AS THE Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), yours comradely bear witness that almost one thousand participants registered and participated at the 10th Labour Summit held on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 in Ilorin. The Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Barrister Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, was the Chief Host of the significant event, convened by the esteemed premier Michael Imodu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), statutorily mandated to build capacity of workers, employers and government officials in labour and industrial relations through training and research, to promote industrial harmony for sustainable development.
To this extent participants commended President Tinubu for being a change agent. The ongoing national and international debate on the reform is healthy for Nigeria. “Development” is back in discourse. NBS Nigeria’s GDP in the 3rd quarter has moved to 3.46 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, a sign that reform is yielding fruit. But it’s not over until Nigeria achieves minimum of one trillion-dollar economy, double digit growth rates as desired by President Tinubu. The GDP must be driven by revival of labour-intensive manufacturing sectors like textile and automobile factories.
In 2003, MINILS initiated Annual National Labour Relations Summit (NLRS). It complements the Institute’s regular week-long seminars and in-plant/tailor-made courses in labour relations. The NLRS is a two-decade old, annual largest gathering of the critical mass of stakeholders in Nigeria’s labour relations system. Scores of thousands of participants had attended the summit with distinguished presence of labour leaders, ministers, governors, local and international partners in the labour market. The summit deliberates on employment issues with the main objective of setting agenda for the promotion of industrial harmony, social justice in work places and productivity for national development.
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I commend the management and staff of MINILS for the 2024 revival of the summit which held last in 2013, some eleven years ago. The 2024 Summit assumes special importance. It is over a year since the historic inauguration of President Tinubu as the 6th democratically elected president. An assessment of the labour dimension of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration is more than a partial commitment. Precisely “Because I was involved” (apologies to the late Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu).
On Monday, December 19, 2022, as the Director of Labour Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, I facilitated and set the tone at the Townhall meeting of Presidential candidate Bola Tinubu with organised labour at Chida Hotel Conference Centre in Abuja. Adjudged as the best and well attended by the leaders of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), then Presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a no-holds-barred 4-hour session, unfolded his Action Plan for a Better Nigeria.
Ashiwaju’s quotable quote hinted at far-reaching reforms with labour support if elected: “I seek a Nigeria where sufficient jobs with decent wages give people the chance to live better lives. Where the private sector thrives, we will not disrupt it. However, where the private sector cannot do it alone, my government will take the lead in lending a helping hand.” Tinubu said his administration would make fiscal and monetary policies work for the workers and Nigerians so they can have a good life.
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True to his promise, President Tinubu has come of age as an audacious reformer. He has initiated far-reaching social and economic reforms within the framework of the comprehensive 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda. The objective to reposition Nigerian economy, tackle poverty headlong, achieve sustainable development and improve living standards of Nigerians.
First, unlike some past reforms which “deformed” the public service through indiscriminate mass retrenchment of public employees, President Tinubu has commendably ensured security of public service, avoided the pitfall of the least resistance of downsizing and retrenchment. Just like former President Muhammed Buhari, who notwithstanding Covid-19, commendably retained jobs and paid public servants during lock down.
The most controversial are the immediate removal of the controversial trillion-naira per annum subsidy payment on petrol products and liberalisation of the foreign exchange market aimed at blocking leakages in petroleum downstream sector, freezing resources to fund critical areas like healthcare, education and infrastructural development.
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Expectedly, the impact of the reform measures on the labour market with respect to employment, cost of living and general welfare has elicited mixed reactions. Enthusiastic supporters of the reforms on the one hand have pointed to the emerging benefits. On the other hand, critics allude to the adverse effects of rising inflation and worsening wage income poverty, caused by massive naira devaluation.
The 10th Labour Summit offered a veritable platform to assess constructively the impact of the Renewed Hope Agenda reform on the future of work. Hence the Theme: “The Future of Work and Renewed Hope Reform Agenda: Issues and Perspectives.” The discussants included representatives of organised labour, employers, labour market institutions namely National Productivity Centre (NPC), National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and NSITF; moderated by Prof. Emeritus Dave Otobo, an age-long friend of MINILS.
