TUC ON SURE-P PROJECT INSPECTION

L-R: Team leader/vocational Training, Public Works, Sure-P, Engineer Mogaji Muhazu, President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele and Director, Public Works, Sure-P, Engineer Amos Godson Chimeze, during the inspection of SURE-P project by the team on the third Mainland Bridge, Lagos.

The Struggle for Minimum Wage in Osun State and the treacherous Sell Out of workers

For now, the Aregbesola-led Osun State government will be in euphoria of a major conquest of labour movement with the bankrupt sell out of workers by their leaders, over the full and proper implementation of the nationally legislated N18, 000 minimum wage.

It will be recalled that about two weeks ago, workers, arising from their congresses, resolved to embark on a four-day warning strike to drive home their demand for the implementation of the nationally legislated N18, 000 minimum wage, which the Aregbesola government has stubbornly refused to implement. Indeed, workers have held several congresses to call the attention of the government to the need to fulfill its promise of implementing the minimum wage when the revenue of the state improves. On the contrary, the government has been using various dubious strategies including claiming to have implemented a N19, 001 minimum wage to setting up a Wage Commission, whatever that means. In fact, since 2011 when workers went on a three-month strike to compel the government to implement the new wage, the government, in a dubious propagandist manner it is now known for, after some ridiculous increase on workers salaries claimed to be paying N19, 001 minimum wage. In the real sense, what were added to salaries of a majority of workers were between N5, 000 and N10, 000. The most brazen attempt of government at avoiding the payment of a real wage, and crippling labour movement is the dragging of workers and their unions to the National Industrial Court with the aim of rubbishing the new minimum wage by claiming that minimum wage is for the least paid worker, and not all workers. This again failed, as the government was directed to implement agreement it signed with workers, rather than trying to revise the new wage law.

Not satisfied with this, the government has gone a step further to break the labour movement by buying over labour leaders, and disorienting the rest, who are themselves half-hearted. Thus, the statements credited to some labour leaders claiming to represent workers of some unions: NULGE, ASCSN and MHWUN, that they did not support the now-botched four-day warning strike, and the subsequent bankrupt statement credited to national secretary of Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) on the invitation of the state government, to the effect that labourcentres (i.e. NLC and TUC) do not have right to fight for workers, call workers to congress, or workers taking action on the basis of a congress, are not accidental. They reflect the pinnacle of the treacherous attempt of the Aregbesola government at crippling the labour movement in the state, in order to continue its grandstanding regime. It surely found easy collaborators in the spineless and unprincipled labour leaders who are prepared to sell their birthright for visas to London. This itself is aided by the bureaucratic manner the unions are run, where labour leaders are not subject to the democratic control of and probing by workers. Moreover, the failure of the national leadership of labour movement in fighting to a logical conclusion the implementation of the N18, 000 minimum wage across the board and at all levels, both public and private sectors, contributed immensely to the current travail of workers in the state, and indeed across the country.

The treachery of the renegade labour leaders

The renegade labour leaders in their various statements claimed among other things that the current Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) Chair, Mr. Adejumo in the state had overstayed his term of office and cannot preside over meeting on minimum wage. If this is true, it is unfortunate, and further reflects the bureaucratic manner in which the unions are run, which has made many so-called labour leaders to turn holding union offices into career because of the pecuniary benefits and state patronages they get. But this excuse of the renegade labour leaders is only a cover for their own betrayal. Are they just realising the fact that the JNC Chair has retired now, when they have signed joint statements and memo with the same person. How does the issue of who is the JNC chair stop labour leaders from defending their members' right to a decent wage? Why use the occasion of declaration of a warning strike to raise such issue? Interestingly, these are labour leaders who have not called any press conference or issued any statement on salient issues affecting their members but were quick to organize press conference to condemn a warning strike. They could not even give alternative approach to getting minimum wage implemented, neither did they condemn the government's failure to honour agreement with workers. But it was comfortable for them to claim that those leading the strike issue wanted to extort government, as if the implementation of the minimum wage will benefit only the union leaders! When one reads statements like these, one is obliged to ask; how did the labour movement get to this rotten state of affair?

If the treachery of the renegade statelabour leaders is condemnable, the ridiculous support given this treachery by some national labour leaders is heart-rending. Some labour leaders led by the national secretary of the JPSNC, MrOmokhuade Marcus, were invited or more appropriately mobilised by the state government, not to address the issue of minimum wage implementation, but to assist the government in identifying which faction of labour leadership to negotiate with. Of course, the government, having being successful in dividing the labour movement leadership in the state, mobilised the more pliable and useable hands in the national labour leadership to drive a final wedge in the labour movement. Otherwise, why would government turn itself into a labourarbitrator? Government knew those it was negotiating with over minimum wage, so the issue of identifying what is happening in the labour movement is self serving. It is only a cover for a more sinister agenda.

