These are difficult times for organised labour in Nigeria. Labour had its job well cut out from day one of President Bola Tinubu in office when he announced that “subsidy is gone”. Between then and now, there have been different protests and strikes by organised labour to express disagreement against government policies. But no strike
These are difficult times for organised labour in Nigeria. Labour had its job well cut out from day one of President Bola Tinubu in office when he announced that “subsidy is gone”. Between then and now, there have been different protests and strikes by organised labour to express disagreement against government policies. But no strike unites labour more than the one that deals with workers’ wages and conditions of service.
Tension is on the rise for industrial strikes. During the May Day celebration a few weeks ago, Labour and Employment Hon Nkeiruka Onyejeocha restated the government’s commitment to pay whatever minimum wage was agreed at the Tripartite Committee level with effect from May 1. The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero had warned of an impending strike action if a decision was not reached on the vexed issue of minimum wage by the end of May.
Time is fast running out but it appears the road to a decision is still far. Will the government be able to rise to the occasion? There is a wide disparity between what organised labour is asking for and what the government and the private sector are willing to pay. Labour has demanded a minimum wage of N615,000.00 while the government has presented a counteroffer of N48,000.00 with the Organised Private Sector offering N54,000.00. A meeting called to discuss the issue was deadlocked and Labour stormed out of the meeting in annoyance describing the offers as ridiculous.
Twenty-four hours after the stormy meeting, the Chairman of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, Bukar Goni, is calling for another meeting to resolve the issue. He has sent a letter of invitation to labour leaders for a meeting on Tuesday, 21st May. The letter was dated May 16, which was the day of the last meeting suggesting that the government may have had a rethink on the matter.
In a statement released after the meeting, the labour leaders expressed disappointment, saying the federal government has shown its unseriousness with the amount it proposed. They described the ₦48,000 proposed new minimum wage by the federal government as an insult to the sensibility of Nigerian workers.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero and the Deputy President of the TUC, Etim Okon, said Nigerian workers would not accept N48,000 as the new minimum wage being proposed by the federal government because it is a drop in the bucket compared to Labour’s demand of N615,000.00.
The labour leaders also argued that the position of government does not reflect the economic reality and hardship the workers are currently facing in the country. “The NLC and TUC expressed profound disappointment as negotiations at the Tripartite National Minimum Wage resumed today but reached an unfortunate impasse as a result of the apparent unseriousness of the government to engage in reasonable negotiation with Nigerian workers.
“Despite earnest efforts to reach an equitable agreement, the less than reasonable action of the government and the organised private sector (OPS) has led to a breakdown in negotiations. The government’s proposal of a paltry N48,000 as the minimum wage does not only insult the sensibilities of Nigerian workers but also falls significantly short of meeting our needs and aspirations.”
Ajaero, further expatiated that the proposal by the private sector team highlighted the stark disparity between the proposed minimum wage and prevailing standards, further demonstrating the unwillingness of Employers and Government to faithfully negotiate a fair National Minimum Wage for Workers in Nigeria
He stressed that NECA revealed that although no one in the sector receives less than N78,000, proposing a new minimum wage of N54,000 was apt considering prevailing factors. The Labour leadership expressed disappointment over the government’s failure to provide any substantiated data to support their offer as exacerbating the situation.
The labour leaders said there was an absolute lack of transparency and good faith on the path of the government which was capable of undermining the credibility of the negotiation process and eroding trust between the parties involved. In readiness, for the inability to reach an agreement by May 31, the labour unions have promised to summon their organs to a decision at the expiration of the deadline.
Labour’s Rationale for N615,000.00 Minimum Wage
Comrade Ajaero had previously explained how the Organised Labour agreed on N615,000 as the living wage for civil servants. He said, “Living wage is such that will, at least keep you alive. It is not a wage that will make you poorer and poorer. It is not a wage that will make you borrow to go to work. It is not a wage that will lead you to be in the hospital every day because of malnutrition. For that living wage, we have tried to look at N615,000.
“Let me give you a breakdown of how we arrived at that figure. We have housing and accommodation of N40,000. We asked for electricity of N20,000 — of course, that was before the current tariff increase. Nobody can spend this amount currently. We have a utility that is about N10,000. We looked at kerosene and gas which is about N25,000 to N35,000.
“We looked at food for a family of six, that is about N9,000 in a day. For 30 days, that is about N270,000. Look at medical, N50,000 provided there will be no surgery or whatever.
“For clothing, we looked at N20,000. For education, N50,000. I don’t know if those who tried to put their children in private school, will not be able to cope with this amount. We also have sanitation of N10,000.
It is still a long walk to an agreement on the national minimum wage. It will take some time for the parties to be on the same page because what is offered is not at par with what is being demanded. The matter becomes complicated because some states are already paying far more than what is being negotiated by the federal government.
Edo State Pays N70,000.00 Minimum Wage
Edo state governor had earlier announced a new minimum wage for workers in his state irrespective of the outcome of the negotiation on national minimum wage. According to Governor Godwin Obaseki,” After paying the highest Minimum Wage in the country at N40,000 since May 1st 2022, we have decided to make another adjustment.
“In our efforts to make life and conditions better for our workers despite the challenging economic environment, the Edo State Government has decided to increase the Minimum Wage to N70,000 per month, effective May 1st.
Obaseki announced at the commissioning of the Edo State Labour House Complex, a new building to serve as the Secretariat of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, in the state, where he promised that if the Federal Government announces a new wage higher than N70,000, his administration would adjust to meet the benchmark.
But even at that several states have found it difficult to pay the minimum wage of N30,000.00 since the announcement of the wage award of N35,000 under President Tinubu to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidies only a handful of states have been able to pay.
