Nationwide Strike: Nigerians Living On The Edge – Says NLC President Ajaero

After so much drama, members from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), part of the organised labour group, decided to halt their nationwide strike for five days.

A spokesperson for the NLC announced the latest development on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. The labour unions are anticipated to issue a declaration soon before the start of the following talks with the government.

It is worth noting that the strike began on Monday to protest the government’s refusal to approve a new minimum wage by May 31 and its decision not to reverse the increase in electricity prices.

Following a six-hour discussion with the leadership of organized labour in Abuja on Monday evening, the government showed willingness to increase the proposed minimum wage to N60,000.

“The President of Nigeria, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is committed to establishing a National Minimum Wage higher than N60,000, and the Tripartite Committee will convene daily for the next week to finalise an agreeable National Minimum Wage,” the statement noted.

The organised labour also agreed to “immediately hold meetings of its organs to consider this new offer, and no worker would face victimisation as a consequence of participating in the industrial action.”

The agreements were ratified by the Department of Information and National Orientation, represented by Minister Mohammed Idris, and the Department of Labour and Employment, with Minister Nkeiruka Onyejeocha serving as the Minister of State for the latter.

Don’t miss out on any real-time information. Join our WhatsApp group to stay updated.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

NIGERIANS LIVING ON THE EDGE

Justifying the industrial action, which had grounded many activities, including shutting down tertiary, secondary, and other sectors across the country, NLC President Ajaero said Nigerians, especially workers, were living on the edge.

It is worth recalling that on May 31, labour unions nationwide announced a strike that will begin on June 3, 2024, in protest against the federal government’s failure to reach a consensus on a new basic wage and the repeal of the increase in electricity tariffs.

The NLC and TUC have both expressed their dissatisfaction with the current basic wage of ₦30,000, arguing that it is insufficient to support the living standards of the typical worker in Nigeria.

They have also pointed out that not all state governors have been honouring the basic wage award that was due to expire in April 2024, which is five years after the enactment of the Minimum Wage Act of 2019, through the President of the nation, Muhammadu Buhari.

Labour said the Federal Government was offering workers “slave wage amidst excruciating hardship.” It lamented the “galloping inflation marked by unprecedented food inflation of 40% and general inflation of 33% that have left Nigerians, especially workers currently living just on the edge.”

“There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigerians, especially workers, are living just on the edge,” a joint statement by NLC and TUC leaders Ajaero and Festus Osifo read on Monday.

“In addition to the historicity of slave wages marked by the continued downturn in the national economy, massive devaluation of the naira, removal of government subsidies, increase in taxation, astronomical hike of the tariff of critical utilities and the combo siege of collapsed public infrastructure and insecurity all over the country, life has become a Hobbesian reality in Nigeria – short, nasty and brutish.

“While the Federal Government offers a very paltry sum which in real inflation and naira value is far below the current national minimum wage, in one word – a backward increase of the national minimum wage government has shown a huge appetite for profligacy.”

ALL STATES CAN PAY MINIMUM WAGE – FALANA

While speaking on the minimum wage saga earlier, Human Rights activist Femi Falana (SAN) said that no state can claim inability to pay the minimum wage following the removal of the fuel subsidy by the incumbent government.

On Tuesday morning, Falana, who spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, noted that the government cannot stop labour from embarking on industrial actions.

He observed that the federal government claimed that money recovered from the removal of fuel subsidies would be shared among states. Hence, no state government should say it doesn’t have funds to pay workers minimum wage.

“There is no state in Nigeria today that cannot pay more than the minimum wage because the government removed fuel subsidy last year, and President Tinubu told Nigerians that the money made from that policy will be used,” Falana said.

The SAN added: “Any state government or employer of labour that does not pay the national minimum wage, we have agreed this time around (our law firm and the labour unions) we are not going to allow the non-payment of salaries. They will be dragged to court.

“We will ensure the law is complied with, including paying the court to make an order and deducting what belongs to the workers monthly from the source in Abuja. We cannot go like this.”

During the interview, Falana also asked the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to sanction states that fail to pay the current N30,000 minimum wage.

He stressed that since the payment of the minimum wage is an agreement entered into freely, state governments unable to honour such a deal are breaching the law.

“Once a new agreement, a new minimum wage becomes the country’s law. The Federal Government has a duty, and the country’s Attorney General must drag any state government that does not pay to court.

“I mean, the attorney general can just file a new case, which is a good development, by saying over the years, we have accused state governments of diverting monuments for local governments,” he said.

Falana also noted that state governments will be compelled to pay the minimum, as he is pushing for the deduction of workers’ salaries from the source.G