In two separate new year messages signed by the president of the trade union Congress, TUC, Qadiri Olaleye and the Nigeria labour congress, NLC president, Ayuba wabba, Organised labour directed states councils where negotiation for adjustment are yet to kick-start, to begin mobilisation for engagement with the state government
Below are the messages, first TUC...
2020 TUC NEW YEAR MESSAGE
Being the text of the Goodwill Message to Nigerians on New Year Day, 2020, by Comrade Quadri Olaleye, President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC).
The Trade Union Congress Nigeria congratulates and salutes all Nigerians for their bravery, resilience and loyalty to the country in the past 365 day, notwithstanding the enormous challenges confronting us both as individuals and as a country. Above all, we give thanks to the Almighty God for stilling storms arising from incendiary comments and actions from various quarters that are capable of igniting a great inferno in the country.
We wish to use this opportunity to reach out to workers, pensioners and other citizens with the message of love, hope, patience and goodwill. As a Labour Centre it is our responsibility to protect our members’ interest, ensure democratic values are adhered to, advocate for the Rule of Law and work to ensure decent and fair wages among others.
Evaluating critically the organized labour’s activities in the last one year you would agree with us that it has been a rough path. There were many industrial issues but we swallowed many bitter pills to save our ailing economy. Foremost among other issues were minimum wage and its consequential adjustment; unbridled sack of workers without redundancy negotiation, breach of collective agreement, casualisation, etc. It is important to state here that although this administration has enjoyed the co-operation of Nigerians, government at various levels have abused it, creating the impression that makes us feel we do not count.
Be that as it may, in the year ahead, while the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria shall remain committed to its members and we would also want government to holistically look into the following:
i. Cost of Governance, Democratic gains, free and fair election, others
We are glad we are a democratic country, although lives were lost to achieve it. Unfortunately the hard-earned democracy has been abused by “strangers”. By strangers we mean people who did not play any significant role while the struggle lasted. In fact, the people we fought against seem to be still in charge.
Our kind of democracy is the most expensive anywhere in the world. The cost of governance in Nigeria is highly unreasonable, no hyperbole. Investigations have revealed that political office holders are one of the highest paid in the world. They borrow to massage the greed of a few in a country adjudged to be the poorest in the world.
The TUC will continue to advocate for good governance. Out of frustration Nigerians at every given opportunity vent their anger. The underlying factor for these reactions in most cases is hunger. How do you tell a people denied of the basics of life not to cry out? To silence the poor masses from crying some individuals are pushing fiercely to pass a “Hate Speech Bill”. The Congress will never support that Bill. Why are those behind the law perturbed if they do not have skeletons in their cupboard? We advise the people behind the obnoxious Bill to use their time to pursue a rational agenda.
In the area of free and fair elections, we are not near the global practice. Ghana, Rwanda, Egypt, etc may not be perfect in their electoral processes but ours is worst. It is disgraceful that in the 21st century election is still a 'do-or-die' affair in Nigeria. The last election in Kogi is a typical example of how low our politicians can go. It is even most unfortunate that the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, and some security operatives most times aid/ sit and watch while all these anomalies take place. It is a national disgrace.
ii. Debt
The country’s debt profile is increasing at an alarming rate. International bodies, including the World Bank have severally warned on the danger of our ceaseless borrowing. Besides the $29.96 billion loan which has gained the approval of the National Assembly, reports have it that the country has so far allegedly borrowed $1 billion from African Development Bank; $1 billion Eurobond, with additional $500 million expected from Global Medium Term Note Program. The N5.8 billion borrowed from China Exim Bank is hanging on the country’s neck. Over 30 per cent of the federal government’s revenue will be used for debt servicing. The question is how has these loans benefitted the ordinary masses of the country? How can we use as much as N2.7tn to service debt and budget a paltry N2.4tn on expenditure? It is hard to come to terms with the position of the Information Minister, Mr. Lai Muhammed who told Nigerians that $84 billion loan is nothing to worry about. We are tempted to feel that politicians are not in tune with the plight of the masses.
