This was communicated in a
statement signed by the DSM Organising Secretary, Peluola Adewale.
The group said it believed that
the NLC, TUC and its affiliates needed to be sober for being able to achieve
just N70,000 minimum wage.
“We of the Democratic Socialist
Movement (DSM) believe that labour leaders need to be sober over what they were
able to win for Nigerian workers as the new national minimum wage considering
the depth of the cost-of-living crisis.”
“Also importantly, while the agreed minimum
wage is relatively small, they must be prepared to lead a serious, protracted
struggle for its full implementation, without losing a single job, especially
at the state level and private sector.”
While acknowledging that the
N70,000 minimum wage is an increment for workers, it was noted that it remains
a far cry from the N250,000 sought by the workers’ union.
“No doubt, N70,000 minimum wage is an
increment for workers. But it is a far cry from the demand of N250,000 which
the labour leaders considered to reflect the reality of the prevailing high
cost of living after the initial N615,000 minimum wage demand.”
“Truly, as labour leaders have been
highlighting as a positive, N70,000 translates to a 133 percent increment in
the national minimum wage from the N30,000. So, ordinarily the new minimum wage
would have been applauded especially given the fact that the government and
private employers had initially offered different lesser amounts.”
The group however called for
adjustment of the approved minimum wage in line with inflationary tendencies.
“This is why Socialists call for minimum wage
to be automatically adjusted in line with the rate of inflation and rising cost
of living.”
The DSM also opined that the
NLC agreed to a wage bill that is lower in dollar terms than the 2019 wage
figure.
"However, the problem is
that in dollar terms, something which is a major economic index in Nigeria
being a heavily import dependent economy, there is a huge decline in its value
between April 2019 when the old minimum wage was passed into law and now. In
other words, what the labour leaders agreed to is, in reality, a near halving
of the minimum wage’s real value from $83 in 2019 to $44 if N70, 000 comes into
effect today.”
“Even if the price of any food item is used as
a measure of the real value of the minimum wage, the result would show a steep
decline. For instance, using data obtained from the National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS), while N30,000 would buy about 120 pieces of 500g sliced bread
in April 2019, N70,000 can only buy about 58 pieces in July 2024. “
The group also praised the NLC
and its affiliates for getting a wage increment, it however lamented that with
the current in price of goods and services, the increment may not be
substantial on the longer run.
“We acknowledge it was the struggle of Labour,
and the possibility of more struggles, that forced the Tinubu government to
grant this increment in minimum wage.
Labour also won the reduction in the life span of minimum wage from 5
years to 3 years, but with the speed at which prices are increasing, even this
does not offer any real protection to workers’ wellbeing.”
“Nevertheless, we strongly believe that the
struggle could have won more if the labour leadership had waged it more
seriously. For instance, on June 4, 2024, labour leadership suspended an
indefinite strike for five days. But instead of mobilising for mass actions
when the government failed to meet the demands, the vast majority of labour
leaders embarked on an unnecessary trip to the meeting of International Labour
Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, 2 or 3 trade unionists would have
been sufficient instead of 116 going.”
“As a result, at the expiration
of the suspension period and afterwards, there was no plan in place to move the
struggle forward. Worse still, as they did concerning the ultimatum issued
following the suspension of the February 2024 nationwide protest over cost of
living, no mention has been made again of some of the demands of the June 2024
strike which include the reversal of the criminal hike in electricity tariff.”
DSM also argued that many
workers would not agreed to a N70,000 minimum wage of their opinions were
sought.
“Also importantly, it is not likely for a
majority of workers to have agreed to N70,000 minimum wage if the offer had
been subjected to a democratic decision-making process. This further
underscores the necessity for a campaign within trade union movement, including
the NLC and TUC, for its repositioning as a democratically-run organization
where workers debate and ballot before an important decision like on minimum wage
and strike action is made.”
The group also urged the NLC
and other unions to kick against casualisation of workers or retrenchment of
staffs by companies due to the new wage.
Nigeria recently approved a
N70,000 minimum wage after protracted disagreement with the federal government
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