17102019 - FG cuts travels, estacodes for ministers, other officials

38 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
08052202308 (sms only)
Nigeria in minimum wage strike frenzy
•Media hype, labour gains, govt loss
BY VICTOR YOUNG
FOR a while, the nation has
been on the edge over
planned nationwide strike by
Organised Labour to force implementation
of the N30,000
new national minimum
wage. The planned strike is
being anchored by the
Nigeria Labour Congress,
NLC and its Trade Union
Congress of Nigeria, TUC,
counterpart.
President Muhammadu
Buhari had on April 18,
2019, signed the N30,000
new national Minimum
Wage Act into law, repealing
the 2011 act that brought
about the current N18,000
minimum wage.
The implementation of the
new minimum wage has
however been stalled due to
disagreement between
Labour side and government’s
side in Joint National
Public Service Negotiating
Council, JNPSNC, over the
consequential adjustment
arising from the N30,000 for
workers on levels seven to 17.
Following the quagmire,
*Protest by Nigerian workers over the new
minimum wage
NLC and TUC had on October
2, 2019, in a joint statement,
among others, told the
federal government that “the
leadership of organized labour
in Nigeria wishes to categorically
state that the leadership
of labour cannot guarantee
industrial peace and
harmony in the country if our
demands are not met at the
close of work on Wednesday,
16th October, 2019.”
The joint statement by
NLC and TUC was amplified
and interpreted by a
section of the media to mean
that a nationwide strike
would commence Thursday.
Unfortunately, the government
bought into the media
creation of strike and became
apprehensive triggering tension
in the country. As
expected, leaders of NLC
and its TUC counterparts
have taken full advantage of
the situation to push for better
bargain.
ULC bombshell
In the midst of this, the
leadership of United Labour
Congress of Nigeria, ULC, on
Tuesday dissociated the
group and members from the
planned strike, saying
among others, that members
and other critical stakeholders
were not being carried along
ahead of the planned action.
ULC in a statement by its
President, Joe Ajaero said
among others, “the proposed
nation-wide strike is designed
to fail or at best
watered down to achieve
nothing but to bring few
Nigerian workers on the street
to dance and wave flags
without shutting down the
economy which is the effect
a nation-wide strike ought to
have. Markets will be
opened, Road, Maritime and
Air transports will work,
Filling stations and Depots
will operate, banks will work
and generally, the economy
will go about its business as
if nothing has happened. So,
where is the effect of such
action?
“Unfortunately, this strike
will not have the desired impact
and would not achieve
the intentions Nigerian
workers would want as it is
seemingly; dead on arrival as
programmed by the hidden
interests pushing the
agenda.
“ULC will not therefore be
part of an exercise designed
to hoodwink Nigerian workers
and masses into believing
that their interests were being
championed while the contrary
may be the case. We will
not be part of this ruse neither
will we partake in a complete
jamboree that makes a
mockery of the genuine
struggle by Nigerian workers
to begin to enjoy the new
national minimum wage.”
No date for strike
Never the less, the truth is
that NLC and TUC never
planned to begin a nationwide
strike today, October
17.
In fact, the leadership of the
two bodies did not fix any day
to commence a nationwide
strike outside saying they
would not guarantee industrial
peace after the close of
work of October 16, 2019.
Strike is not a tea party.
Though there is no doubt that
Labour could declare a strike
to force implementation of the
new national minimum wage
should government continue
to show unwillingness to implement,
it is yet to do so.
Investigations by Vanguard
uncovered that the leaderships
of NLC and TUC
have not even called, briefed
and convinced the private
sector unions why they
should go on strike and
cripple the private sector for
a strike that will not have any
direct benefits to private sector
workers.
The history of any successful
nationwide strike in Nigeria
in recent times show
that every stakeholder;
especially informal sector
workers such as market
women, traders, commercial
bus drivers, civil society organisations,
among others,
must be carried along.
Besides few states that have
issued statements on the
planned strike, many of the
states are not ready because
neither NLC nor TUC has
given them a date to
commence strike.
The closest directive has
been for state councils to mobilize
and prepare for strike.
Whenever a date is given,
it takes not less one week to
mobilize and get critical
stakeholders deeply involved
to achieve result. In fact, in
this case where the issue in
contention affects only a segment
of the workers, the public
sector especially the federal
workers, it will require
longer time and strategy to
carry critical stakeholders
including the informal
workers along.
Irrespective of what critics
may say about ULC's position,
the truth is that Labour is not
prepared for a nationwide
strike today.
The question is. why was
the ULC sidelined after NLC
and TUC joined the fray in
the negotiations following the
breakdown of negotiations
between Trade Union Side,
TUS, and government side
JNPSNC? Agreed that most
of ULC's members are private
sector workers that will not
directly benefit from the
negotiations, but for Labour
solidarity, and judging by the
influence some of its affiliates
in the potency of a strike of
this magnitude, ULC ought
to be carried along. Above all,
having been part of the
struggles to achieve the
N30,000 new minimum
wage, sidelining the group
was a serious blunder that
may hunt the movement for
a long time to come.
However, it would have
been better for ULC
leadership to remain mute on
the issue no matter the
pressure or reasons to avoid
misinterpretation by critics.
In-fighting in NLC
Meanwhile, sources within
NLC informed that there is
in-fighting among public
sector unions over the consequential
adustment negotiations
as some feel sidelined
in the entire process.
Among the alleged
aggreived unions that feel excluded
are Judicial Staff Union
of Nigeria, JUSUN, Nigeria
Union of Local Government
Employees, NULGE,
and other non-core public
sector unions.
In all, the government
should be blamed for the
quagmire over the protracted
negotiation on the
consequential adjustment.
Governmnet is said to be
using mostly same negotiating
team it used during the
negotiations that gave rise to
the N30,000 new national
minimum wage for negotiating
the consequential adjustment.
This, observers believe contributed
in no small measure
to the alleged insincerity of
government side in
JNPSNC.
According to the sources,
the government side was to
have worsened the situation
by preparing and including
budget for the payment of the
new minimum wage in the
budget when negotiations for
the consequential agreement
have not been concluded.
No alternative to organizing,
labour tells Telecom workers
THE importance of
organising the unorganized
workers was again brought
to the fore at the maiden delegates'
conference of the Private
Telecommunications
and Communications Senior
Staff Association of Nigeria,
PTECSSAN, few days ago
in Lagos union.
Labour leaders at the conference
made it clear to the
PTECSSAN that massive organising
for new members
remained the only way to get
more members.
It was a consensus among
the speakers that
PTECSSAN needed to
widen its membership to
remain afloat to service
members as well as the Nigerian
public.
Speaking, President of
United Labour Congress of
Nigeria, ULC, Joe Ajaero, reminded
leaders of
PTECSSAN that they had a
very wide sector to organise
and that they should not be
discouraged by the few companies
at the union’s fold at
present.
He said “Some unions
have just one company as
their employers. You can
have only MTN as your
employers in this sector. For
years the union that I am the
General Secretary : National
Union of Electricity
Employees, NUEE, had
only NEPA and NESCO (Nigerian
Electricity Supply
Corporation) for years, unti
recently. The union which
you a little attachment to;
National Union of Postal Telecommunications
Employees, (NUPTE), was
having only Nigeria Telecommunication
Company,
NITEL, and NIPOST. So, if
you are having MTN, with
Nokia and others, you are
starting very well. What you
need to do now is to further
deepen the membership of
PTECSSAN for it to be alive
and succeed.