I am compelled to do this incisive effort which is apparently targeted at putting the records straight ditto the decision of Organized Labour to settle for a 134% increase in Minimum Wage thus taking the minimum wage from 30k to 70k rather than insisting on the 250k which was the position until the last meeting Organized Labour had with Mr. President and his Team.
There is a preponderance of angry opinions out there seeking to lampoon and vilify the position of Organized Labour, some have said that Labour sold out, others have argued that 70k is not good enough, and some have argued that Labour should have insisted on 250k, and should that fail, that Labour should shutdown the economy. These are apparently valid positions and arguments, but centered more on populism than research.
Yes, this Government is a slave to profligacy, waste and wanderlust. Yes, this Government has refused to prioritize the well-being of workers and the masses. Yes, this Government spends our collective patrimony with reckless abandon, spending so much on Political office holders, their apparatchik and running a bloated government rather than a lean government. And yes, this Government spends more yearly on the 469 members or so of the National Assembly than it spends on thousands of workers across the board. How inexplicable. This therefore provides fuel for those who insist that Organized Labour settled for a figure too low to be happy about.
Don’t overlook the fact that the State Governors had argued for something between 50k and 60k. And the Federal government had offered 62k. It was therefore incumbent on Organized Labour to work the figures and settle for something presently realistic and realizable, or insist on 250k, shutdown the economy and increase the general pain, hardship and anger in the land, don’t forget that to get a minimum wage that is perhaps presently unimplimentable would amount to pyrrhic victory, as some States before now were not up to date regarding paying the former minimum wage of 30k. And the Representatives of the Private Sector had also argued that anything above 60k would be difficult to pay. It thus became an uphill puzzle for Organized Labour to undertake.
Organized Labour in insisting on 70k as a new minimum wage and pushing through with a commitment from Government for an upward review every 3 years was clearly living true to the fact that he who fights and beats a retreat, would live to fight another day. Organized Labour was leaving the call to shutdown the economy on issues of workers wages alone, for a holistic collaboration with the Civil Society and the Nigerian people in demanding wholesale recalibration of the economy and the levers of governance for the collective good.
Organized Labour did not only get a 134% increase in pay for workers, it got palliatives including Vehicles/Buses for Labour across the States, and it also got a commitment for upward review of Wages every 3 years. They have chosen to sheath the sword on issues of workers wages, but have not retreated on issues bothering on the well-being of the masses ditto insisting that Political Office Holders must cut down the cost of governance, that government must prioritize its expenditure to projects that directly impact the larger number, that government must deal with issues bothering on National Security, ensure that Farmers and the farms are safe so that the present food insecurity and inflation does not consume us all.
Joe Ajaero, Festus Osifo and the Organized Labour in settling for the 70k increase have not betrayed the Nigerian Worker they have only stooped to conquer. And need I say that the Civil Society must come to terms with the fact that the battle for a nation that works for all is not the sole responsibility or exclusive preserve of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC and the Trade Union Congress TUC, we must wake up to the urgency of now and learn to rework and re-ignite the levers of public discontent and popular action, we must realize that true change will come from the people through mass collaboration. Yes, it must be the product of healthy collaboration between Organized Civil Society, Students, True Progressives, and Organized Labour.
On the minimum wage debate, what is incumbent on Organized Labour is to ensure that the new minimum wage is signed into Law, and that it is operational across the nation without delay, such is presently the inexcusable minimum. It is only when and if, God forbid, Organized Labour Labour fails to achieve that, that we can accuse them of failing the people or selling out.
Nigeria can only truly come through for the masses when we rise up as a People to demand for responsible and responsive leadership not in singling out a sector or grouping for the task that must be a collective one. God Bless Nigeria.
I’m CHUKWUDUMEBI.
Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr.
Convener COUNTRYFIRST MOVEMENT.