!

Note: This article was first published by The Guardian Newspaper.
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