NLC CRIES OUT – FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LIED NLC CRIES OUT – FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LIED
The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Dr. Peter
Ozo-Eson, tells FIDELIS SORIWEI that the Federal Government’s decision
to increase the fuel pump price from N86.50k to N145 per litre is a bad
policy which should be reversed
The FG has increased the pump price of fuel from N86.50 to N145 per
litre. What is labour’s view on this?We are taken aback by that action.
We think that given the harsh economic terms in which Nigerians are
living, which have been further compounded initially by the hike in
electricity tariff; that this is not the time to visit another hardship
on Nigerians.
Looking at even the magnitude and the details of what the Federal
Government says it has done, it is even more worrisome. For the first
time, we are having a government now directing importers of petroleum
products to go into the black market to source for foreign exchange.
We think this is a recipe for economic crisis because what will happen
is that when the volume of the demand for foreign exchange needed to
fund importation of products is moved into the black market, the value
of the naira is going to crash.
We will not be surprised to see the value of the naira coming under
pressure, and going in multiples of hundreds of naira increase to the
dollar as a result of that. And if that were to happen, it has
implications on the overall economy itself.
When the government says it is against devaluation, then, it is
contradictory when really it has allowed the massive devaluation that
has taken place in the parallel market to now become the window for
transaction. Thus, a situation where the domestic price of PMS (Premium
Motor Spirit) will now be determined by forces in the black market
exchange rate is something that is not good for the economy and we are
opposed to it.
Apart from the effects on the economy, do you think it could
lead to further increase in the pump price, since it is tied to the
exchange rate at the black market?
Yes, it is going to create a circle because what will happen is that
once demand forces further depreciation of the value of the naira, then
the template that has been used to arrive at the N145 now will have to
be taken into consideration. And so, it is a vicious circle that will
never end.
It will create an unstable situation in the economy and that is why we
think it is a wrong policy and government needs to revisit it. But more
importantly, the economic crisis that the nation is facing already has
major negative impact on workers. An average worker on current wage
cannot survive because the real wage has been so badly eroded.
If we compound it (the problem) through this, we are going to find a
situation where there would be conditions that would completely
destabilise the workers and their families. Also, these are not things
that we think that this government should be doing; the government ought
to find more creative ways to deal with the situation that it faces.
Is there a link between the new proposal of N56,000 minimum wage and this increase in fuel pump price?
From our side, before arriving at the N56,000 that we are demanding, we
took into consideration the analysis of some objective conditions on the
ground. Actually, we used a three-method approach to compute it: One
based on the cost of living, the other based on average minimum wage in
other African countries and the third was based on if the real wage of
N18,000 had been adjusted since 2011.
If you wanted to present that wage today, what would it be? These were
the three methods and an average of the computation gave us N56,000. The
reality is that if the increase (in the fuel pump price) that they have
announced was allowed to stand, even at the negotiation table, N56, 000
would become unrealistic because the increase would have thrown up new
objective conditions that we have to work into the figures in order to
then determine the realistic sum (as new wage).
The Minister of Labour, Sen. Chris Ngige, in his response to the new
proposed minimum wage reportedly said the demand was in order and was
being studied and the government came up with this increment.
Do you think the government wants to use the increment to take back what it is expected to give to workers?
We cannot enter their minds but we do know that the Minister of State
for Petroleum Resources (Mr. Ibe Kachikwu) has been testing the waters
through statements that were even contradictory – what we initially
referred to in our releases as the flip-flop that were taking place
there.
Whether or not the minimum wage is what they want to use as a bargaining
chip for this is their own choice to make. But for us, that the minimum
wage is increased cannot be the logic for this (increase in pump price
of petrol) because most of the informal sector — for instance the small
enterprises in the informal sector — do not come under the Minimum Wage
Act if they do not employ 50 or more people.
Apart from very many Nigerians who are not even covered by the minimum
wage, this (increase in petrol pump price) would have impact on many
Nigerians who have no jobs at all. Thus, using the minimum wage to trade
off against this (increase in petrol pump price) is clearly not
something that we think is right.
Government officials are saying that they had wide consultations with
the organised labour and other stakeholders before taking this decision.
To what extent did you have discussions with the government before the increment was announced on Wednesday?
