Analyzing Labour Demand for N56,000 New Minimum Wage, How Feasible?

By Nelson Ekujumi

On May 1, 2016, Nigerian workers just like their counterparts all over the world celebrated workers day, which is a day set aside globally for reflections on the working conditions of the worker with a view to proffering ameliorative solutions. 

Here in Nigeria, the day was commemorated at the federal and state levels with marches in which Mr. President and the Governors or their representatives addressed the workers on the state of affairs and the way forward and as expected, the leadership of the labour union didn’t shy away from making their demands in line with modern realities to the authorities. Despite the present economic and social challenges, one must congratulate Nigerian workers on this auspicious occasion for what it represents and wish them the best.

Days before the commemoration of the great day, the central labour union, the NLC  just like it did on May 1, 2016 at various march past grounds in which affiliate unions were present, restated its demand for a new minimum wage of  N56,000 from the previous N18,000 in line with subsisting agreement.

For being alive to its responsibility by making the demands for a new minimum wage based on “The National Minimum Wage Act, which former President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law in April 2011, that has a five-year reopener clause for new negotiations to review the minimum wage, one sincerely and wholeheartedly congratulates labour for charting a new path of responsibility and responsiveness which is a radical departure from its previous conduct of docility and lackadaisical attitude to issues of agreements to the detriment of the welfare of the Nigerian workers from time immemorial.

However, while not losing sight of the fact that labour’s demand for a new and increased minimum wage is a legitimate one in view of the prevailing circumstances, a lot of issues needs to be examined holistically if we are to be rational, logical and objective for the good of society.

Here, one needs to ask some salient questions such as:

1. Who is a worker?

2. Are there other functions of the labour unions apart from agitating for salary increase? 

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, a worker is a person who does a particular job to earn money, or to express it in simpler terms, a worker is someone who is engaged in a work or trade for productive ventures for which he or she earns salaries or wages. 

What this means is that our labour force is comprised of persons engaged in the formal sector who are earning salaries as well as those in the informal sector who are earning

negotiated, daily or weekly wages such as traders, artisans, craftsmen, hawkers, transporters, food sellers, etc who constitute the bulk of our workforce and are perhaps the biggest contributor to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

Searching through the books, one realized that apart from fighting for the interest of workers through salary increase, the labour unions had other functions which includes the following:

1. Collective bargaining with the management to settle terms and conditions of employment.

2. Advise the management on personnel policies and practices.

3. Taking up the individual and collective grievances of the workers with the management.

4. Work for achieving better say of workers in the management of affairs of the enterprise which influence the lives of the workers directly.

5. Organizing demonstrations, strikes, etc, to press demands of workers.

6. Education of workers and their children.

7. Welfare and recreational activities for their members.

8. Representing of workers in various national and international forums.

9. Securing legislative protection for workers from the government.

Looking at these other functions of the labour unions, we need to ask, how efficiently have they being fulfilling these functions?

We also need to ask that, if the working population is comprised of both the formal and informal sectors and the labour unions have focused their attention on the increase in salary of those in the formal sector alone, what happens to the interest of the informal sector, which one is aware is also affiliated to the central labour union? Or can we assume that since these categories of persons  don’t earn a minimum wage, their income and working conditions are not deserving of the attention of the central labour union? 

Definitely, this shouldn’t be the case because labour is supposed to cater not only to the needs of the formal workers but also ensure that the working conditions and laws governing the business of the informal sector is not anti labour and suffocating, as well as being concerned about the plight of the unemployed, pensioners and the society in general.

However, it is a well know fact that the economy of the Nigerian state is presently under serious straits as a result of the decline in revenue, occasioned by the fall in the price of the mainstay of the economy, which is crude oil at the world market and this has culminated in about 26 states governments including the Federal government encountering difficulties in paying workers salaries as at when due.

Infact, while the Federal government has had to borrow to pay salaries and emoluments as confessed to by the ex finance Minister and coordinating Minister of the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonji Iweala during the days of the previous administration and which has been carried over to the present administration due principally to paucity of funds, the state governments, save for some very few, owed workers salaries which range from between 2 to 5 months and above and had to be rescued by the bailout funds from the federal government. But be that as it may, the situation still persists till now as the states are still requesting for help from the Federal government to fulfill their primary obligation of paying workers salaries promptly.

A major contributor to this pitiable economic state of affairs which is reflected in the worsening conditions of living of the Nigerian worker and people is predicated on a number of factors which includes the mismanagement of the economy by successive governments and the  most fundamental of which is the lopsided and faulty political arrangement which permits the federal government which is so far away from the people to have control of 52% of federal allocation at the expense of the two other tiers of government, vest the powers of states creation in the federal authorities which carries it out on the basis of political expediency rather than on economic viability and other indices and the operation of a centralized unitary system but deceitfully called federalism, which the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu aptly once described as feeding bottle federalism.

In a true federal system, the uniformity of workers’ salaries is not a straight jacket affair as states exercise this responsibility according to their ability to pay based on resources generated rather than  idling away with cap in hand like beggars for federal allocation which these days is insufficient to service that function, talk less of other areas requiring government attention.

The  absurdity of the skewed federal  system of Nigeria can be explained by the fact that whereas when federal allocation is low, elected and appointed public officers across the states continue to receive uniform and humongous salaries and emoluments, but  it is the peasant workers, who bear the brunt as states complain of inability to pay and thus owe workers salaries and pensions of retirees for months and even years. This is nothing but irresponsibility of the state to the welfare of the people who generate the wealth of the nation.

Notwithstanding, an Indisputable resolution to the quagmire of the unworkability of the Nigerian state for which the input of the workers union is needed, lies in the restructuring of the country along the lines of true federalism in which states endowed with natural resources should take control of them and only make contributions towards the running of a thin and responsive federal government and not the other way round for the smooth functioning of the system.

   We need to  restructure the country now, to allow for states to take control of their God given resources to develop at their own pace and engender healthy competition and development, because doing otherwise will amount to postponing the dooms day as this recurring issue of nonpayment of salaries at all levels of government is a fall out of our faulty federation which is here to stay and a breeding ground for other problems in the nearest future.

The labour union need to be innovative and focused in creating jobs and wealth by engaging in productive ventures in areas such as in oil and gas, agriculture, solid minerals, transportation, etc like they did with the defunct Labour Mass Transit which should be resuscitated.

The labour unions should be encouraged to realize that their responsibility should not be focused on increment in salaries of workers in the formal sector alone but to the welfare of society as a whole, since the worker is a member of a family, a community and the society at large. Thus, it behooves on them to engage the government in areas of governance which have direct effect on the lives of the people by being involved in research, debates, discussions, dialogues, etc on societal issues with a view to coming up with alternative ideas on how to move the country forward for the good of all.

The labour union because of their spread of membership and expertise in all segments of the society also have a responsibility to ensure good governance by monitoring the budgets and making sure that projects therein are implemented according to what is proposed and approved.

We need to remind our labour union leaders that in as much as we recognize the need for them to make this legitimate demand for a new minimum wage in view of an existing Act, they must be conscious of the reality of the times which makes its implementation not feasible for now based on paucity of funds as a result of the fall in global oil prices and our faulty political structure which needs to be reworked.

But, that is not to say that they cannot commence discussions and negotiations with relevant stakeholders now in this regard, in line with the provisions of the Act,  which they must realistically and patriotically agree will become implementable when the conditions are sufficiently right.

Thanks.

Nelson Ekujumi