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Committee for a Workers' International

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Socialist Democracy May 2006

MINIMUM WAGE: LABOUR SHOULD STAND UP TO FIGHT FOR AN INCREMENT

By Victor Osakwe

Since the review of the minimum wage in the year 2000, there has been no new increase in the wages of workers except for a 12½ percent wage increase granted federal civil servants implemented in 2004 while other sections of the work force were neglected. Before the wage was effected, some employers of labour and labour leaders agreed that the minimum wage should be pegged at N20,000, but the federal government pegged the salary at N7,500. With the exception of a few states however, minimum wage of less than N7,000 was implemented aside the fact that workers were massively retrenched in these states as justification for its implementation. In Lagos State for instance, the Chairman of Council of Industrial Unions, Ayodele Akele was retrenched along with thousands of Lagos State civil servants after a protracted struggle for the implementation of the N7,500 minimum wage. Up till date, Akele and many of these workers are yet to get their jobs back as a result of the minimum wage implementation struggle.

When the new minimum wage was signed by the government and the labour leaders in 2000, there was an agreement of 25% and 12.5% increase in 2001 and 2002 respectively. This agreement was however not honoured by the government on the basis that there were no enough resources to accommodate it despite the fact that the regime has been raking very huge resources from the rise in the prices of crude oil in the international market. What the workers get in return has been constant increases in the prices of petrol, kerosene and diesel which has forced labour leaders to call seven general strikes to force the government to revert these increases. For instance, the price of petrol had increased from N20 in June 2000 to N65, about 225 percent increase. Presently, kerosene, which is used by most working class families for cooking is being sold for N125 per litre, thereby instigating further increases in the prices of all goods and services. Yet, there has not been any increase in the salary of workers all over the country.

Consequently, the living standard of workers has continued to deteriorate. Labour therefore, needs to wage a struggle for a new minimum wage that will match the rate of inflation.

INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE WITHOUT RETRENCHMENT

The mass retrenchment aftermath a wage increase has always terrified the workers in their struggle for increase in minimum wage. Meanwhile all workers, both in public and private sectors, deserve pay increase especially in our society with a large amount of the unemployed both among the elderly and youths, which implies that every person who is privileged to be a worker has to be responsible for the upkeep of so many dependants.

Wage increase, despite the need for it, is not always welcomed by employers of labour, whether government or private. It is always seen as a reduction of profit of a private employer or as an increase in the recurrent expenditure. They, therefore use all means at their disposal to recover the wage increase conceded to workers. Increases in minimum wage do not mean that workers living standard becomes permanently better because further inflation will sooner than later render any increase useless.

Under this prevailing system, workers living standard will continue to deteriorate. All over the world, capitalist governments or employers of labour do not just grant wage increase to their workers. They are forced by strikes by their employees to give these wage increases as the system only thrives by driving down wages while profit increases. When this increase is granted by the left hand, it is taken back in multiple folds by the right hand via various neo-liberal policies. Side by side with the struggle for wage increase, the overthrow of capitalism and its replacement with workers government is the only condition where full employment for all able men and women with commensurate wages will be guaranteed on a permanent basis.

Labour must therefore begin to embark on sensitisation of all sections of workers, market women and men, etc to convince them on the need for this increase and also to prepare for a long struggle to dislodge this capitalist politicians and their anti-working class posture.

Socialist Democracy May 2006