That is even more vexatious because when we heard that statement coming
from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, we felt very pained
that the minister would use deceit to market whatever policy they had
brought forward. For the avoidance of doubt, I will just state clearly
what happened: On Tuesday, at about 4:30pm, we received a letter from
the Vice President’s Office addressed to the President of Congress
(NLC), inviting him to a meeting at 12 noon yesterday (Wednesday) for
what was termed in that letter as consultative meeting. No subject
matter was mentioned.
Because the NLC President was not officially available – he is on
official assignment outside the country – we discussed the invitation
and it was agreed that I would go to represent the congress. And I was
there to represent the congress. It was at that table yesterday
(Wednesday) that we saw the agenda, where it was stated that the
minister would make a presentation.
And he made a presentation. Having made it, the Vice President (Prof.
Yemi Osinbajo) then asked people to discuss or comment or ask questions.
In that meeting, we discovered there were a number of senators led by
the Deputy Senate President (Sen. Ike Ekweremadu); there were a number
of members of the House, led by the Speaker of the House (Mr. Yakubu
Dogara); there were a number of state governors led by the Chairman of
the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. And there were three of us representing
Labour. I represented the NLC; the President of the Trade Union Congress
represented the TUC, while the President of NUPENG represented NUPENG.
There were comments mainly from the members of the House and the Senate.
Some asked questions and the others advised as to the sensitivity of
the matter and all that. Because we were confronting the matter for the
first time, we were quiet until the Vice President now chose to call us
individually by name.
He called on me and asked what the position of the NLC was. I responded
that as far as we were concerned, we had heard the presentation, we were
a democratic organisation, we would take the substance of the
presentation to our organ’s meeting and when our organ’s meeting had
deliberated on it, we would get back to them.
The TUC President said virtually the same. He (Osinbajo) asked the
NUPENG President, who also said virtually the same thing. Thus, we ended
that meeting, at least from our side, with the position that we needed
to take the presentation and discuss it within our organs before we get
back to them.
I was completely taken aback when I was just returning to the office
when a journalist called me and said government was increasing the price
of PMS (petrol) to N145 per litre. I also heard later in the news that
the decision was taken in the meeting that we attended. That is a lie! I
make bold to say it today that that is a lie. And government shouldn’t
use lies to market whatever policies they have taken. We were no party
to that decision. We need to be very clear.
How strong is labour’s relationship with the civil society
movement as there is the impression that after the “Occupy Nigeria”
protests of 2012, the relation became strained?
Between the 2012 episode and now, we have had a number of consultative meetings and joint events with the civil society.
Between the 2012 episode and now, we have had a number of consultative meetings and joint events with the civil society.
With this new development, will labour still stick to its demand of N56,000 minimum wage?
We have rejected this increase and we have called government to reverse it. But if this price stands, then, clearly the demand for N56,000 will become nugatory. Now, there would have to be a revisitation of what the realities are. But our position is that we will just be protecting only workers who are covered by the minimum wage, and that what needs to be done is to remove the policy itself, which is a bad policy, so that the people generally can be protected.
We have rejected this increase and we have called government to reverse it. But if this price stands, then, clearly the demand for N56,000 will become nugatory. Now, there would have to be a revisitation of what the realities are. But our position is that we will just be protecting only workers who are covered by the minimum wage, and that what needs to be done is to remove the policy itself, which is a bad policy, so that the people generally can be protected.
Why did you say in your statement that the decision taken by the minister was illegal?
Yes, it is illegal. There is a law; the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency Act stipulates the legal framework for the management of prices of petroleum products. That power is vested in the PPPRA board and the law carefully puts in place the membership of that board.
Yes, it is illegal. There is a law; the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency Act stipulates the legal framework for the management of prices of petroleum products. That power is vested in the PPPRA board and the law carefully puts in place the membership of that board.
Stakeholders’ representation is what makes up that board. We are by law a
member of that board; National Union of Road Transport Workers by law
is a member of that board; NUPENG by law is a member of that board;
PENGASSAN is a member of that board, and various others, including the
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, the major
marketers and others.
It is actually the board that should review the template. When we heard
that the PPPRA had reviewed the template and had come out with a
recommended price; that was illegal because the PPPRA, with the way it
is functioning now, is an extension of the Office of the Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources. The minister has become a sole
administrator in the sector.
