The Federal Government signaled on Monday that salary increases for employees in the public sector are likely to help mitigate the effects of the global economic slump.
The government acknowledged that workers who make the minimum monthly income of N30,000 have less purchasing power as a result of inflation.
At the public unveiling of a compilation of the “Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at 40” publication titled: “Contemporary history of working class struggles” in Abuja, Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, dropped the clue.
Following Festus Osifo’s statement that the ruling class has oppressed and subjugated workers, he took the stage.
In order to reflect what is happening around the world, the minister added, the revision had become essential.
Ngige said: “The inflation is worldwide. We shall adjust the minimum wage in conformity with what is happening and much more importantly, the 2019 Minimum Wage Act has a new clause for a review.”
He added “that adjustment has started with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) because the stage they are with their primary employers, the Ministry of Education, there is Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
“There is concern however, that government’s consideration for the minimum wage review may be a hoax as it may be an exercise in futility because many states are not able to pay the existing wage. Of what use would be an upward review of the existing wage if workers will not benefit from it? some concerned workers are asking.
“Under the principles of offer and acceptance, which is that of collective Bargaining, ASUU can say let’s look at the offer they gave us and make counter offer, but they have not done that. If they do that, we are bound to look at their offer. These are the ingredients of collective negotiations,” Ngige stated.
The minister noted that Labour created the wealth of any nation as well as the wealth of any family, adding that “if you don’t work, you won’t eat.”
Osifo bemoaned that the current economic climate made the N30,000 minimum wage unaffordable, pointing out that workers’ transportation costs to work for a month exceed their take-home income.
The TUC leader said: “The value of the N30, 000 minimum wage has been eroded. It cannot take workers to work again.”
Osifo emphasized that if it weren’t for the battle of the movement’s founding fathers, the history would be very different today, noting that the Labour movement in the nation is dedicated to protecting the interests of workers. He asked the administration to understand the influence of consensus.
Adams Oshiomhole, a former leader of the NLC, recommended Labour leaders to question candidates for the presidency about their economic policies and platform.
Oshiomhole carpeted state governors who, due to a lack of resources, did not pay the N30,000 minimum salary.
He said: “The other day I saw some councils’ chairmen in a state where the N30,000 minimum wage was not being paid, and I saw NLC chairmen in those states praising these governors, even giving them awards. Where is the conscience?
“At the governors’ forum when we were debating the whole idea of whether N18, 000 was reasonable, or we should deregulate minimum wage and let every state pay according to its ability, we had a Labour Party Governor in the person of Olusegun Mimiko, who supported those who said minimum wage should be abolished, deregulated according to the ability to pay.
“And I said to him: ‘When you are buying your Toyota bulletproof car, you pay the same price as Lagos. You probably will pay more depending on how much you mark it up.
“Nothing can be more humiliating to you as workers than somebody who is elected on your platform, taking a position that is completely in conflict with what you stand for.
“And that is why I will conclude by saying that all of us should look carefully. I have even told APC candidates. If you pursue absolute market forces, you don’t have me on your side because what brought us to this situation, talking about history, we must document the characters of government we interface with.
“So, if you say you do not want market forces, say so now to those who want to be president. I want you to use this moment to know that there is no such thing as a good person in government or a bad person – or a short person and a tall person. What will determine your fate are the policy choices that those in government consciously make.”
Oshiomhole, a former national chairman of the government’s All Progressives Congress (APC), insisted that he could not criticize the Labour movement for choosing to demonstrate against the nation’s exorbitant diesel prices.
He claimed that the benefit of serving as a former governor of Edo State was insufficient to make him forget his past in labor.
He said: “If I was a coward, I won’t be removed the way I was removed as National Chairman of APC,” advising Labour leaders to stop agonising and start organising.
Oshiomhole urged Labour leaders to seek for the payment of wages equivalent to the dollar.
He said: “We must teach our younger generation to understand the other side of the argument. There must be more than one way to bail us out from where we are.
“Sunday, I had the opportunity to address the APC youth leaders and I told them we are not just interested in building a great country with a huge Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the largest GDP in Africa, but the GDP should reflect in our living standard.
“We should have well paid people and more prosperous people. We don’t just want to say that we have the largest GDP in Africa. We want to be able to say that our people are better off than people in any other African countries. If not, then, there is a crisis of description and we cannot be progressive.
“If we post two contradictory indexes, the human index is going down and then, the economy index is going up, something is going wrong.
“I want you to know that what makes us different as Labour leaders is that if you are grounded on those core values of Labour, nothing in life will make you change.
“I said this before even on national television that the fact that the children of the poor are at home, is not featured in conversations on television. It’s all about politics, this is wrong. It is not an act of God. We have to fix it.”
Former NLC Chairman Hassan Sunmonu, who decried the neglect of the university sector, queried: “Why is it different in this particular country? Name one university anywhere in the world where vice chancellors have to ask for the permission of the Head of Service before they recruit a Professor.
“Name any university in the world where professors and lecturers are paid through the Accountant-General’s Office. Where in the world is anything akin to IPPIS being forced on any university?
“The most patriotic Nigerians are those at the federal universities. Why should a senior lecturer have the salary of a sergeant in the army? If we don’t take education seriously it will be to the detriment of our present and future.”
Sunmonu said he “ would like to congratulate the leadership of the NLC for this feat. I am very proud of you people.
“The IMF and World Bank want to make Nigeria a poor and undeveloped country forever. Our policy makers are not talking. Most of them were put there by the IMF and World Bank.
“We don’t have secrets in Nigeria. Our secrets are in Washington, London and Co.”
The need for pay adjustment is a result of the global and Nigerian inflation rates spiraling out of control. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, inflation has been on the rise in Nigeria.
According to the inflation figures for August issued by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, food inflation has been going higher over the last three to four months, rising from little over 16% in June to well over 20%. (NBS). Food costs have more than tripled in local markets as a result of this trend.
Most of Nigeia’s staple items, including garri, rice, beans, tomatoes, provision, and the whole range of everyday cooking supplies, are particularly visible in this spiral price increase.
Fruit prices have also entered the fight. Dietary staples including water melons, carrots, oranges, and pineapples have all but disappeared from most tables. Many homes no longer cook using meat, fish, or other protein-rich foods because their prices have skyrocketed in recent years.
The frequency of open solicitations by families who are no longer able to support their households is also apparent and growing in size.
There is a tangible sadness among builders in the construction business who lament the exorbitant rise in the cost of building materials virtually every day. When interacting with The Nation, some builders claimed that cost overruns forced them to halt their construction efforts. Others expressed worry that they would be forced to sell their properties given the skyrocketing costs of construction supplies.
