Issues as Nigerians celebrate Workers’ Day

By  Femi Oyelola

As the organized labor in the country joins its counterparts around the world on May, 1st  to celebrate this year’s May Day, Nigerian workers have decried what they described as harsh economic conditions in which they live.

The workers who spoke to Weekend Peoples Daily, however said there must be celebrations and clinking of glasses despite the hardship occasioned by the current fuel scarcity, electricity tariff increase, food inflation, unrealistic wages, and unpaid salaries for months.

However, in some states, the usual fanfare that goes with the annual event was absent as workers simply stayed back at home to reflect on their harrowing experiences forced on them by the dwindling economic fortunes of the country.

May Day, an annual event celebrated on May 1st of every year honours the contributions and feats of workers worldwide as well as the vital roles of workers in building resilient societies and productive economies.

This year’s Workers’ Day is the first under President Bola Tinubu who was sworn-in as the leader of Africa’s most populous nation on May 29, 2023. Already, the Federal Government had declared Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 as a public holiday to mark this year’s Workers’ Day in Nigeria.

But on assumption of office President Tinubu introduced some sweeping reforms including petrol subsidy removal and unification of the foreign exchange windows when he took over last May, two decisions that have been flayed by labor groups, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NUC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

The removal of the petrol subsidy saw the price per litre of the premium commodity jumping from around N184 to about N600 and the interminent scarcity of fuel has shot the price higher at different cities and states..

The move aimed at the deregulation of the oil sector has inflicted untold hardship on Nigerians with the prices of basic commodities rising  to the roof top.

Similarly, prices of food and basic commodities have continued to increase in the last few months, as Nigerians continue to battle one of the country’s toughest economic crises.

Though the naira has appreciated against the dollar in recent weeks from about N1,900/$ to about N1,400/$1 now, the inflation rate stood at 33.20% for March 2024 and the interest rate at 24.75%.

According to Madam Regina Abba a federal Civil servant based in Ilorin, Kwara State, workers are celebrating this year’s workers’ day at a time when most state governments are owing their workers backlog of salaries.

She lamented that the non-payment of salaries has further impoverished them as well as worsened their economic condition.

Similarly Alhaji Lanre Dapo  said Nigerian workers had been depressed and in bondage in the past year as their purchasing power had been completely eroded.

“I think the socio-economic challenges have put Nigerian workers in bondage, in the sense that their purchasing power is weak, and it has also given Nigerian workers low morale, and the psychological effect is that it has not given Nigerian workers the impetus to put in their best, because they are battling with how to overcome the economic stress vis-a-vis family stress and extended family stress, and that is not good enough for any economy that wants to get out of the woods.

“So, it is a situation that is very worrisome because Nigerian workers are supposed to be agile with good expectations, a good package, and a good welfare scheme. But, the reverse is the case.

“It has been very turbulent in the sense that they have been denied their right of belonging to the society. Since they do not have what it takes to combat the economic challenges, especially with the removal of the fuel subsidy.

“That fuel subsidy removal is the problem, and because of that, it has affected the workers, and because it has affected the workers, it has also affected their purchasing power. It has also affected them psychologically. So, within the last year, it has been a very turbulent situation for Nigerian workers.”

However President Bola Tinubu, in celebration of his first May Day as president, assured the organized labor that the issues that prevented the tripartite committee on minimum wage from reaching a consensus would soon be resolved and that workers’ days of worries over their living wage would be gone.

The president, who spoke while delivering his speech as Special Guest of Honour at this year’s May Day Commemoration ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, also assured workers that his administration was open to the tripartite committee’s consideration of living wage above minimum wage.

Tinubu, who was represented at the ceremony by Vice President Kashim Shettima, with the message titled: “Solidarity in Action: Collaborative Governance, Empowered Workers,” called on labor to collaborate with his administration in its efforts to achieve growth and development for Nigeria

Similarly Kaduna State Government under the leadership of Senator Uba Sani Promised to prioritize the welfare of workers and equip them appropriately within available resources, saying that a committed and motivated workforce is critical to the achievement of the Rural Transformation Agenda in the State.

Speaking during the Worker’s Day Celebration held at the Murtala Muhammad Square for the first time in the past eight years, Gov Sani said  the history of Nigeria’s economic development cannot be written without mentioning the pivotal contributions of workers to wealth creation, which is why the state is calling for more investment to create more job opportunities for the people.

He said that the theme of this year’s celebration, “People First” is apt. Development is about the people as governance is about its people, and added that the people must, at all times, be the center of development.