There is no board for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, there
is no board for the PPPRA, hence, for anyone to perform their function
is therefore illegal. Even before now, we have written formally to the
government — to Mr. President — demanding that the legal line be
followed and that the board be constituted. So, it is illegal.
There are 26 governors that have not been able to pay N18,000.
In the event that the subsidy on petrol is reduced, how do you expect
the state governors to be able to pay the N56,000 wage?
You said that many governors kept saying they were unable to pay. We
take the position that that is not correct. They are not paying because
they have not managed their affairs properly within their resources, and
within the ambience of good governance that can generate revenue. These
governors are failing in their governance responsibility and that is
why they are not paying; it is not that they are unable to pay.
State governments have the
right on land. Have you heard of any state government that has made
investment in agriculture in order to generate revenue?
Governments need to be creative to the extent that there are governments
that are paying the same way other governors — if they manage their
affairs properly and set their priorities right, would be paying. With
N18,000, if you take care of a family of four, you know what that
translates to.
It is a ‘poverty amount’ we are talking about. We can’t be saying they
are unable and that, therefore, should preclude us from asking for a
living minimum wage. The practice around the world is that the minimum
wage should be set at a level that represents a living wage.
And a living wage can easily be computed using international guidelines
by using the two dollars a day instrument. If you were to use that, you
know what we will be talking about. The state governments need to sit
up. After all at individual level, if individuals don’t manage their
financial wherewithal properly, bankruptcy is declared.
If there are states that are therefore unable to manage their affairs
properly, let them declare themselves insolvent and seek merger or let
the governors resign and allow those who are going to be able to manage
the states and effectively govern to take over those responsibilities.
Prior to this increase in the fuel pump price, there was a 45
per cent increase in the electricity tariff and the NLC threatened to go
on a one-day-warning strike. What happened to that move?
The Central Working Committee (of the NLC) took that decision and we
were then to call a NEC meeting to ratify it. That NEC meeting was
called formally for next Monday, then, suddenly this happened. And
because this happened suddenly, we had to advance an emergency session
on Friday. Those are the two critical issues that would be resolved.
What do you want President Muhammadu Buhari to do on these two issues?
We believe that Mr. President needs to realise that not just workers but
all Nigerians have a lot of expectations from him. He should also
realise that we cannot yield to the pressure from the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others because it is not a secret that
there has been consistent pressure from them. Mr. President has been
taking the position that he would not succumb and now we see him
succumbing.
It raises issues as to whether he is still in control; it raises issues
as to whether there are people within his government who are pushing
policies that Mr. President himself has said were not good. These are
the issues that need to be addressed. We would want Mr. President to
trust in his own already considered position against this type of
policies.
Labour holds the view that the minimum wage is subject to review
every five years and that the agreement was captured in the law but the
Chairman of the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission, Dr.
Richard Egbule, said that there was no such agreement. What is your
take?
During the Justice Alpha Belgore’s tripartite committee that produced
the 2011 minimum wage, part of the discussion that took place was the
periodicity of the review and it was agreed that it would be reviewed
every five years. In making the recommendation from the tripartite
committee to Mr. President, this was included in that recommendation.
As a matter of fact, there was a draft bill that was superintendent over
by Justice Belgore that, today, is to be the basis for the revision of
the law. Unfortunately, what happened was that the government then went
with an amendment to the Minimum Wage Act which just sought to amend
just about to two or three parts where the amount was amended and some
of the amounts for penalties for failure were amended and other things
were left out. It is already an agreement that we reached collectively
on the tripartite table.
Was the agreement signed by both parties?
Yes, we signed the outcome. It is in that context that we can lean on that to say that five years is the period of review.
Yes, we signed the outcome. It is in that context that we can lean on that to say that five years is the period of review.
What should Nigerians do on this issue of fuel pump price?
We’ve heard people calling and saying, ‘Please, you should not let us
down on this one.’ We also want to tell Nigerians that they must
prepare. People get what they ask for. Therefore, if there is the need
for action, it is not for Nigerians to sit back and say labour should do
it. It is the degree to which Nigerians respond that the success of it
will be. We call on Nigerians to rally round and build movements —
whether it is students’ movement, groups, informal sector groups or
civil society — so that we can all work together to struggle for the
soul of this country.
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