…as Atiku, Obi commend Nigerian workers, ask for better welfare packages
Squabbles over workable minimum wages, as well as disputes concerning electricity tariffs and on-going petrol scarcity across the nation, ensured that this year’s International Workers’ Day celebration was not a particularly merry event for many Nigerians.
In the course of the day, Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), dismissed the recent wage increase announced by the Federal Government, calling the move mischievous and insisting that President Bola Tinubu should fulfil his promise of paying “living wages” to Nigerian workers.
For his part, Festus Usifo, President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), said increasing the minimum wage for civil servants from N30,000 to N615,000 would not worsen Nigeria’s inflation rate which stood at 33.20% as of March 2024.
In the same breath, both Ajaero and Osifo, urged the Federal Government to also enthrone a service reflective electricity tariff and stop the segregation of customers.
Matters were made even worse by week-long petrol shortages which caused long queues and distress across the country.
In the 18-item demands presented by the labour leaders, they said the electricity privatisation exercise in the country should be reviewed and reversed.
They further asked government to immediately roll out the promised Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered buses nationwide as agreed.
Additionally, they called for a one-year moratorium on all forms of taxes, levies and dues collectible from the informal economy by state and local governments.
Recall that on Tuesday, the Federal Government announced a pay raise for civil servants in the country of between 25 percent and 35 percent. The FG also increased pensions by between 20 percent and 28 percent for pensioners captured in the defined benefits scheme.
Ajaero made his remark on wages while speaking on Channels TV on Workers’ Day, noting that in Organised Labour’s estimation, which took into consideration the prevailing economic circumstances in the country, an average Nigerian worker should not earn less than N615,000 monthly, which is what he considers as the nation’s current “living wage”.
Ajaero said, “The announcement by the government is mischievous because there is no wage increase that the government is announcing. Living wage is a wage that will make you live, not the wage that will make you poorer, or that you have to borrow to go to work. It is not a wage that will make you stay in the hospital frequently because of malnutrition. In this regard, we are asking for N615,000 as a living wage
“The breakdown is as follows: housing and accommodation of N40,000; electricity N20,000-this amount for electricity relates to the period before the recent hike in electricity tariff. Utility, N10,000; kerosene and gas, N25-N35,000; food for a family of six at N9,000 per day, which translates to N270,000 per month.
“Medical provision is N50,000 provided there won’t be any surgery during that period. Clothing gets N20,000; education, N50,000, and sanitation, N10,000. Where we have the bulk of the money is transportation. And because of the cost of PMS, transport costs amount to N110,000 per month. That brings the monthly living wage to N615,000.”
Meanwhile, during his May Day speech, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assured Nigerian workers of the good things that lie ahead of them, promising again that his administration is committed to improving the welfare of workers.
“I affirm that my administration remains committed to improving the welfare of all workers, noting the various relief programmes, including the wage award and the imminent minimum wage review. I strongly believe that the custodians of the nation’s machinery deserve a fair wage and enhanced welfare, and that a labourer is deserving of not just any reward but fair and commensurate wages.
“I assure Nigerian workers of my dedication to not only improving their welfare but also enhancing their working conditions and providing the necessary tools for them to succeed,” President Tinubu said.
The minimum wage for Nigerian workers has attracted attention in recent times, pitching state and federal government officials against labour unions. The insistence by labour unions in the country follows the continuous rise in the cost of living in the country, exacerbated by new policy reforms, especially the removal of subsidy on fuel and exchange rate float.
Headline inflation rose for the fifteenth consecutive month in March to 27.13 percent. Food inflation rose higher to 40.01 percent according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), further adding to the impoverishment of hapless Nigerians.
The cost of a healthy diet rose by 38.5 percent in the north central geopolitical zone to N890 per individual in March 2024 as against N643 as of October 2023. The same cost increased by 53 percent in the north east from N605 last October to N926 as of March this year.
Cost of healthy diet experienced 26.1 percent increase in north west to N787 as of March 2024; 57.7 percent increase in south west to N1198; 24.2 percent increase to N1140 in the south east, and N1,024 per individual in the south-south geopolitical zone as of March this year, further justifying the need for an urgent raise in workers’ salaries.
Meanwhile, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, and his counterpart in the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, have commended the doggedness of the Nigerian workers on Workers’ Day, as both demanded better welfare packages for Nigerian workers in the face of the current economic uncertainties.
“As Nigerian workers join their counterparts across the world today, to celebrate International Workers Day, it is a sobering truth that the plight of the Nigerian worker remains dire.
“It is my hope that the theme of this year’s Labour Day: Ensuring Safety and Health at Work In a Changing Climate, will inspire the Nigerian government to put the concerns of the Nigerian Worker on the front burner,” Atiku said.
Peter Obi said, “In the face of economic hardships, political uncertainties, and social injustices, you continue to stand your ground, holding fast to your belief in a brighter future for our country. I stand with you in solidarity, championing your cause and advocating for your rights.
“In the face of economic hardships, political uncertainties, and social injustices, you continue to stand your ground, holding fast to your belief in a brighter future for our country. I stand with you in solidarity, championing your cause and advocating for your rights.”
