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Except any meaningful intervention from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, members of organised labour will tomorrow commence their planned two-day nationwide protest, scheduled for February 27 and 28 over the rising cost of living caused by government’s ill-digested economic policies.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had some weeks ago given the federal government a 14-day ultimatum to address the excruciating economic hardship. The deadline is enough for the government to resolve all outstanding issues with labour.
Apart from the wage awards and other unfulfilled agreements the federal government reached with labour, the hunger crisis in the land has reached an alarming level, which make the protest inevitable. Available information shows that organised labour is protesting the seeming poor implementation of the fuel subsidy removal palliatives and payment of N35,000 wage award. Following the notice for the protest, which may lead to a nationwide industrial action by Nigerian workers, the government has been discussing with labour leaders to forestall any disruption of the current industrial peace. For instance, the Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has had series of talks with labour leaders on the new minimum wage and other impending matters.
However, the government and labour have not reached any agreement on the minimum wage and the planned protest. From all indications, labour is adamant to go ahead with the protest despite attempts in certain quarters to sabotage it. No doubt, the prevailing economic hardship stems from the uncritical removal of fuel subsidy without putting in place adequate measures to cushion the effects. At the same time, the unification of the foreign exchange market rates, without ensuring adequate supply of the dollar, helped to worsen the situation.
Since then, the naira has continued to depreciate so much, leading to high cost of living and unprecedented food inflation. All efforts by the federal government to contain the situation have proved abortive. Nigerians in Niger, Kano, Oyo and other states recently protested over the untold hardship. Religious and Traditional leaders have also urged the government to intervene and stem the hardship and rising food inflation.
In view of the rising hardship, we urge the government and organised labour to have a productive dialogue on the economic situation and arrive at amicable solution. Let there be a win-win situation for the parties involved. We believe that the government and labour have not had robust engagements in recent times as a result of a seeming frosty relationship between them. Let there be a change of heart in that direction.
Government should in the prevailing circumstances give Nigerian workers a living wage and put concrete measures in place to ameliorate the pervasive hardship. The extant national minimum wage of N30,000 is no longer realistic in today’s Nigeria where a bag of rice now costs above N70,000 and a paint of garri almost costs N3,000 and one piece of yam costs between N2,500 and N3,000 or more depending on the size. On its part, organised labour should be reasonable in its demand, especially on the new minimum wage, and come up with a realistic and sustainable wage.
We believe that President Tinubu can meet some of the demands of organised labour and persuade with them to shelve the protest without arm-twisting them. However, any clandestine and surreptitious move to balkanize labour and stop the protest at this point in time will not work. Therefore, the present move by the Department of State Services (DSS) to torpedo the protest based on its feeble argument that hoodlums will hijack it and make it violent is not tidy. It is not even convincing at all.
Nigerian workers have the right to engage in a peaceful protest to make the government give them a living wage and better conditions of service. Instead of predicting and hyping that the planned protest will be hijacked by criminals, we believe that it is the duty of the security agencies, including the secret police, to ensure that the peaceful protest is never hijacked by the so-called hoodlums and criminals.
In fact, we urge the DSS to go after the hoodlums and criminals intent on hijacking the workers’ peaceful protest. How many times have security agencies stopped any protest in praise and support of the government? None! The security agencies must ensure that the protesters are adequately protected while the protest lasts as done in United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and other democratic countries. Ours will not be different.
After all, we are not living in a police state. The organised labour, the NLC and TUC, must remain ever committed to the welfare of Nigerian workers and indeed all Nigerians.
