The failure of the federal government to sustain the payment of N35,000 wage award to Nigerian workers may threaten industrial peace in the country. The wage award was granted to Nigerian workers by President Bola Tinubu as part of measures to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal. The wage award was billed to commence in September of 2023. The government only paid for the month of September and apparently suspended payment for the subsequent months. There are reports that some workers have not even received the September wage award.
The ugly development over the wage award is not good. Government should stop reneging on agreements reached with Nigerian workers. It must be willing to honour agreements. Let government prioritize the fulfilment of all agreements reached with organized labour. We say this because, since the government’s hasty removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of exchange rates, prices of goods and essential commodities have risen astronomically.
Unfortunately, the depreciation of the value of the naira among international currencies has further pauperized Nigerian workers. Moreover, Nigerian workers are among the least paid in the world. That is why their take-home pay cannot really take them home. The federal government should be considerate and see the need to sustain the payment of the wage award, which it freely agreed to pay to workers. It does not really require a threat from organized labour for the government to wake up to its responsibilities. Government should begin to see workers as partners in building a virile and prosperous nation. No nation can develop when its workers are pauperized.
It is worth pointing out that a government that can readily buy every federal lawmaker a luxury car worth about N106 million should be able to pay a wage award of N35,000 to its workers without batting an eyelid. Nigerian workers remain the most valuable resource of the government in delivering its promises to the people. Therefore, it must not joke with this valuable resource. Rather, the workers should be treasured.
Based on the excruciating hardship in the country and rising cost of living, we implore the government to fulfil its promises to Nigerian workers in the wake of fuel subsidy removal by sustaining the payment of the wage award, which we believe the government can pay without resorting to borrowing. Doing so will, to a large extent, avert the looming threat by organized labour over the suspension of the payment of the wage award. Government should not do anything that will instigate another nationwide strike by Nigerian workers. The nation’s economy can hardly withstand the dire consequences of a nationwide workers’ strike at this point in time. Since trust is important in governance, the government should not provide a situation in which the citizens will begin to doubt its integrity.
One of the functions of government is to ensure the security and welfare of the people. The government owes every Nigerian this responsibility, including Nigerian workers. There is no doubt that each time Nigerian workers embark on a nationwide strike, the economy bleeds, leading to loss of billions of naira. The amount of money allocated to renovate the residence of the Vice President and the Office of the First Lady in the 2024 budget is enough to pay the workers’ wage award.
Nigerian workers have shown enough patience and understanding. Government should not pushed them to the wall. The workers should not be made to embark on another round of strikes. While 2023 has been a tortuous and difficult year for Nigerians, we don’t want to enter the New Year with an industrial action by Nigerian workers. This is why the federal government should muster the political will to avert the disruption of industrial peace in the country. The national minimum wage of N30,000 is too paltry to cater for a worker and his family. Even at that, many states have not commenced the payment of that wage. Although a few states are paying slightly above the national minimum wage, it is sad that the welfare of workers has often been politicized and has become a serious campaign issue during elections. The maltreatment of Nigerian workers should not be normalized.