Suspended Labour strike, gains and losses

The suspended Labour strike in Nigeria may have come  and gone, but not without ripples, positive or negative. Though Nigerians, especially workers had braced up to  a marathon industrial action with the Federal Government, but the action was short-lived.

The sudden suspension of what supposed to have been long lasting industrial action barely two days to its commencement, was to say the least unexpected. It is not as if labour or anyone likes industrial showdown with the Federal Government, but when it becomes inevitable, why not?

Labour all over the world, as a pressure group pressures for the welfare of its members and by extension, the citizenry. So it is not out of place, when labour once a while shakes the table. If for nothing else, it has attracted the required attention of government and other relevant authorities.

 For instance, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun to forward whatever is agreed by the tripartite negotiation committee for immediate implementation within two weeks. That is an achievement on its own right! As to whether the aim of the strike was achieved is discussion for another day.

According to the statement announcing the suspension of the strike, duly endorsed by the duo of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)  President, Comrd Joe Ajero and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrd Festus Osifo, the suspension was to allow meaningful negotiations with the Federal Government continue and possibly be concluded.

It’s easier said than done, the world is watching. One must be patient and wait till the end of the race. The Organised Labour as they call it  was originally demanding for a minimum wage of N615,000 per month, which they reduced to N494,000, but the Federal Government offered N48,000 and later increased it to N60,000.

Labour vehemently rejected it  and insisted on N494,000, which they called a ‘living wage.’ The National Assembly and some Nigerians have described labour’s demand  as unrealistic. It also important to mention that some state governments up to date have not implemented the last N30,000 minimum wage increment, not to mention further pushing it up to N494,000 or N60,000 as the case may be.

No matter how we look at it, whether the strike lasted for two days, one hour or more, the fact remains that there was a stalemate on the socio-economic life of the nation.  This  amounted to hundred upon millions of Naira loss in economic terms. There was also loss of manhours and other inconveniences meted on the citizenry. For instance, educational system was interrupted as schools were shut down abruptly..

A survey conducted nationwide during the aborted strike shows that all the banks and other public offices were closed as the industrial action lasted. But the question is if labour had no gut to embark on a strike, be it warning or indefinite why play on the intelligence of Nigerians? How on earth does labour think a whopping sum of N494,000 minimum wage can be realised, when most state governments blatantly refuse to pay a paltry sum of N30,000 and nothing happened.

An indefinite strike called off after two days raises concerns about why such action was embarked on in the first place. Negotiation would have continued instead without interrupting other processes. It is equally important to tell labour that no wage can be ‘living’ when hyperinflation is holding sway in any given society. The reason is that as the government increases workers’ salaries, shylock traders are waiting to collect same from them, through hike in prices of goods and services.

What labour, therefore, should have asked is stable economic policies that could engender low cost of living, and by so doing strengthen the purchasing power of workers. Again more emphasis could have been laid on compelling the federal government to bring back the refineries and cut down prices of petroleum products, which triggered off high cost of living in the country.

N30,000 can still be qualified as minimum wage, if cost of living is low, to the extent that goods and services are within the reach of an average Nigerian. We are suggesting and strongly too that cost of governance should be reduced, no matter how. A Senator cannot be going home with more than N2 million basic monthly pay with other frivolous allowances and an average Nigerian cannot eat two square meals in a day.

The memory is still fresh in our minds, when over 700 lawmakers each bought SUVs worth over N160 million. Worse, they were all imported. How does one reconcile that? Until we do the right thing, agitations will continue. That is not our prayer anyway!