Gov. Sani walked the talk and flagged off the implementation of N500 million revolving loans for civil servants.

He said more economic empowerment initiatives will soon be unfolded for workers of Kaduna State.

The Governor further assured the labor unions that, the Kaduna State Government under his leadership will continue to prioritize workers’ welfare and equip them appropriately within available resources, noting that, a committed and motivated workforce is critical to the achievement of his administration’s Rural Transformation Agenda.

Reacting to this, the Chairman of the NLC, Kaduna State Council  Comrade Ayuba Magaji Suleiman, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the congress to Governor Sani for his support and efforts in ensuring that the welfare of the workers is secured.

The chairman also used the medium to point out the challenges faced by workers in the State and pleaded that the government do more in the implementation of policies that are favorable to workers at all levels.

“I would like to express our sincere appreciation to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State – Sen. Uba Sani, Our formidable royal fathers (who are the cornerstones of our society, culture, and social fabric), and government officials present here today. Your presence underscores your commitment to the welfare and well-being of the working populace, and we are grateful for your support and collaboration in addressing the myriad challenges facing workers in our state.”

“Comrades, the theme of this year’s International Workers’ Day celebration has been strategically chosen by the national leadership of the NLC and TUC, as a pointer to the government on the need to prioritize the issues and concerns of the people. For too long, the interests of the people have been overlooked in favor of political expediency and elite agendas.”

“Putting people first means prioritizing the needs and welfare of the ordinary citizens above all else. It means investing in social programs that provide essential services such as healthcare, education, and housing to all Nigerians, regardless of their socioeconomic status. It means implementing policies that allow the “poor to breathe” and not suffocate them. “

“Unfortunately, the reality is that many government policies and actions have fallen short of putting “people first”. We have seen the erosion of workers’ rights, the skyrocketing inflation that has made nonsense of minimum wage, the flagrant embezzlement of public funds, and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. We have witnessed the neglect of critical social services and the marginalization of vulnerable communities.”

“But, Comrades, our struggle does not end with pointing out the shortcomings of the government. It begins with holding our leaders accountable and demanding better. We have the power to shape the policies and actions of our government through our collective action and advocacy.”

The Acting Executive Director of African Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ,)  Mr Leo Atakpu premised that the workforce of any Nation is its engine of growth and development because labour makes wealth.

According to him, no nation can grow beyond its workforce and Nigeria is not an exception. He stressed that over the years, workers have been the backbone of any government, be it military or Civilian.

“The private sector is also contributing their quota to the overall development of the Nation.

“Workers have to be celebrated and be well catered for which is why the issue of minimum wage is a constitutional matter and the minimum wage in Nigeria is one of the least all over the world.

“The Nigerian government must review the minimum wage, I see some percentage being backed,  and some State governors are making their announcements like in Edo State we hear 70 thousand naira for minimum wage but elsewhere, there is a holistic approach to the minimum wage.

“Nigeria is not an exception, it is a constitutional matter and should be reviewed from time to time, every five years as the policy says. It is not until the workers start groaning and shutting down the nation that you review their salaries.

“ A laborer is worthy of his wages, people cannot be working like giants, like elephants, and still be eating like ants.

“It is important that the organised labor and not be divided, engage government to ensure that the issue of minimum wage or increased pay is properly addressed. The government is going to increase taxes, and raise levies, they are quick to remove subsidies but are very slow to increase workers’ wages. So this issue must be addressed so that workers can be happy.

“You cannot be going to work from the first day of the month till the last day and you are unable to fend for your family, even yourself. We call on employers in Nigeria to revisit the wage system even the private sector, as they are worse than the government. They make so much money but they pay peanuts in the organization.

“The private sector needs to sit up, the government needs to wear the big stick of private sectors that are involved in slave labor, some private organizations make good profit throughout the year but they still pay their workers like slaves.

“So government should wade in to ensure that across the board whether public or private sector, the average worker in Nigeria earns a living wage that will sustain the life of the worker and enable the worker to meet the basic needs of life, that is very important.” He said

Speaking in the same vein,  the Executive Director of Hope for Children Initiative,

Hadiza Umar, prayed that God would protect every worker in this country and also provide wisdom and knowledge for the leaders of this nation to do the right thing for the benefit of these workers.

She lamented that High-cost-of-living protests subsequently broke out across the country, with labor unions demanding a new minimum wage for workers to cope with the inflationary pressure, to endure the pain of the moment.

“The Federal Government yesterday (Wednesday) approved an increase of between 25% and 35% in salary for civil servants on the remaining six Consolidated Salary Structures.

