All is well that ends well” is the title of one of William Shakespeare’s famous plays published in 1623. The year-long negotiations between the government of President Bola Tinubu and Organised Labour (Comrade Joe Ajaero’s Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; and Comrade Festus Osifo’s Trade Unions Congress, TUC) came to an amicable end on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
The cheers and hand-pumping between the two erstwhile “belligerents” was a pleasant sight to behold, with President Tinubu receiving a rare open accolade from the Labour leaders. We commend the two sides for a job well done. The president’s personal leadership in the final phase shows what happens when a leader leads from the front rather than hide his incapacity behind his battery of hirelings. We want to see more of this in other areas.
The peaceful resolution has defused the growing tension and fears of a prolonged Labour unrest and possible resort to the harassment and attempts to tinker with their leadership. That could have led to an unhelpful impasse.
Many observers may choose to lambast the Labour leaders for climbing down from their initial demand of N615,000 to the final figure of N250,000 per month only to accept N70,000. Some are asking whether the N70,000 is the “living wage” Ajaero insisted on.
We have to be mindful of the fact that the figures were mere instruments of negotiation towards a figure that is acceptable, affordable and realistic without worsening the current hyperinflation in the economy.
This agreed figure is very manageable. A good policy atmosphere is needed to give it value and sustainability. But if policies continue to misfire, even the N70,000 will quickly become worthless. So, for the two sides, the real work has just started. Government must rein in inflation and reignite production, especially in agriculture and industry.
Labour must also turn their attention to ensuring that workers at the sub-national levels and the private sector also key into the new national minimum wage when it becomes law. Already, the National Employers Consultative Association, NECA, has stated that they need “help” to be able to implement it.
We urge the Federal Government to invite them and ascertain the manner of help they need and do their best for them. NECA plays a leading role in giving value to the nation’s currency. They can only play this role if offered an enabling environment. NECA must be assisted towards returning superior earning power to our private sector workforce. An economy where government workers earn more than their private sector colleagues is an uncompetitive and dying set-up.
State governments must look inward to ensure they pay this minimum wage or even above it. Those that are over-bloated should shape up accordingly, and explore new ways of survival outside federal allocations..