By Lexan Ali

The minimum wage demand for workers anywhere is the minimum requirement needed for workers’ survival arrived at on the basis of the prevailing economic indicators such as inflationary trends and the strength and stability or otherwise of the country’s currency. Based on this one can categorically say that the N70,000 ‘new’ minimum wage remains a poverty wage as its purchasing power parity was already undermined on arrival by the Tinubu regime’s earlier removal of subsidy on petroleum products and steep devaluation of the naira that has seen inflation for the first time gone up to unprecedented level never seen before in the country’s history to over 36.9%, leaving in its wake a trail of mass suffering and hunger in the land. But how did the labour leaders arrive at a figure of 70,000 naira when the original proposal was a 615,000 naira minimum wage which they arrived at based on the prevailing cost of living crisis in the country?

                      The Tripartite Committee and a Stalemated Negotiation.

Largely dominated by captains of capital, Big Business and government representatives, with state governors who refused to pay the previous 30, 000-naira minimum wage also seated on the Tripartite committee with labour only marginally represented. But even before the committee began its negotiation and deliberation, you will recall that the Edo state governor amongst others had approved N70,000 naira for the state workers, and when the TUC president came out in praise of the governor as a pro-worker governor for approving N70,000 as minimum wage for workers in the state, with the benefit of hindsight it became clear that the labour leaders and members of the committee were merely going through the motion of the negotiation just to hoodwink Nigerians that a serious deliberation was going on when in fact a rotten deal for an N70, 000 minimum wage had already been struck.

Not surprisingly, the committee concluded its work without a tentative agreement between the labour leaders and members of the committee, from the N615,000 naira proposal presented by the labour leaders, and after months of negotiations, despite the huge concessions by the labour leaders who watered down their demand to N250, 000.  All that the government and private sector representatives in the committee could come up with was a negligible and paltry N62,000 proposal. Thus, the committee concluded its work without reaching any deal. In the midst of this stalemate, while it had become clear that the government and representatives of employers of labour were not willing to agree to the payment of a living minimum wage to Nigerian workers, instead of putting the government on notice, by rolling out a 48 hours warning general strike action as a last resort and mobilize the rank and file of the labour movement for a showdown with the government, the labour leaders instead opted for further consultation with president Tinubu, an opportunist and counterproductive strategy that only succeeded unfortunately in handing Nigerian workers a heavily watered down deal of N70, 000 minimum wage, which remains a poverty wage given the high rate in inflation, a devalued naira, recent increment in fuel price yet again by the regime and the growing cost of living crisis in the country, all of which have only succeeded in further making a mice meat of the new minimum wage. This government, like its predecessors, uses deceptive tactics to negotiate a decent wage for the working people, promising wages that do not reflect the current economic realities. The Tinubu regime, like others before it, made a card of promises, many of which will likely remain unfulfilled. The government’s promises to provide CNG buses and improve infrastructure should not be contingent on demands for a new minimum wage.

A lead article in` the last edition of SOLIDARITY, a paper of the Movement for a Socialist Alternative, titled: N615, 000 NEW MINIMUM WAGE IS AFFORDABLE! NO STRUGGLE NO VICTORY, the MSA had preempted in a prophetic manner the possibility of this kind of scenario playing out when it warned, “there can be no denying the fact that a new minimum wage is needed. It is clear that only an effective mobilization and the demonstration of the full strength of the working class to insist on a living wage will make it attainable. Otherwise what will transpire eventually is that the Tinubu regime will simply declare a figure that falls significantly short of expectation’’. This is exactly what played out following the consultation with the president.

Introduction Of A New 3-Year-Cley Clause To Review The Minimum Wage:

The Labour Movement must link the struggle for a Living Wage to the Struggle for a Socialist Transformation of Nigeria.

After the pronouncement of the N70,000 minimum wage, part of the agreement signed according to the labour leaders is that a review will be carried out every three years as against the previous five-year period, which is a welcome development. But following the recent unilateral announcement by the Tinubu regime of a new increment in the pump price of fuel from N620 to N950 and N1300 as is the case in some other states which have further made nonsense of the minimum wage, the NLC president Joe Ajaero have come out to allege betrayal and a bridge of agreement by the federal government. The government on its part have denied that there was any agreement, a further testament to the failed and opportunist strategy of the labour leaders.

All of this has only further demonstrated that the Nigerian capitalist government cannot be trusted to adhere to agreements as the longstanding issue between ASUU and the federal government has shown which has often led to perennial strike action by the academic staff union, let alone the payment of living minimum wage. The last time Nigerian workers enjoyed the benefit of a truly negotiated minimum wage was in 1981 of N125 (with the exchange rate at 0.61 kobo to a dollar, making the minimum wage then  $205). it follows therefore that the value of the N70,000 minimum wage which the government and private employers of labour are yet to implement at the current exchange rate of N1,600 to a dollar makes the minimum wage to be $43.7 dollars, a figure that is over 468.5% less than what workers earned in 1981. The recent hike in fuel prices has only brought more complications into the mix. Ever since then down to 2024 every new increase has actually been a reduction of what was previously earned both in terms of its purchasing power and it dollar value.

Under capitalism, because of the need to continue to guarantee profit for the capitalist elites and attract more foreign investors while also maintaining their own privileged lifestyle, the backward Nigerian ruling capitalist elite will do everything in their power to continue to hold down wages. As such any hope that the struggle for a living minimum wage or general wage increment will yield anything positive can only be quickly dashed as experience has shown unless such struggle is linked to the overall struggle for regime and system change and for the socialist transformation of Nigeria.

In conclusion, we call on the labour union leadership, to consider the consequential adjustment of any wage increment for Nigerian workers as a result of the newly passed minimum wage bill, they must take into consideration the new pump price of fuel and the fluctuating foreign exchange rate market and inflation rate in the country to arrive at something meaningful for Nigerian workers. Anything short of this will only amount to the labour leaders accepting a rotten deal that will shortchange Nigerian workers of their legitimate earnings. Nigerian political officeholders are among the highest paid in the world, while Nigerian workers are among the least paid in West Africa. A study conducted by workforceafrica.com shows that Nigerian workers are among the least-paid workers in Africa. Comparatively, Nigeria ($43), Ghana ($55.5), Cameroon ($63.2), Sierra Leone ($58.8), Senegal ($75), and Cote D’Ivoire ($76) offer higher minimum wages, with even war-torn Libya paying over a hundred dollars.