“It also approved pay rise for its pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme, DBS.

But in a Sharp reaction, the National President of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN,)  Comrade Peters Godonu opined that  Nigeria workers celebrated because some people fought for the struggle and won, so it has cause to celebrate.

“As we all know, the theme for this year’s Workers Day is People First and what do we mean by people first, in the process of production, labor is number one. So we need to put the people first and that is the message we are trying to convey to the people.

“A lot of things that we are experiencing, people need a lot of relief, but is the government looking in that direction, are we getting any relief?

“With the situation we are in, the economic crisis and all that we need to put the people first.

“Whatever the plan of the government is, they should also put a plan for the masses, knowing well that we require relief and that is the message.

“As the textile, we just finished our delegate conference some days ago, and it calls for celebration because it is a conference where we unite to make decisions.

“For us it is a good thing, to say we did not fight ourselves, we did not go and return as enemies and that shows that we practice oneness and that is a cause to celebrate.

“One thing to consider is that we have life. We all have challenges to talk about, but one thing to note is that we are still alive. That is why we are talking of libration and comfort, that is why we are reminding the government about what they need to do for us.

“Those who have passed on, when you talk of challenges, economic hardship, they don’t know anything but we still have life and that is our hope to say that we can still come out of these challenges.

“We all know that in any situation we find ourselves in, there’s always a challenge. There’s no situation or time that anybody will say no challenge existed but that is why we are there as leaders, to let you know that if there are issues, we can dialogue with our employers and settle.

“We are going to make sure that we do things to ensure that nothing is messed up in our constituency.

“What I mean is that the purpose of being a union should not be amiss, we don’t need to compromise. We should know that yes, the rights of our members are very dear to us.

“We also need to keep their hope alive. to let them know that anything wrong, we can sit down and discuss to find a way out.

“So when we create an environment for dialogue, it is just to improve the workers’ condition.

“The creation of a dialogue is an avenue to say that something greater is about to happen. It is when you talk to your employer and he says, I don’t have time for you, that is when you remain stagnant but in this union, both the employer and employee have the zeal to meet and talk which is what is keeping the union.

“Once we meet, something new is given birth to. It shows that the workers believe in the leadership and that once the leader is approached, hope is restored.

“The main instrument of unionism is dialogue. We can talk of strikes and all, but the main instrument in the process of union is dialogue. When I talk to you and you refuse to listen, then we take strike action but I think a better way is to dialogue.

“So once we talk, whatever comes from the dialogue will be profitable to the workers and that is what we believe in.

“I believe that by the time we get to the conclusion, the minimum wage will not remain the same, I have that assurance but the amount is what I don’t know.

“We have proposed our union to say that 650 thousand is the proposal from us but you know in the process of agreement, there’s room for dialogue. The government will also come up with a proposal at the end of the day, we also need to agree but what we know is that, in the issue of salary increase, there’s something for us at the end of the day.

“A committee has been set up to look into the issue and I’m sure that when they are done, they will come up with a figure which will be announced to the nation.

“Yesterday, the governor of Edo State announced a minimum of 70 thousand naira which is labour-friendly and he went on to say that if the government comes up with any figure, we’ll do more. Comrade Oshiomole also did it, when the minimum wage was 18,000 naira, he was paying 25,000 naira because they understood the constituency they came from. Ordinarily, being the governor, they know what is good for the people and they do it out of passion.

“So those are the things we are expecting especially from the government in place. Looking at our sector as the textile, we have suffered enough but we are happy because the cardinal point the president has presented is industrialization. If you look at Nigeria as far back as 1870, you will know how many the sector has employed, the direct jobs, the supporting staff, and the rest. So we are talking of millions of jobs to be created if they look into textile and that is what our hope is about.

“We believe that if the government means what they say in regards to industrialization and they look into textiles textiles will come back because we know it is labor intensive.

“Most of our factories are closed, and some have turned to churches and mosques, but we believe that if the president carries out his plan of industrialization, which is more dear to us, and works in it, we believe that the sector will change for good.

“I know that the idea of the government for an increment is to arrest the issue at hand. We all know the situation of the country that it is not palatable for us. So even in our sector, when a wage increase was announced, we met with our employers and negotiated for our people and it’s a relief but that does not mean that we will not implement it if an amount is announced.

“The committee is still working, they have not come up with their report, it is when they present it that we will present what we have but the increment is mainly to arrest the situation on the ground, to let the people know that the government means what they say. So when the committee announces their report, everybody will follow an order including the civil service,” he said.