May Day - Nigerian Workers Groan Under Economic Hardship

 

Teachers, traders and seafarers, plumbers, etc were among the workers represented by several unions who banded together to celebrate workers' rights, and to fight for better pay and working conditions.
Each union dressed up in its own colourful theme, but many were united by concerns local jobs were being taken by foreign migrants.


As organised labour in the country joins its counterparts around the world to celebrate this year's May Day, Nigerian workers have decried what they described as the harsh economic condition.

They called on the federal government to speed up the review of the minimum wage from N18,000 to N56,000. During last year's May Day celebration, the organised Labour represented by the Nigeria Lab our Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had made a presentation of N56,000 new minimum wage. But one year after, the federal government is yet to set up a tripartite committee to begin negotiation on the proposed minimum wage.

The workers are also celebrating this year's workers' day at a time most state governments are owing their workers backlog of salaries. They lamented that the nonpayment of salaries has further impoverished them as well as worsen their economic condition. According to the Secretary General of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Alade Lawal, not fewer than 19 states currently owe their workers backlog of salaries and pension. Lawal said, "It appears that some of them are very wicked and deliberately impoverished Nigerian workers.

You can imagine a state like Osun, up till last year, the senior workers have always been paid half salary so that governor will say it is paying salary which is not. The state which claims it is paying is Ogun and in the last 8 months, there have been deductions in the workers' salary. So, as far as we are concerned we will say such state is owing". The workers also lamented that the current N18,000 minimum wage was no longer sustainable with the present economic challenge. Speaking ahead of today's workers' day celebration, deputy president of NLC, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, hinted that the workers will avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the May Day to push for a review of the minimum wage.