The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have posited that their next line of action will depend on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly noting that the latest negotiations which occurred on Friday, 07 June 2024 regarding the New National Minimum Wage (NNMW) are at a stalemate.
Several economists and industry analysts have warned this situation is a major stumbling block on the road to economic recovery with attendant shock effects on both the formal and informal sectors. Maintaining current economic upsets like the new minimum wage battle and the potential return of fuel subsidy will mangle the process and promises of faster recovery.
It will be recalled that the tripartite committee on NNMW had last Friday ended negotiations without an agreement due to a sharp division in offers between the organized labour and their employers – the government and the Organized Private Sector (OPS). Against expectations, the federal government only marked up its earlier proposed offer of N60,000 by N2,000 to N62,000 hence, the deadlock.
Consequently, the committee resolved to put the N62,000 offer by the FG’s negotiating team backed by OPS and the organized labour’s N250,000 (reviewed downwards for N615,500 and N494,000) before President Tinubu for further action.
However, a member of the organized labour negotiating team commented on the current juncture in negotiations saying “At this point, we are looking up to the president and the National Assembly to right the wrong done by the government negotiators and their OPS counterpart. It was a high-level conspiracy among the federal government negotiators, the state governors and the OPS”.
“Members of OPS hid under the bogus name of small and medium enterprises, SMEs, to claim they cannot pay reasonable wages.
“The OPS had willing tools in state governors who, from the onset, did not attend most of the meetings and never wanted to improve the wages of their employees, but were clandestinely meeting with OPS to scuttle any chance of a reasonable wage.
“For the Federal Government side, members of the team, besides ensuring that Mr President did not know the true situation of things, members did everything, including threats, to ensure we did not move forward.
“In fact, one senior government official singled out the NLC president for threats, blaming him for what he termed organized labour’s tough stance. Even when the TUC president wanted to defend the NLC’s president, he was not allowed to speak.
“Well, we have done our best. Since it was Mr President that set up the committee in the first place, we have returned the responsibility of doing the right thing to him. Don’t forget Mr President has always promised Nigerian workers a living wage. He now has all the opportunities to fulfil his promise to the Nigerian workers.
“However, in case Mr President fails to do the right thing, members of the National Assembly who are representatives of people, should rightly take up the responsibility of making Nigerian workers earn a living wage.
“We believe if the executive arm pretends not to be aware of the sufferings and pains Nigerian workers and masses are going through, we expect our representatives in the National Assembly to appreciate our pains.
‘’The issue will come to them as an executive bill. From there, they should take it up and make the nation’s workforce happier.
“What Mr President and the National Assembly do will determine our next line of action. After that, we can hold our organs’ meetings to decide our responses. For now, we have to wait. That is all I can say. “
Several news reports have indicated that the OPS is in alignment with the government’s N62,000 offer.
Other related matters also point to the concerns raised by the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, which has petitioned the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, expressing what they consider the wrongful characterization of the NLC and TUC’s nationwide strike by him as economic sabotage.
In a letter to Akpabio, General Secretary ITUC-Africa, Akhator Joel Odigie, wrote “We have received information from our affiliates in Nigeria – The NLC and TUC – that the Nigerian Parliament, particularly the Senate, through its utterances and actions, is gaslighting the country’s organised labour for merely taking industrial actions that they were forced to undertake to protect their members from biting socioeconomic hardship.
“There are concerns that the Senate’s utterances represent covert scenario-building and establishment of pretexts to punish and harm trade unions for undertaking legitimate, patriotic and democratic actions to protect their human, labour, social and economic rights.
“Mr. Senate President, ITUC-Africa expresses grave concern over your recent characterisation of the NLC and TUC nationwide strike as economic sabotage. We found such assertions unfounded and detrimental to the values of democracy and the spirit of patriotism that many Nigerians uphold.
“The ITUC-Africa monitored and followed the processes before, during, and after the industrial action, and we remain seized by the processes. From our monitoring of the events, we observed that the industrial action was avoidable, especially as Nigeria’s organised labour demonstrated firm commitment towards open, effective and inclusive dialogue and negotiation.
“We also observed that Nigeria’s organised labour’s communication with the government, its members, and the public was regular, precise regarding its demands, and conciliatory regarding its readiness to conclude the negotiations and reach a binding agreement.
“ITUC-Africa asserts that the industrial action, which commenced on June 3rd, is a lawful and justified response to the Federal Government’s failure to address critical issues affecting Nigerian workers.
“These issues include unresolved national minimum wage negotiations, unjust electricity tariff hikes, and discriminatory consumer classifications. The strike is a legitimate manifestation of the workers’ frustration with the daily economic difficulties and declining working conditions.
“From the preceding, Mr. Senate President, we found your remarks troubling and capable of undermining the democratic principles the Senate is meant to protect. Victims of socio-economic hardships seeking survival must never be gaslighted and labelled as enemies of the state.
“Besides, as representatives of the people, the National Assembly must understand and respect its citizens’ grievances. Industrial actions in the form of strikes, protests, pickets and work-to-rule are fundamental industrial and democratic rights.
“They are essential tools for facilitating industrial harmony and productivity and holding authorities accountable. They must never be criminalised, as your recent utterance seems to suggest.
“Mr. Senate President, Nigerian workers and people must be given the needed fiscal support to cope with their current biting socioeconomic woes. Therefore, ITUC-Africa appeals that you use your good offices to genuinely and effectively mediate in the negotiation process to ensure an amicable and binding agreement on the contending issues. The struggling Nigerians look up to your leadership and support.”