We have three arms of government that are constitutionally at par: the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. They are supposed to check themselves but that has not been the case. Our experience so far has been an unpleasant one. We felt robbed when the Senate and House of Representatives leadership at various times showed indifference to the loans and other excesses of the Federal Government. In the year 2020 we expect the allegiance of politicians and all Nigerians to be to the country and not individuals, even if in power.
iii. Rule of Law
To further deepen our democratic process the Federal Government must as a matter of urgency respect the rule of law. We have not had it good lately. The idea of the Department of State Services keeping people in custody despite being granted bail by courts is uncalled for. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, must wake up to his responsibilities. Total disregard to rights of people, lack of accountability, intimidation, indifference to the rule of law by some state and non-state actors alike is dangerous to the peaceful existence of the country. We must not appear unserious before the international community. We call on the Cross Rivers State government to release Agba Jalingo; Kaduna and other states keeping journalists to release them. Let due process be followed so we don’t make ourselves a laughing stock before the international community.
iv. Subsidy
The dailies had it few days ago that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency declared that the subsidy on petrol has risen to N47.5 per litre as the expected open market price of the commodity hit N180.78. Often we are told that once the Dangote’s refinery starts operation things will get better. We have our concerns: As the sixth world oil producing country we do not know the number of barrels of crude we produce daily. It is instructive to know that Danogote is a business man; and like every business person elsewhere he is in business to make profit. He will dictate the price to sell when he starts operation. It is not his fault, the government created room for that. As a mono-economy it is unfair to manage a sector that sustains the nation’s economy in such a lackadaisical matter.
We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency relinquish his position as the Oil Minister. A technocrat with consummate know-how should be allowed to man the industry for efficiency and effectiveness. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) cannot continue to be the ATM of a privileged few and their cronies.
v. Minimum Wage
We commend states that have commenced the payment of the new minimum wage. It will obviously serve as a motivation to the workers. We therefore call on governors that are yet to start payment to do so without delay. In as much as we would not want to disrupt economic activities we would still not compromise the welfare of our members. A stitch in time saves nine!
vi. Job Creation/ Insecurity
The country is in a dire strait security-wise. Thousands of innocent lives have been lost and some local government reportedly being occupied by the terrorists. Our able-bodied young men and women are now involved in kidnapping, robbery, cybercrime, ritual killing, prostitution, etc. We commend the security operatives, especially the foot soldiers in the military for staking their lives for the country.
The root cause of insecurity is joblessness. Over 90 per cent of those who are gainfully employed have no time for criminal activities. There are factors that encourage investment: security and obedience to the Rule of Law are part of them. Beyond that, government must create an enabling environment so that micro-economic activities can take place. Even in civilized economies the informal sector is not undermined because of their substantial contribution in economic activities. We must adopt these global best practices to save the country from her economic woes; and also secure the lives and properties of innocent citizens.
In conclusion, one cannot but agree with late Chinua Achebe who once said that "the problem of Nigeria is leadership." Using our idle youths to snatch ballot boxes is not the way to go. We know that countries borrow but when they do they tie it to projects. The problem facing the country is not the National Assembly building. It is laughable approving N37 billion for the renovation of the NASS building that was built with less than N8 billion. This is not fair in a country that has mortgage challenge in millions. Government must diversify the economy, reduce cost of running government, jail looters of our commonwealth and do projects that would impact positively on the people. We yearn for a new Nigeria. A better Nigeria is realistic.
Happy New Year, Nigerians!
Comrade Quadri Olaleye FCIA, MNIM
President
NLC New year message...
WORKERS’ WELFARE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE ARE OUR PRIORITY
- Being a text of the Goodwill Message to Nigerians on New Year's Day, 2020, by Comrade Ayuba Wabba, mni, President, Nigeria Labour Congress
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) felicitates with all Nigerians especially workers and pensioners on the celebration of the 2020 New Year Day. We hail the outstanding dedication, sense of duty and profound contributions of the Nigerian workforce to national growth and development.
On this occasion, we reach out to all workers, pensioners and other citizens in Nigeria and elsewhere with love, joy, hope and goodwill. We can only hope for better outcomes for all of us in the New Year.
As we celebrate the New Year, it is only logical that we also take stock of the outgone year 2019. This will help us identify pitfalls to avoid, mixed outcomes to improve upon and successes to consolidate.
For the Nigeria Labour Congress, the year 2019 was a year of leadership renewal, strategic capacitation and robust engagement on workers’ issues and other broader concerns in the polity. In the outgone year, the NLC was dedicated to protecting workers interests, promoting democratic values, advocating for the rule of law and defending human cum trade union rights. We sustained our fight against anti-labour practices in the work place and insisted on the observance of the rules of decent work. We also championed the cause of fair wages especially through our campaign for the passing of the new national minimum wage of N30,000 into law and subsequent negotiation of consequential salary adjustment for workers in the public service.
