The Labour Party (LP) has strongly criticized the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and their affiliates for embarking on a nationwide strike over their demand for a new national minimum wage of N494,000 ($380).
The party described the unions’ wage demand as “unrealistic” and one that cannot be sustained by the government.
The indefinite strike action commenced on Monday across Nigeria, paralysing economic activities in both public and private sectors.
The strike is in protest against the failure of the federal government and labour unions to reach an agreement on a new national minimum wage before the end of May deadline set by the unions as reported by The Guardian.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, Obiora Ifoh, the LP spokesman, called on the labour unions to suspend the strike and return to the negotiation table with the government.
“Our immediate reaction is that organised labour should not throw Nigerians into more hardship,” Ifoh stated. “Nigerians are already grappling with a lot of challenges and we do not need to exacerbate the situation.”
He argued that the N494,000 monthly minimum wage being demanded by the unions is unrealistic and unsustainable, as it would imply the government spending all its revenue on paying civil servants alone.
“I think the demand for N494,000 minimum wage is unrealistic. It is really unrealistic. It is a figure that cannot be sustained because it will imply that Nigeria will take all that money it has to pay the civil servants,” the LP spokesman said.
The strike arose from the failure of the tripartite committee comprising the federal government, organized private sector, and labour unions to agree on a new national minimum wage after months of negotiations.
While the government had proposed N60,000 as the new minimum wage, representing a 100% increase from the current N30,000, the labour unions insisted on N494,000, having earlier demanded N615,500.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, warned that meeting labour’s N494,000 demand would amount to an annual N9.5 trillion wage bill for the government, a situation he said could destabilize the economy and bring hardship to over 200 million Nigerians.
Speaking on why the unions rejected the government’s N60,000 offer, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, said it was “an insult to the sensibilities of Nigerian workers” as it fell short of meeting their needs and aspirations.
He noted that the N48,000 initially proposed by the government was even lower than what the least-earning federal worker currently earns.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, vowed that the strike would continue until an agreement is reached and signed into law on the new minimum wage, as well as a reversal of the recent hike in electricity tariffs.
While the NLC and TUC have garnered support from affiliate unions like the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), there appears to be a division among labour unions over the strike.
The National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) directed its members to comply with the strike directive. However, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria dissociated itself from the industrial action, describing it as “inopportune.”
Some critics like Daniel Bwala, a former spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 presidential campaign, also condemned the strike, arguing that it would hurt the families the unions claim to be fighting for, especially with students writing exams.
The strike has already begun to disrupt economic activities across the country, with the shutdown of public offices, banks, aviation sector, ports, and fuel depots among others.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, scores of outbound travelers were stranded as aviation workers joined the strike, forcing airlines to reschedule their flights.
The national assembly complex was also shut down by members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) in compliance with the strike directive.
In the nation’s seaports, the Maritime Workers Union directed its members to join the “total lockdown” in line with the directives of the NLC and TUC.
While the strike continues, the Labour Party urged the unions to return to the negotiation table rather than subjecting Nigerians to more hardship through the industrial action. Whether the party’s criticism will prompt labour to soften its stance remains to be seen as the strike gathers momentum nationwide.
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