New Minimum Wage in Osun State: We call for substantial consequential salary and pension increment across the board

• Implementation of new minimum wage must not lead to retrenchment of workers, or reversal of already-won concessions

• NLC and TUC leadership must call congress of workers to take final decisions

The attention of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Osun State has been drawn to a press release by the Osun State government, announcing a new minimum wage of N75,000 (seventy five thousand naira). While the government, in its release, portrayed the new minimum wage as an agreement with the trade unions in the state, we expect the state trade union leadership, particularly the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the labour side of the Public Service Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) to come out with their agreement with the state government.

We expect the trade union leadership, engaged in negotiations with the state government on minimum wage, to have reported both the process and outcome of the negotiation to workers, and sought their input and consent on any agreement. But it seems the trade union leadership did not bother to consult workers through Congresses or mass meeting to secure a popular mandate.

However, we make bold to say and reiterate that the current minimum wage falls far short of the cost of living for the average worker in Nigeria. Even though, the new minimum wage in Osun State is N5,000 higher than the nationally legislated minimum, it still falls short of what a worker in Osun State needs to survive.

Yet, the devil is in the details. We expect the government to have come out with the salary adjustment implication for all categories of workers in the state. This is necessary as it has become a culture of governments, including previous ones in the state, to claim to have increased workers’ salaries, only to find out that most of the workers have been shortchanged. The new minimum must reflect consequential adjustments that will lead to substantial increment in salaries and reflect existing salary scale of workers across the board. Moreover, the adjustment must also substantially affect pensions of retirees.

We consequently call on the trade union leadership, especially of NLC, TUC and JNC, to call Congresses of workers to relate the outcome of their negotiations with the state government, including if it exists, the new salary scale reflecting consequential adjustments, to workers. Workers must reject any salary scale that does not reflect substantial percentage increase in their salaries. Furthermore, workers must demand that the new minimum wage must be backdated to when the minimum wage was nationally legislated into law. Furthermore, workers must insist that the implementation of the new minimum wage in Osun State must not lead to retrenchment or reversal of already won concessions.

Finally, we call on the national leadership of trade unions, to fight for a living wage for workers that reflect cost of living. However, we make bold to say that no salary increase will be enough inasmuch as government continue to unleash anti-poor neoliberal capitalist policies. This is why the NLC and TUC leadership must rise to the historic duty of leading a fightback against the anti-people policies of the Tinubu capitalist government, which have made life unbearable for working people, the poor and even the middle class.

Alfred Adegoke (State Coordinator)

Kola Ibrahim (State Secretary)