You are aware that when we opted for the N200,000, the socio-economic challenges were not as biting as they are now. And, when you look at the exchange rate, it was not what it is now. The naira rate not been devalued as it is now. So, N200,000 is no longer tenable.โ
Tommy Etim, National Vice President, Trade Union Congress.
Organised Labour under Late Pa Michael Imouยญdu, my dear in-law, from Oke Ora, Edo State played a gallant and positive role in the struggle for indeยญpendence in the 1940s to 1950s.
Despite being generally less well-educated than todayโs leaders, they were more realistic in their approach to negotiations.
Above all, they were honest. They were well-reยญspected. NLC took a turn down the wrong road when the leadership fell into the hands of con-men โ who wore khaki shorts during the day and crawled into the Presidency at night for fat envelopes.
The Nigerian Labour Transport Service, financed by the Federal Government, was deยญstroyed by corruption by its leadership; which terrorised everybody asking for accountability.
The immediate past President of the NLC was so ineffective few people even knew his name. The current leader, my former colleague at Vanguard runs the risk of finishing his tenure in obscurity as well.
The reason is simple. Organised Labour is inยญcreasingly distancing itself from workers; and it is becoming a conspiracy managed for the benefit of the leaders.
It has a narrow view of who is a worker โ meaning only those paying dues into its accounts.
As far as the NLC is concerned, the bus drivยญer, the hairdresser, Mama Put, the Mairuwa, the farmer are not workers.
The N200,000 being rejected, even before real negotiations start, are not meant for teachers in private schools.
Right now, most of those working in Nursery and Primary Schools receive less than N20,000 a month โ if paid.
Udoji Awards And Consequences Of Wage Increase
Thus, that statement credited to the VP-NLC late in January this year reminds me of the felยญlow who on being invited to eat announced that six wraps of pounded yam would be enough for him โ without finding out about the quantity of soup available.
Dismissing N200,000 as inadequate, when about half of the states are having difficulties paying N30,000 now, portrays the NLC leadership as people living in fantasyland.
The notion that wages can be increased by more than 600 per cent in one jump takes us back to the Udoji awards in 1975-6 and, if granted will push us forward to the disastrous consequencยญes of General Gowon administrationโs greatest blunder.
Gowon, then in his 30s can be forgiven for asยญsuming that good times last forever.
In addition to increasing workersโ salaries and wages by 300 per cent; the increase was backdated nine months.
Virtually every public sector employee reยญceived in one month about one yearโs take home pay.
Everything available for sale in stores was cleared. Sometimes prices were revised upwards twice on the same day.
I worked for Leventis Stores then as a Merchanยญdiser and prices of television sets and freezers went up by 250 per cent in the first month after the Udoji awards; inflation exceeded 50 per cent and remained over 40 for several years.
By 1983, almost all the gains of Udoji had been neutralised by hyper-inflation. By 1984-5, Nigeria was in its first recession.
Personally, I strongly believe we missed the road to sustainable development with the Udoji awards.
Why 600 Per Cent Wage Increase Is Unยญrealistic.
โThe right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.โ US Senator Hubert Humphrey, 1911-1978.
In a speech in Madison, Wisconsin, USA on August 23, 1965, Humphrey during an address on the Minimum Wage proposal of Americaโs organยญised Labour, even when he supported the demand for wage increase, considered Labourโs original demands outlandish.
I also support wage increase in Nigeria now. But, only somebody who does not intend to be taken seriously can dismiss 600 per cent off-hand. One would like to ask Mr Etim a few questions in this regard.
One, since he hinges Labourโs position on โthe socio-economic challengesโ and โthe exchange rateโ now, would it be permissible for schools and universities to increase fees, landlords, transportยญers, doctors, mechanics, in fact everybody, to inยญcrease their charges by 600?
Obviously, members of Organised Labour are not the only people facing the challenges and exยญchange rates.
Two, and this is getting to the heart of the matter. Has Organised Labour taken the trouble to determine how much governments at all level will have to pay more if just N200,000 is accepted?
There is nothing more ridiculous than the noยญtion that governments have infinite capacity to pay bills on demand. Even a government managed on printing currencies would eventually run out of paper and ink.
To be taken seriously, they need to tell us how much their own proposal would cost us. Otherยญwise, the announcements made so far remain unconvincing.
Three, even more preposterous is the notion that, if accepted, their new wage scale will solve everybodyโs problems.
Apart from the fact that Nigeria had experiยญenced the repercussions of huge wage increase in the past, the verdict of economic history does not support the view that a vast increase will solve all problems.
One thing is certain. If such a steep wage adยญjustment is contemplated, then Nigeria will soon be competing with Turkey and Argentina with inflation estimated at 75 and 202 per cent.
The questions now are these: is this what Laยญbour wants? Is this what other Nigerians want? Whose interests will be served by this?
Four, what will happen if governments declare their inability to pay such outrageous amount? The legitimate sources of governmentsโ revenue are well-known to all of us.
Nigeria is still largely dependent on crude oil exports; and almost all our states rely on Federal allocations.
Nigeria cannot unilaterally expand its export of crude; and therefore, cannot increase its oil revenue as it pleases.
That being the case, where will the funds to pay N200,000 or more come from? I hope nobody will tell me that we can do it if we stop corruption. That makes as much sense as saying the world will be a better place if cats can be trusted to manage a fish shop.
Corruption will not be wiped out tomorrow or next year or in 2050. So, where exactly will the funds come from to pay the bills to be generated by the new wages to be determined?
Organised Labour Needs Economic Adยญvisers
One of the cardinal lessons people studying Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis learn very quickly is that nothing works in public life if the underlying economics is defective.
We have recently how the hasty declaration โ SUBSIDY IS GONE โ has pitched the country into economic and social quagmire.
Ill-advised decision on Minimum Wage will have a more devastating impact on the economy and our lives than that โ if care is not taken.
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