With virtually all socio-economic indices showing red, it was expected that this year’s Workers Day celebration would be a particularly sombre one. At a time some 24 or so of the 36 states are in arrears of payment of salaries to their workers, and coming barely a week after their Excellencies congregated in Abuja for the second round of bailout to settle workers wages, the situation would ordinarily demand no less.
Unfortunately, if one expected the grim background to have reflected in this year’s observance of the workers’ day, this was barely evident. As in previous years, no aspect of the festivities was missing; not the talk shops which have increasingly become hollow year upon year; the march-pasts, parades and photo-op sessions; certainly none of the annual ritual of presentation of the shopping list of workers demands to employers was missing. Not even the fact that this year’s anniversary fell on Sunday – Christendom’s worship and hence work-free day – made any difference; workers all – public and private – got a freebie with Monday, the next day, declared work-free in a nation that is for all practical purposes, permanently in holiday mode!
For me, the high point was last Wednesday’s formal demand by Labour for a new minimum wage of N56,000. At this difficult time?
At a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja, Ayuba Wabba, the NLC president had announced: “I can say now authoritatively that as of yesterday (Tuesday) we made a formal proposal to the Federal Government of N56, 000 to be the new minimum wage”. Acknowledging that the economy was not doing well, the labour chief nonetheless insisted that “the law stated that wages for workers must be reviewed after every five years”. “The issue”, he said “must be looked into by the Federal Government and workers should not be seen as sleeping on their rights.”
On the surface, the position of Labour is unassailable even if, less understandable at this time. By serving notice on government, Labour has, of course done nothing outside the law or its own conventions. By citing the provision of the law which allows for review every five years, it merely reminds that it is not acting in any way, arbitrary. When it cites the impact of inflation and hence the cost of living which has made nonsense of the N18,000 which it negotiated some five years ago, Organised Labour most certainly couldn’t be accused of acting outside its mandate of advancing the interests of the workers. After all, the minimum wage which was then US$163.6 at the then exchange rate of approximately N110 to the dollar is today less than a third of that value – at US$56.25.
Even at that, the above is only one aspect of the progressive devaluation of the Nigerian worker as indeed the average Nigerian citizen. Across the board – whether in education, health and general social welfare, Nigerians continue to suffer not just a severe degradation of the quality of life, but all the consequences of general regression on developmental indices. In that context, labour as indeed every Nigerian – whether employed or not – deserves much more than they are currently getting.
Unfortunately, the reality out there is grimmer than labour would care to admit. Indeed, merely broaching the idea of a wage review at this time would seem to suggest something fundamentally wrong with labour. It tends to give out the group as completely out of touch with the reality; one steeped with its old ways and methods.
Talk about the current economic realities, it is obvious that not even the private sector is spared the general meltdown. At the moment, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector continues to shrink – no thanks to the generally inclement environment, the legendary lack of adaptability of the sector and lately, the restrictive monetary policies of the apex bank. With every passing day come real prospects of more factory closures and layoffs. As if to underscore the grim prospects which lies ahead, the same week that Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) were serving notice of the new minimum wage, one of the nation’s top lenders, First Bank announced plans to cut about 1000 jobs citing an 82 per cent slump in profit in the 2015 financial year as reason. Much earlier, Royal Dutch Shell had announced its plan to cut global staff strength by 10,000 within the current year. Back home in Nigeria, the company also announced that it would defer its final investment decision (FID) on the Bonga South-west deepwater project in Nigeria, citing the need to cut operating costs and capital investments. Other oil majors have similarly announced plans to shed jobs while also reportedly putting new investments on hold – again of them blaming falling commodity prices and rising costs.
At this time, a general, across-the-board upward review in wages at this time would be the surest recipe to disaster. It would end up as a case of cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face. First, the strains would further plunge the system into trauma. Second, given the possibilities of job losses, the development will spiral into another round of crisis that would take years to solve. Above all, it will certainly not address the fundamental issues of falling real incomes, and the downturn in general socio-economic welfare.
I must say that had labour been less stuck on the old ways and means, we would be talking of more creative and less disruptive means outside the episodic demand for higher wages (which employers have increasingly proven to be unable to afford) to enhance the welfare of citizens.
I will cite some examples.
Today, for ill or good, the Contributory Pensions Scheme has become a revolutionary development in the nation’s pension management. As those under the scheme will readily testify, not only are the days of endless verifications gone forever, the contributor can rest in peace assured that his contribution is far beyond the thieving hands of some bureaucrats.
In the same vein, Labour can push more aggressively for a complete overhaul of the nation’s mortgage system to enable their members’ access cheap funds to build their homes. The reason is simple: an overhaul of the mortgage sector, aside holding the key to unlocking the vast treasures in the housing sector, is one sure path to relieve the workers of the pressures of getting their homes. Second, Labour can partner with the federal government to ensure broader coverage for the National Health Insurance and hence make health services more accessible.
These, in my view, would be far more beneficial than stuffing workers pockets with more naira notes whose purchasing power are not only increasingly suspect, but are more often than not, guaranteed one-way fare to the labour market.
NATION
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