FG Pledges to Adjust Workers’ Salaries in Line with Economic Realities

•Oshiomhole: I told Tinubu I won’t support him if his policies are totally based on market forces 

•FG toying with education, says Sunmonu

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government has said it would soon embark on the readjustment of salaries and allowances of civil servants to bring it in line with economic realities in the country.

The disclosure by the federal government came just former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole has expressed support for workers’ genuine agitation for better conditions of service, based on the current economic indices.

In the vein, the pioneer president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu blamed the federal government for allegedly neglecting investment in the key area of human resource development following prolonged shut down of federal universities.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who spoke at the Public Presentation of the book, “Contemporary History of Working Class Struggles” by the NLC yesterday in Abuja, said government was planning a review and adjustment of all public servants to align it with economic realities.

He said the renegotiation of salaries and conditions of service of the striking university lecturers was a prelude to the eventual adjustment of salaries of other categories of workers.

“That adjustment has started with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) because the stage they are with their primary employers, the ministry of education, is a Collective Bargaining Agreement, CBA, negotiations.

“Under the principles of offer and acceptance, which is that of Collective Bargaining, ASUU can say let’s look at the offer they gave us and make counter offer, but they have not done that, if they do that, we are bound to look at their offer, these are the ingredients of collective negotiations,” he added.

On the stalled negotiation with ASUU, Ngige who defended government decision to refer the dispute to the National Industrial Court for adjudication said the measure became necessary since ASUU appeared implacable and negotiations failed.

He said government adhered strictly to the dictates of labour laws by allowing the matter to be decided at court.

He said there was the need to correct the erroneous impression that the agreement with ASUU being discussed was that of the 2009, adding the 2009 agreement had long been renegotiated between 2013-2020 under the former President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.

He further said action has been progressively taken on the Memoradum of Understanding resulting from the agreement and that the federal government only has one area left to be resolved which he said was the issue of the review of salaries and conditions of service.

The minister who blamed intractable nature of some of the labour disputes the country had witnessed in recent timers to inadequate knowledge of labour laws and rules of engagement in collective bargaining said the federal government would soon approve the upgrading of Micheal Imodu Institute of Labour Studies in Ilorin  to a degree-awarding institution to help prepare labour leaders and employers on the tenets dispute resolution.

On his part, Oshiomhole said the leadership of organised labour should stop agonising or lamenting and organise to fight for a new minimum wage in line with the realities of time.

He said they should fight for dollarised wages since most indices of the economy were being measured in dollars.

Oshiomhole said he may reconsider support for the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, if the latter chooses to pursue policies based on absolute market forces and support the floating of naira.

The former NLC president said he had told the APC candidate that he won’t get his support if he decides to embrace absolute market forces as his policy.

 He said, “Nothing can be more humiliating for you as workers than someone who is elected on your platform is the one taking position that is completely in conflict with what you stand for.

“And that is why I will conclude by saying that, the season we are in, I invite all of us to look carefully. Even I have told the APC candidate, if you pursue absolute market forces, you don’t have me on your side because what brought us to this situation, talking about history, we must document the characters of government we interface with.

“So, if you say you do not want market forces, say so now to those who want to be president. I want you to use moment to know that there is no such thing as a good person in government or a bad person. Or a short person and a tall person. What will determine your fate is the policy choices that those in government, consciously take. “he said.

Oshiomhole said having tasted both sides of the divide, “as labour activist and served in government –  I will say that from what I know now, having been governor of a state, having served in government as party chairman, I am much more convinced that I ought to have fought even harder as labour leader.”

 “Every government policy has gainers and it has losers,” he said.

Oshiomhole who served as chairman of NLC during Obasanjo-led administration said he may no longer join in workers’ protest against adverse policies, but he would support their action.  

“We do trade union not to agonise or lament, but to organise and fight for the interest of workers. Government is about interests and there is no such thing as one direction about it” he said.

Speaking on the government’s excuse of inability to meet workers’ demands for pay rise, Oshiomhole said there was no such thing as that, “because you cannot use the principle selectively.”

On the forthcoming 2023 general elections, Oshiomhole said he told some APC youth groups on Sunday that they should not be looking forward to a government that would only ensure improved GDP or the largest GDP in Africa, but one that enthrones an economy in which, “we will fare better than other people in other countries in Africa.”

He said, “GDP will only count if the welfare and living standards of the people are factored in.”

He said that it was a sad situation that the children of the poor are at home due to ASUU prolonged strike, “and no one is talking about that in various conversations on television except politics.”

In his welcome address, NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, said the publication was the first time the Congress would be writing down its history in a book form.

He said the book chronicled the life of the Labour Congress in the last 40 Years.

Minister of Interior, Rauf  Aregbesola said that NLC has maintained its principled position as a leftist on issues of governance and people’s welfare over the years.

On his part, Sunmonu criticised the federal government’s handling of the ASUU strike.

Speaking in the same vein, TUC President, Festus Usifo said the organised labour was in solidarity with the university workers over their demand for improved infrastructure and conditions of service.