WE waited four months for the NLC/TUC to act. And now they have called off their promised indefinite general strike for a few crumbs from the government. You are right to be angry – we can do better than this! We need you to join Socialist Labour so that next time we are strong enough to hold the trade union leaders to account.
Our five main demands were:
- a decent minimum wage for all with annual increments!
- reversal of all hikes in university tuition fees!
- reversal of recent fuel price increases back to the last regulated price!
- payment of arrears of salary and pensions in relevant states!
- end, of “no work – no pay”; pay the ASUU strikers & others from last year!
All that the government has offered is:
- a N35,000 wage award
- compressed natural gas (CNG) to commence
- university workers to be paid
- states and local governments to be given the wage award
- refinery to start working in December with labour in the committee
- cash transfer of N25,000 to 15 million poor people.
The minimum wage has only been increased once in more than 12 years. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says that, like in most countries, it should be increased every year. The N35,000 /month for a wage award is far too low and does not capture the general increase in the cost of living due to the petrol price hike. Even the TUC was asking for a minimum wage of N200,000 and this is far too low.
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CNG conversions of vehicles will have no impact on workers in the short-term. It will take a few years to build the CNG delivery infrastructure.
It is excellent that we have won against “no work – no pay”. But when will the university workers be paid for their strikes last year? The strikes were over the failure of the government to implement previous agreements. Can this government be trusted to implement this agreement?
Another grant to states and local governments will not guarantee that the wage award is paid. At least 11 states have not yet fully implemented the minimum wage and many more have arrears of salaries and/or pensions. It is not lack of money in the states, it is the greed of the governors. It is difficult for them to loot from payroll so they do not like to pay it. All state governments have plenty of money – FAAC last week distributed a record amount of N1.1 trillion and the price of oil is nearly back to $100.
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We need the horrendous tripling of the price of petrol to be reversed. We also need the cost of kerosene and cooking gas to be reduced.
Cash transfers to the ‘poor’ are just another means for the politicians to loot. Who do you know who has actually ever received any cash transfers from the government?
If this latest last minute suspension of a promised general strike by the trade union leaders makes you frustrated and upset, then join Socialist Labour here.
We have to make Socialist Labour much bigger, so that we can hold our trade union leaders accountable for delivering future strikes and so that workers will get a fair share of the wealth that we create.
Please join us and help us make the trade unions more effective.
This article by Comrade Olamosu, National Secretary, Socialist Labour, is originally entitled: “Join Socialist Labour If You Are Angry At the NLC/TUC’s Failure to Strike”.
