The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN)
welcomes the expression of interest by the national leadership of Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) to begin agitation immediately over the demand for
N56,000 new minimum wage as contained in the speech of the NLC President Ayuba
Wabba at this year's Rain School organized by the Congress. We however call on
them to match their words with action by coming out with concrete program of
actions that would help win the demand.
As reported in the media, the NLC
President rightly noted that a new national minimum wage is not only long
overdue but also that the purchasing power of workers has been seriously eroded
by rising inflation and anti-poor policies of the government. He also lamented
the lack of seriousness on the part of government towards beginning a process
of negotiation of a new national minimum wage with formation of tripartite
committee of government, private employers and labour.
He was however reported to have
warned the workers never to expect their demands to be achieved easily, adding
that their interest could only be protected through collective struggle and
agitations.
For this not to pass as another
example of hot air by labour leaders, what NLC should do immediately is to
declare a 24-hour general strike and begin a serious mass mobilization for
action before and after such a strike. However, the demands of such warning
strike must not be limited to increase in the minimum wage alone but also
include unpaid salaries, pension arrears and job losses.
As much as desirable and badly
needed an increase in salaries for workers, it may be difficult for the NLC to
mobilise mass support for a new minimum wage if workers are owed a backlog of
current salaries running to several months, placed on half salaries or face
retrenchment without serious fightbacks.
On unpaid salaries, the NLC
President was quoted to have said: "We have decided after meeting with
state councils and unions that where we have liability of three months of
either salaries, pension or gratuity, you must be seen to start an action, we
will be there to support you."
Unfortunately, this decision is a
continuation of a weak commitment towards the struggle over unpaid salaries and
pension arrears by the national labour leadership. The problem is not so much
about lack of actions including strikes at state levels, but the isolation of
those struggles which make them win little or nothing. For instance, Oyo state
workers went on strike and massive street protests for seven weeks but could
only win payment of two months' salaries out of seven month' arrears.
About 27 states are said to owe
salaries and pensions, instead of leaving each state leadership of workers to
their own devices, the struggle must be centrally coordinated by the NLC with a
series of mass activities including national strike and rallies.
There can be no doubt that the
country is facing a grave economic and social crisis. But this is not the
result of anything that the working people and poor have done, the perilous
situation stems from a crisis in the capitalist system combined with the
determination of the ruling class to defend its own power and wealth. The media
is dominated by talk of the "recession", but working people must not
be intimidated into thinking nothing can be done. Buhari has asked for
"emergency powers" to deal with the crisis, but working people cannot
trust pro-capitalist governments to act in their interests.
It is working people and the poor
who need to take "emergency" action themselves to defend and improve
our already meagre living standards. As a start we strongly hold that despite
decline in oil revenues state governments can still pay workers' salaries and
implement viable projects if they cut the salaries and allowances of political
office holders, stop wastages of resources and end all anti-workers/poor
policies. But this will only be achieved by determined struggle. The NLC, TUC
and trade union leaders have a responsibility to initiate such a battle. The
ranks of labour have to demand that the challenge of seriously fighting to
defend our living standards is taken up by this leadership or, if they are not
prepared to do so, by one that will strive to build a mass fightback.
Chinedu
Bosah
National
Secretary, SPN
How are we sure Labour Union Leaders are doing anything reasonable to get workers out of this mess.
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