The “Ilorin consensus” is that Nigeria needs reform and complete transformation from poverty to prosperity. With 70 per cent living below the poverty line, we don’t need a sermon to critically re-look at policies that hitherto pushed the majority on the margin. It was time to reverse the paradox of deprivation amidst abundant opportunities. So much work undone, yet so much youth unemployment and abysmal underemployment.
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To this extent participants commended President Tinubu for being a change agent. The ongoing national and international debate on the reform is healthy for Nigeria. “Development” is back in discourse. NBS Nigeria’s GDP in the 3rd quarter has moved to 3.46 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, a sign that reform is yielding fruit. But it’s not over until Nigeria achieves minimum of one trillion-dollar economy, double digit growth rates as desired by President Tinubu. The GDP must be driven by revival of labour-intensive manufacturing sectors like textile and automobile factories.
However, industrialisation is impossible without electricity. No thanks to addictive national grid collapses! Let’s make and buy Nigeria. National budgets must finance national development, not other countries. Following the removal of subsidy on imported fuel, the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Refinery is now a reality. Port Harcourt Refinery has finally commenced operations after undergoing renovation and modernisation that began in 2021 after the federal government secured a $1.5 billion contract to rehabilitate the facility.
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There is indeed now alternative to unacceptable wholesale products imports that put pressures on naira value. Renewed Hope indeed! Innovative compressed natural gas (CNG) now powers buses and tricycles worth N100 billion to ease transportation. There has been massive campaign for digital literacy to promote youth employability in the growing digital economy. MINILS has been part of the youth employability capacity building through skill acquisition.
For the first time in the annals of Nigeria’s educational system, the federal government launched a student loan scheme to serve as the platform for access to funds by prospective students. There is growing optimism in the decisions taken by President Tinubu’s administration that reforms are not only desirable but inevitable for national development. Indeed, there is an urgent need for a bipartisan national partnership for national development.
But as significant as minimum wage is, it is not a living wage. President Tinubu is fully committed also to paying a living wage. I suggest that organised labour should continue the engagement through social dialogue and collective bargaining with the government on how to a have wage-job-led economic growth. Minimum and living wages should be complimented my minimum productivity and minimum discipline in the public service.
All the above call for continuous constructive engagement among the stakeholders. Regular dialogue, education and evaluation are essential to address the impact of the reforms on job creation, decent work, industrial harmony, productivity and compensation in the world of work; some features of the future of work are already here and Nigeria is not spared of its unsavoury auguries. Already, Al (artificial intelligence), robotics, big data and increased computer powers are displacing human labour and big players – advanced countries and their big enterprises are strategically positioning to benefit from its trade-offs and complementarities. Remarkably, President Tinubu has demonstrated significant sensitivity by initiating a number of profound measures to mitigate the adverse impact of reforms on costs of living, transportation and wages of the workers.
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First, unlike some past reforms which “deformed” the public service through indiscriminate mass retrenchment of public employees, President Tinubu has commendably ensured security of public service, avoided the pitfall of the least resistance of downsizing and retrenchment. Just like former President Muhammed Buhari, who notwithstanding Covid-19, commendably retained jobs and paid public servants during lock down.
Significantly, the president, in response to protests by organised labour on the adverse impact of the reform, initiated policy measures to address the plight of the workers impaired by inflation and devaluation. There was the presidential wage award of N35,000 to federal workers for six months and cash transfer of N25,000 monthly to some millions of the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians for three months. The most historic of the interventions is the enactment of 2024 National Minimum Wage Act of N70,000. This followed an intense 6-month long tripartite (plus) collective bargaining process between the government, organised labour and employers of labour.
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I salute the 10th National Assembly, President Tinubu and the Honourable Minister of Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, for the speedy enactment of the 6th National Minimum Wage Act since 1981 with a 3-year cycle from the old 5-year drag. All hail the state governors and private employers who have paid the minimum wage backed by law. Organised labour is right to put legitimate pressures on states and employers who refuse to pay the legally permissible least wage precisely because it is illegal.
But as significant as minimum wage is, it is not a living wage. President Tinubu is fully committed also to paying a living wage. I suggest that organised labour should continue the engagement through social dialogue and collective bargaining with the government on how to a have wage-job-led economic growth. Minimum and living wages should be complimented my minimum productivity and minimum discipline in the public service.
Comrade Aremu mni, is the Director General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin.
