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By Bimbola Oyesola
The scarcity of naira dealt a devastating blow on the chemical sector as most transaction by customers are conducted by cash.
Analysing the effect of naira and other factors that have come up to frustrate investors in the sector, President of the Chemical and Non-Metalic Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSAN), Segun Davids sums up the facts to say that the country as it is, is very unstable in term of recent developments.
He speaks further on the other challenges confronting the sector, which include casualization of the workers by some mischievous employers.
The CANMPSSAN President however said Organised labour has come up with counter action which include collaboration between the sister union to eradicate the menace.
He analysed how the policies of the government, the past one year has further impoverished workers and forced many youth out of the country.
Davids speaks more on the expectations from the new government, issues of devaluation of the currency, brain drain and others.
Chemical sector
The truth is that the situation since last year has been rather terrible. It has worsened, no thanks to the policy summersault of the federal government especially in the last six months or thereabout. A lot of factors have come up and it would not be out of place to say that the country as it is very unstable in terms of recent developments. We are just coming out of a rather savvy election process coupled with the fact that there was a monetary policy that has left a sour taste in the mouth of the populace, and we probably have more coming because as you know, we are already talking about the national population census which makes you wonder if the government is not really biting more than it can chew.
In terms of the challenges, Cash has been a big issue. Many companies could not make ends meet because in the chemical sector, we sell to retailers and they buy with cash. Moreover, when they do not have cash, they would rather think of something else or sometimes abandon the business completely. This has grossly affected our members and some companies have been shut up till date.
Also, there are mischievous employers which at the slightest opportunity they turn against the workforce. You see some of them bring in more casuals and outsource vital positions against the Labour Law. The issue of casualization is a big factor. In addition, there is a complete lack of confidence in the banking sector because you do not know what to expect from the banks. Those are the few things we are grappling with in the chemical sector.
Way out:
We have taken some bold steps to address these issues. We have done consultation with certain companies. Just recently, we unionized a company that has been dodgy for about 3-4 years now. We now have them organized. We have written to bigger companies to advise them of the benefits of unionization.
We have partnered with sister companies to set up a committee headed by the PG of TUC concerning this. I am part of the committee and we are looking at the issue of casualization holistically to see how we can resolve it especially with the big companies so that we ensure that their interests as well as ours are protected.
Last one year
It is so unfortunate because the country as it is, is very unstable in terms of recent developments. The high inflation, the situation of the economy and the monetary policy has made matters even worse. And you wonder the essence of this because eventually, nothing has changed in terms of the monetary policy. Were they able to achieve what they want… certainly not.
There are some businesses that is all about having raw cash and it made them helpless. On the part of the workers, they experienced a situation where they must report at work, and they must have to walk on foot to get to their places of work. Some of them resorted to sleeping in their offices, which was not ok for many of them. Some even lost their life in the process because you have some of them with medical conditions and did not have the money to buy their drugs and the requisite medical facilities to take care of them is lacking in the country.
Infact, the worse hit of this monetary policy have been the Nigerian workers. OkPolicies made by the federal government affected workers more than it did with the elite and politicians.
Devaluing the currency:
We know that since the inception of this administration, we have had both official and unofficial devaluation of the naira and this is probably going to continue because there is nothing to show for the past 8 years that this regime has been in power.
Now that the IMF is wading in on the matter once again, they would use this as a veritable basis to further devalue the naira that already is in a terrible condition. Now you see them approving contracts without examining what it sets to achieve.
You are approving a contract for the turnaround maintenance of the refineries which we have been doing almost every year in the last eight years without anything to show for it, the refineries are still not working.
This is the same government that during the COVID-19 pandemic, they claimed to feed students even though nobody was in school at that time. Now we see them awarding more contracts even when we know that the things that they are awarding the contracts for are not even existing or are even moribund.
The IMF advising further devaluation of the naira is synonymous to flogging a dead horse. The naira is already down and that would not achieve anything. I believe it would be another suicidal mission by this regime if they go ahead to do that. One of the things the incoming regime has said that they would do is to remove fuel subsidy. That tells you that inflation will rise, cost of living and transportation will increase even further.
This spells more hardship for Nigerian workers.
Way foward
The first thing is good governance to ensure that the system starts working again. The economy picks up and Nigerian workers would begin to develop confidence in the system. This would also attract foreign investors.
The government should find way to alleviate the hardship of workers in terms of providing direct incentives. This might not necessarily be money but ensuring that they have good facilities that would help them like transport, housing, good medical facilities and so on.
A typical Nigerian does not desire extravagant life, they just want the basic things to live, a house, food on the table, easy mobility, medicals, we are not asking too much from the government.
I personally have been to many countries and Nigeria happens to be one of the easiest to govern if you know what to do as a government or leader by putting he basic things in place.
The major thing is to provide them with structural incentives, good amenities to be able to live well and meaningfully.
Role of labour in the new government
First is to improve the welfare of workers. Labour is going to work assiduously with the incoming regime either as partners or as pressure group depending on which side of the coin we find ourselves because we want sound policies that work. We have only one Nigeria, nobody is interested in the disintegration of Nigeria.
We should start pushing to see that labour laws are reviewed. Most of what we are dealing with are obsolete and we need to get new ideas that would improve workers welfare.
We want the new regime to see Nigerian workers as a very pivotal stakeholder. We do not want labour to be at back foot. We want to be part of strategic decision-making as it concerns us. It would not be a bad idea if we have a representative of labour in the economic council. It would also not be a bad idea if the Ministry of Labour has a very seasoned labour person heading it. It would also important if the regime has a special adviser on labour matters who has been tested and tried. These are the first set of things that we need to do to going into the agenda proper.
Now, setting the agenda, we would need to identify the role of labour and then we pick all the stakeholders and labour leaders as it deems fit for them to be part of the discussion. Let the Nigerian workers themselves be the one to discuss issues that affects them directly. Furthermore, there is need to set up a welfare committee for the Nigerian workers.
Brain drain
If the incoming government does not take a deliberate step to address the issue, it would become worse. We would see that the youths that form the pivots of every economy would leave even in larger numbers and this is going to affect the economy seriously because there would be no one left to develop the country and ensure economic sustenance.
The brain drain has to do with the situation in the country, the economic issues, bad policies, lack of trust in the system and even the government’s lackadaisical attitude towards addressing them.
Imagine a situation where the higher institutions was shut down for over six months, what do you expect the youths to do. They know that this is their destinies that was being wasted so if they had any opportunity, they leave. Some may never even return.
