N70, 000 Minimum Wage is Relatively Small; Serious Struggle Could Have Won Higher Wage
Labour Leaders and Workers Must Fight for Full Implementation Without Retrenchment
The leaderships of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have accepted N70, 000 as the new national minimum wage after a period of limited struggle and negotiation. 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.
No doubt, the 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. Indeed, at the beginning of the negotiation, it was a ridiculous amount of N48, 000 that was put on the negotiation table by government and Organised Private Sector.
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.
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. This is why Socialists call for minimum wage to be automatically adjusted in line with the rate of inflation and rising cost of living.
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 mobilizing for mass actions when the government failed to meet labour’s demands, the vast majority of labour leaders embarked on an unnecessary trip to the meeting of International Labour Organization (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.
We also find disturbing the argument by the labour leadership that they did the working masses a favour by agreeing to N70,000 in order to avert an increment in petrol price. We consider this as an egregious insult to the sensibilities of the Nigerian working masses who are poised to seriously resist any further attack by the Tinubu government. This has been demonstrated, for instance, by a struggle against hunger and economic hardship, which was rapidly building up across the country in February before the NLC leadership set back the momentum with their phantom ultimatum to the government, and also by the ongoing mood and mobilization for a nationwide protest in August. Indeed, it is a serious indictment on the labour leadership that Tinubu could use a threat of fuel price hike as a stick and that they did not only fall for it but are not also ashamed to state it publicly as if it is something they deserve a medal for.
As far as we are concerned, the resistance against any capitalist attack on living standards such as fuel price hike and struggle for decent wage are not mutually exclusive. They are indeed complementary. For instance, it is fuel price hike, devaluation of the naira, increment in school fees, hike in electricity tariff and other neo-liberal policies that labour leadership failed to seriously resist which have worsened the inflation and already rendered the N70,000 minimum wage they have won as paltry. Indeed, the ongoing mobilization for a nationwide protest in August, following the example of Kenya, is also partly a product of the failure of labour leaders to lead a serious struggle against Tinubu’s neo-liberal offensive which has not only drastically cut living standards, resulting in millions not able to eat properly, but is creating a new, wider general economic crisis.
We hereby reiterate our call on ordinary workers and radical trade union activists to begin agitation at workplaces and within organs of trade unions for labour leaders to end their support for, or surrender to, capitalist neo-liberal policies and for a consistent mass struggle led by labour to demand the reversal of all anti-poor policies of the Tinubu government. Indeed, we call on the NLC and TUC leadership, not to be neutral over the planned August protest, but mobilise workers to join the action, including with a declaration of a 24-hour general strike as the first step. Without a consistent struggle against anti-poor policies, even the small increment in the minimum wage will be soon eroded.
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.
However, as we stated earlier, despite its limitation what has been won as the minimum wage must be defended. Therefore, we reiterate our call on the national labour leaders not to go to sleep following the signing into law of the new minimum wage. As the NLC President Joe Ajaero himself recently admitted, the old minimum wage of N30,000 was not implemented by 13 state governments in the five years it lasted. This must not be allowed again. Rather, the labour leadership should put in place a centrally coordinated strategy that includes being prepared for serious struggle and solidarity action to ensure that the new minimum wage is fully implemented at all levels both in the public and private sectors. The old practice of leaving workers at the state level to struggle alone for the implementation of the new wage or allowing their fate to be tied to the machination of an irresponsible, pro-government state labour leaders must be addressed.
Also, already there is an indication it would require a serious struggle before the organized private sector (OPS) employers pay the new minimum wage as they have conditioned the implementation on fulfillment of promise of support by the government. Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, speaking on behalf of the OPS said: “While we commend the President for the approval, it should be noted that the ability to pay remains a fundamental consideration. The proposed support by the President to organised businesses should be immediately announced to enable businesses to plan effectively.” (Guardian July19, 2024).
Besides, as labour leaders themselves know, the full implementation of minimum wage is not possible in the private sector without confronting the scourge of casualization and outsourcing. Casual workers rarely benefit from minimum wage increase while outsourcing has helped State and Federal Governments to eliminate the lower grades of the civil service who ought to be the main beneficiaries of wage increases by transferring their employment to private contractors. Fighting casualization is linked to the right of workers in the private sector to minimum wage together with right to decent work and right to join or form a trade union. It is possible for employers to casualise more workforces in order to avert the payment of the new minimum wage and sustain their super profit. Therefore, we call on labour leadership to take the struggle against casualization and outsourcing seriously. Sadly, many labour leaders are profiting from the enslavement of Nigerian workers as they run outsourcing firms recruiting casual workers for companies. Also, nothing seriously has been done to confront this menace despite the promise of Joe Ajaero on his assumption of office.
By and large, workers and trade unions must realise that it is not possible to guarantee decent wage and living standard for the majority within the confines of capitalism especially in a neo-colonial economy like Nigeria. The wages and living standards are regularly eroded by inflation and anti-poor policies. This is why while trade unions, workers and activists must consistently fight for improvement in wage and conditions, the struggle has to also be linked to the need to build a mass movement to resist anti-poor policies and to win political power and form a working people government on socialist program. Such a government on the basis of socialist planning will democratically plan and manage the huge human and material resources of the country to benefit the vast majority. As a step towards this, we of the DSM hereby reiterate our call on trade unions, workers, socialist and left organizations for the formation and building of a mass working people party.
Peluola Adewale
Organising Secretary
For Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)