The unemployment crisis plaguing our country was of great interest to us. At the February 2019 12th National Delegates Conference of the NLC where new leaders of Congress were elected, a number of resolutions were passed on the disturbing trend of unemployment in Nigeria particularly within the youth demography. Our Conference resolutions called on government at all levels in Nigeria to quickly arrest this dangerous drift. Furthermore, during the Global Forum on Employment organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and hosted by Nigeria, we re-echoed our position that policy conversations about economic growth and development must be primed on job creation.
The 2019 commemoration of the May Day was highly significant as it coincided with the celebration of the ILO Centenary. The ILO centenary was a major part of our activities during the commemoration of the 2019 May Day both at the centre and in all our state councils.
Congress was responsive to key national issues especially with regards to economic performance, credible elections, the rule of law, security and good governance in general especially in ways that were pertinent to workers. We made our positions clear through press statements, rejoinders, comments, and communiques. Our efforts went a long way in shaping public opinion, moderating the temperament of those in the corridors of power and influencing public policy and legislation.
On the 2019 general elections, the Nigeria Labour Congress as a pan Nigerian organization rose above partisan considerations to demand for free, fair and credible elections. We condemned infractions that trailed the 2019 election and in favour of the rule of law urged those aggrieved by the election outcome to seek justice in our law courts.
In the outgone year, Congress pressed for economic growth through the diversification of the national economy, improvement in our physical infrastructure and institutional reforms especially in the commanding heights of our socio-economic life. During our courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari on March 7, 2019, we urged Mr. President to focus on job generation through the creation of the enabling environment for industrialization, economic diversification through agriculture and robust engagement with the social partners. We also called for the fixing of our refineries as the current importation of refined petroleum products is an unsustainable aberration.
2019 marked the consolidation of Nigeria’s presence and visibility in the international labour spheres. In addition to the ILO choice of Nigeria as the host of the Global Summit on Employment, the Nigeria Labour Congress hosted in Abuja the 6th African Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba from September 23 – 25, 2019. This biennial conference drew delegates from different African countries and other continents. The Nigeria Labour Congress also hosted the 4th Delegates Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation – Africa (ITUC-Africa) on 20th and 21st of November 2019. At the conference, a Nigerian, Comrade Joel Odigie was appointed the Deputy General Secretary of ITUC-Africa.
In spite of the foregoing milestones in the outgone year, there were also a number of challenges. Some states refused to set up negotiating committees to bargain with labour over consequential salary adjustment incident on the new national minimum wage. It is heartwarming, though, that some states are already implementing the new national minimum wage while many states are already negotiating on the consequential adjustment arising from the new national minimum wage. We await conclusions and immediate implementation.
Workers were also concerned about the diminishing space for institutionalized tripartite consultation among the social partners in Nigeria especially through the institutionalization of the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC). Upon persistent advocacy by the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, promised to inaugurate the NLAC before the end of 2019. Unfortunately, this did not materialize in 2019. It is our expectation that the NLAC will be fully formalized in 2020.
In the year 2020 ahead of us, the Nigeria Labour Congress will pursue with an uncommon sense of duty the following goals:
1. Nationwide Implementation of the New National Minimum Wage and Consequential Adjustment in Salary
As earlier noted, since April 18, 2019 when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the new national minimum wage of N30,000 into law, some states have already commenced implementation. We commend the states already paying the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustment in salaries for assuming the pacesetter status.
We use this medium to implore states that are yet to implement the new national minimum wage including the states that are yet to begin negotiation with labour on the consequential wage adjustment to speedily do the needful. In tandem with our position as adopted and communicated after a stakeholders’ meeting on December 11, 2019, organized labour in Nigeria will not guarantee industrial harmony in states that fail to implement the new national minimum wage by December 31, 2019. We direct our state councils to be on the standby to robustly engage state governments that fail to obey our laws.
We wish to remind State Governors that no excuse would be good enough for failure to pay. The ongoing revelations on the monumental looting perpetrated by former governors prove that only an intent to loot, and deadened conscience not availability of resources would be the reason any Governor would hesitate to pay workers the N30,000 new national minimum wage and the consequential adjustment in salaries. The new national minimum wage is now a law and State Governors do not have the luxury to choose whether to pay or not.
