N66,500 minimum wage is inconsequential to reality of living today —SSASCGOC General Secretary

Comrade Ayo Olorunfemi, General Secretary of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), an affiliate of Trade Union Congress (TUC), in this interview with SOJI-EZE FAGBEMI, speaks on state of labour movement in Nigeria, the leadership’s lack of commitment to the plights of workers and the disunity in the movement.

 Nigerian workers are celebrating yet another May Day; what will you say about their plights and working condition?

The condition is very sad. We claim to be celebrating but to me this is not celebration. I have come to do the rituals. Every year we gather as workers. As far as I am concern, this year is suppose to be a time for us to think of where we are coming from, where we are now and where we want to be. It’s a time for high reflections because Nigerian workers are not smiling at all. Workers are actually crying because what is biting them inside is such that will make them cry; but we are still trying to pretend as though we are smiling.

Not smiling, what makes you say so?

When you look at the situation, it’s like most Nigerians are losing hope in the system, not only workers. But again, to some extent, Nigerians will also have to blame themselves because if we cannot get what we desire, it therefore means we get what we deserve. If we want to get what we desire, I mean what we really want; it will depend on our dispositions, our attitude, our way of life, how we view the world and environment. If you keep yourself and consider yourself important, you will not give in to cheap activities; they will not give you cheap information and you swallow it.

You will have the ability to find out what is the truth. Once the government finds out that they cannot push anything to us, they will be more careful as to the kind of information they dish out to the people. But because we are either being carried away by religious bigotry and ethnicity, so they look at us and throw something along that line and they continue to enjoy while we fighting  ourselves.

We believe the labour movement, especially the leadership should be united in fighting this; what is their disposition?

Are we saying there is unity within the labour movement? The answer is no. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment is also enjoying that disunity and by extension, the managements of various organisations; both private and public sector are also feasting on the disunity that is existing among the unions in the labour movement. There is no recourse to the rule of law in most of the things we do. We know the truth, we know what the law says but we don’t want to do it. We say some things simply because of our association with somebody who will be affected by whatever we say, especially when it is the truth. If we continue like this, Nigeria will never move, instead of moving forward we will be moving backward and that is what we are experiencing.

Do you foresee the minimum wage being pegged at N66,500?

Where lies our hope as workers toiling day and night? Now we are talking about minimum wage, do you see the minimum wage being increased? I can tell you from here it is going to be decreased. The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress that formed the negotiating team have requested for N66,500  as the new minimum wage, that is equals to N18,00 in 2011. Are we increasing or decreasing? Do you think the Federal Government will also wake up and say we are giving you N66,500, they will negotiate it and at the end of the day maybe they will submit whatever figure but whatever figure they would arrive at is a minus to what we were getting in 2011. When we get that, some people would say hurray we have done something good, and we are there as labour leaders thinking we have done something for the workers. We really need to know where we are coming from so that we know where we are and determine where we are going to.

But the government has today assured workers of its commitment to ensure the wage is increased?

Calculate what N18,000 will buy in 2011, put it side by side with what N66,500 will buy today. As at 2011 a bag or rice was sold between N6,000 and N7,000 but today it is being sold at N15,000, divide that bag of rice by a family of four. Look at the price of food stuffs generally, transportation and the amount spent in fueling our cars for those who own a car. When you put all these expenses in a month together, you will realise that it is more than N66,500 so what commitment are we talking about, commitment to make us stagnant.

Are you saying N66, 500 is too small a minimum wage, what figure will you be recommending?

The N66,500 is inconsequential and too small. Apart from the minimum wage, what else does government have on ground to take care of workers? Where is the rail even from Lokoja to Abuja, where is the rail from Ibadan to Lagos? You want all of these things but you refuse to let go. The Nigerian Railway Corporation Law is still there, that is what we are still practicing. The Ooduwa Investment in 2007, they were ready to build a rail from Lagos to Ibadan, they could not build it because the law does not permit them to do so. The Lagos State government had built rail from Badagry to Iganmu but they cannot operate it because the law will not allow them to operate it. What kind of government do we have in Nigeria? I am like a lone voice in the wilderness. You can imagine a situation whereby the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at a meeting, brought the issue of houses; one bedroom flat at a remote place in Ikorodu and they asked workers to come and buy at the rate of N6.5million and N13 million for a two bedroom flat. How much are they selling land in Ikorodu? If you are given a land with N600,000 to build a one bedroom flat, you will build it to your taste. What is the cost of that land upon which we are going to build a room and parlor and a union could bring that kind of market to come and sell to us, and when somebody like me cautioned that this should not be coming from union, the leadership of TUC virtually said they were not forcing people to buy. Have we not commercialised the Nigeria labour movement? We have neglected the Federal Housing Authority that has the capacity to give you social housing. So, you ask government, why have you done so. That is why I said we are suffering and smiling. Majority of the workers are not aware of the things that goes on around them and this is very unusual. They should see labour leaders and have confidence in them and at least if nothing happens they can say this man is there we are covered, but the situation is now this man is there, shine your eyes  because we don’t know what they are doing. It is a time for us to call ourselves to order and that is why you see the division in the NLC and if care is not taken, there will be division in TUC because we cannot continue like this. We have to come together in unity and that unity must be a unity of purpose based on equity justice and fair play.