Adewale
Few days ago, workers in the country joined their counterparts worldwide to mark the International Labour Day, otherwise called the Workers’ Day or May Day. The day offered another opportunity to reflect on the plight of the Nigerian workers in terms of their welfare and working conditions. It is usually celebrated annually, to commemorate the struggle for better working conditions that culminated into the realisation of eight-hour work day, as against the between 10 and 16 hours per day in Chicago, United States of America with effect from May 1, 1886.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC); the major trade union bodies in Nigeria, have variously called on the Federal Government to urgently review the National Minimum Wage on the premise that inflation has increased suffering of the people, as the naira has lost its value and the impact of current wage has been completely eroded. The minimum wage was last reviewed in 2010 even though, the law demands for a joint review by federal and state governments, organised private sector and the workers’ unions, every five years.
However, critics have argued that the Federal Government may not be able to pay a new wage because of the decline in international oil prices, reduced oil exports due to renewed militancy and other associated factors that have diminished government’s earnings and thus, a new minimum wage would definitely bring about higher wage bill for all levels of government at this time. Efforts should be geared towards putting in place a virile framework that would enable the Nigerian worker to truly earn a living in tandem with their productivity, hence the minimum wage should be increased.
Furthermore there should be the suspension of discussions on the introduction of a bill to amend the constitution and make minimum wage a concurrent and not an exclusive legislative matter such that state assemblies should now have the power to fix the minimum wage in their respective states. This should be discouraged.
The controversial bill, which seeks to remove the National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive Legislative list to Concurrent Legislative List, should be stepped down. In other countries, minimum wage is on the exclusive list because of its sensitive nature and importance to the economy. Transferring such a vital legislation to states would be counter-productive in view of the fact that many states in Nigeria are currently defaulting in the payment of workers’ salaries for several months.
No doubt, many political office holders seem to enjoy more wages from the national resource than the average worker, who regularly battle with the problems of job insecurity, poor remuneration, exacerbated by high inflation and irregular payment of salaries. Many workers today live in rented apartments, cannot maintain vehicles because of the high cost of fuel, afford good food and access quality medicare. For those that have retired from active service, many of who have died in the course of processing their entitlements, those that are lucky to be alive continue to battle to get their hard-earned gratuities and pension allowances. At times, they are swindled by unscrupulous persons in a bid to fast-track the processing. Why this is possible is that, the government has failed to do what is right in the interest of the senior citizens.
Other issues that have been the lot of Nigerian workers include victimisation, poor remuneration, absence of good working environment, casualisation, safety lapses, non-unionisation of workers, non-payment of promotion arrears and summary dismissal, among others. Many Nigerians are still being employed as casual workers, which is at variance with the extant laws, against the practice. The casualisation of labour is common among many commercial organisations banks in the country whereby people are treated as slaves. It is sad to note that many people are working in Nigeria without having anything to show for it because of the prevailing economic situation and the excess burden being placed on them by many unemployed persons, relatives and other dependents. Certainly, workers should justify their pay.
Cases have been reported of workers engaging in sharp practices that bordered on truancy, laziness, dereliction of duty and poor quality of work. Under such conditions, the employer is not motivated to invest in the workforce. But when the worker is committed to his/her work with diligence, the onus lies on the employer to ensure that emoluments and working conditions are well packaged.
To ensure that the interest of the workers are promoted, government should put in place, sustainable policies to alleviate the suffering of Nigerian workers through subsidised housing, transportation and sound medicare. While the government is being called upon to be alive to its responsibilities while the two major labour unions NLC and TUC, should harmonise their positions and negotiate a realistic national minimum wage without forgetting the organised private sector in the new arrangement because they are part on the economy. The use of strike should be deemphasised while lobbying, consultations, negotiations and bargaining tend to be embraced. That way, the Nigerian workers would be made to get a better deal!