2. Campaign for Massive Employment Generation and Decent Jobs
In the year 2020, the Nigeria Labour Congress will mount a very robust campaign for the generation of mass jobs and for already existing jobs to be decent. To this end, the NLC is perfecting plans for a National Job Summit in 2020. We will get stakeholders: experts, policymakers, concerned demographics and workers on a roundtable to find answers and solutions to Nigeria’s burgeoning unemployment crisis.
In the spirit of growing the economy and creating jobs, we urge our compatriots especially our elites to change our consumption habits. We must consume what we produce. We must patronize “Made in Nigeria”.
3. Increased Partnership with and Support for the Federal Government’s Anti-Corruption Fight.
In the immediate past year, the efforts of the current government against official corruption was consolidated with the conviction of top politicians, their aides and their collaborators in the business community. Given that every naira stolen from the Nigerian people is an infrastructure stolen, a job stolen, a dignity stolen, a future stolen and sometimes, lives stolen, the Nigeria Labour Congress will continue to support the current efforts by the President Muhammadu Buhari government to rid Nigeria of official graft. We will also continue to partner with anti-corruption agencies to increase public awareness on the ills of official corruption and to expose fraudulent deals and characters.
4. Robust Engagement for the Promotion of the Rule of Law and Sanctity of our Public Institutions
A major sore point in the outgone year was the penchant for overzealous security agents to resort to self-help in the prosecution of their duties. By so doing, they forgot that Nigeria is a democratic state governed by laws. We all have a duty to protect our institutions and our fledgling democracy from the perception of abuse and from actual hijack by those whose primary responsibility should be to protect and defend our democratic institutions. The desecration of our courts by the State Security Service is an ill wind that should never blow again.
In addition to the protection of our democratic institutions, Nigerian workers call for the defense of our civil liberties which includes the right to organize, freedom of association, the right to protest and the right to embark on strike actions. We wish to remind those in the corridors of power that these rights are guaranteed by the 1999 Nigerian constitution and relevant ILO Conventions and so, these rights are fundamental, sacrosanct, inviolable and non-negotiable.
5. Promotion of National Security, Peace and Unity
Nigerian workers under the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress will continue to work assiduously towards the promotion of national security, peace and unity. We will continue to put the needed weight on the things that unite us and hold in contempt the things that seek to divide us. We encourage our political leaders to exemplify the same by their utterances and conduct. By so doing, we would be laying an enduring foundation for national peace, unity, and development.
In 2020, we demand that government must prioritize the security of lives and property. Nigeria has seen enough bloodshed. While we commend the sacrifice and commitment of our soldiers and other security personnel in the war against terrorist insurgency and other violent crimes across Nigeria, we urge government to do all it takes to end the bloodletting and brigandage in different parts of the country. As we have always canvassed, the war against insecurity must be anchored on human security. We must feed hungry stomachs. We must create jobs to engage our youths. An idle mind is devil’s workshop.
6. Good Governance
Nigerian workers are deeply concerned about plans to renovate the National Assembly with about 37 billion naira. Given our developmental deficits and level of poverty, we consider the proposed renovation as misplaced priority. This is more worrisome given that the National Assembly Complex has always enjoyed top-notch routine maintenance.
In the new year and in the decade ahead, we urge government at all arms and tiers to be altruistic in their priorities and to demonstrate utmost fiscal restraint and discipline.
7. Respect for the rights and dignity of our Pensioners
We also wish to use this moment to put to mind the plight of our pensioners across the country. There are varying degrees of infraction and outright violations of Nigeria’s Pension Reform Act in all the thirty-six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. We call on our state governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration to fully comply with our Pension laws by ensuring the immediate enactment of enabling laws on Contributory Pension Scheme for states yet to enact same, prompt remittance of both employers and employees contributions to pension fund administrators, actuarial evaluation for retirees whose pension is due and procurement of a Group Life Insurance Policy for workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme. We also urge the three tiers of government to prioritize the settlement of arrears of pension and gratuity liabilities owed our pensioners.
In 2020, our resolve to protect, promote and prioritize workers’ and pensioners welfare will be indefatigable. We will continue to be the voice for the oppressed and downtrodden. We will dare the enemies of Nigerian workers and people and we will triumph by the grace of God.
While we expect the very best for ourselves and our families in 2020, we wish Nigerian workers and all people of goodwill a very pleasant, productive and promising New Year!
Comrade Ayuba Wabba, mni
President, NLC and ITUC
31st December, 2019