Unfortunately for the working people, the government got a ready support in some spineless labour leaders. The labour leaders did not of course invite the local leaders to meeting to sort out the issue internally but rather mobilised themselves to the well fueled government train, not to defend workers' struggle but to stab the struggle in the back. According to the secretary of JPSNC, “The NLC, TUC and the JNC have no members. The members belong to the unions. So calling a workers assembly for a strike is not known to law. They do not even have right to call workers for that assembly. Only the leadership of the respective unions has the power of attorney to mobilise their workers to attend that gathering.” He even went further to claim that JPSNC has more power over the central labour unions. This is what you get when labourbureaucracy tries to build its own life out of the union. Not even a word on the struggle of workers. These are labour leaders who have not for once visited the state to support workers' struggle over minimum wage. Interestingly, it is these same national labour leaders (or dealers) that negotiated the N18,000 minimum wage. The question is, of what importance is their intervention to the struggle of workers? No, they only came for hatchet man job. Surely, workers will have to carry out revolution in their unions to retrieve them from deadly bureaucracy!

Aregbesola government is anti-worker

The Aregbesola government must have been happy that the little it invested in buying over some labour leaders is yielding profit by postponing indefinitely the implementation of the meager minimum wage. However, this ‘victory’ is at best pyrrhic victory and will surely be short-lived. Indeed, this action, rather than cowing workers will give them the clear picture of who they are fighting. The veil of deceit of the administration and its bootlickers among labour leaders is being removed, and workers sooner than later will mobilize with more ferocious energy for total struggle not just for the implementation of the meager minimum wage, but against all anti-poor, anti-worker policies of the government. More than this, the recent underhand dealing of the Aregbesola government with labour leaders in order to scuttle the agitation for the implementation of the minimum wage has further exposed the bankrupt, anti-worker character of the government. It has shown that against all grandstanding and propaganda, the government is not fundamentally different from its predecessors – the Oyinlola and Akande administrations. These regimes are clearly anti-worker. The Aregbesola government is taking these ‘feats’ of its predecessors to higher level.

Reflecting the perfidy of the government, the Aregbesola administration has not disclaimed the position of workers that the government has earned close to a hundred percent rise in monthly revenue to close to N4 billion since 2011 when the agreement was signed. This is aside other emergency revenue: remittance from NNPC, revenue from excess crude account (which is not captured in the budget), remittance from subsidy fund, etc. On the other hand, the cost of living has hiked with the rise in inflation (put at 12.5 percent CPI by January 2012 from around 10.0 percent few months earlier, according to the statistics bureau), mostly occasioned by criminal hike in fuel price by the Jonathan government in collusion with the same state governments that are now denying workers a living wage. While the Aregbesola government collects subsidy refund from the hiked fuel price hike, workers have to use their meager salaries to subsidize the effect of hike in fuel price.

Of course, the government claimed it cannot commit all its resources on workers alone, but a government that wants to develop the state should know that it cannot do that when workers, who should carry out the so-called development projects, are poorly remunerated. Of course, the government claimed to have given some end-of-the-year bonuses (around 5 percent of total net salaries) to workers, but this once-a-year gesture, while being welcome, it seems the government is using as alibi to avoid paying a living wage. Otherwise, how can a government that claims to be committed to workers’ welfare finds it difficult to commit less 30 percent of revenue to workers’ poverty wages? On the other hand, politicians and so-called ‘technocrats’ in government are earning several multiples of workers’ salaries for doing practically nothing in comparison to workers’ responsibilities. While government claimed it does not have enough resources to make workers live above poverty line, local government council executives, who do nothing than signing revenue cheques and letters of identification, earn hundreds of thousands of naira, while advisers and assistants, whose jobs, aside praise singing the administration in the media and on social networks, are mere duplication of civil servants’ responsibilities are living large. This is just tips of the iceberg of various prodigious projects where the state resources are being squandered. If the government can get enough resources to pay its fat-cat officials and embark on job-for-the-boys projects, it should have no problem paying workers a nationally legislated wage.

Aregbesola government and its dubious developmental projects

The government will want to brandish its so-called ‘developmental’ projects as excuse for not paying adequate wage to its workforce; but this is only a ruse. While of course some projects are being carried out, the reality is that these projects are generally haphazard, costly, and elitist, and have not fundamentally changed the living conditions of the working and poor people in the state. For instance in the education sector where the government claimed to have carried out massive reform, the situation is still hopeless as public primary and secondary schools are still in their poor conditions with no functional laboratories, libraries, sport facilities, etc. Moreover, fees in the state tertiary institutions have not fundamentally changed from the obnoxious level they were raised to by the inglorious era of Oyinlola/PDP, while lecturers in the state owned tertiary institutions are currently on strike over conditions of service.  Public primary and secondary schools are still in their poor conditions as the so-called “massive” school renovations only apply to about ten schools, out of over two thousand public primary and secondary schools in the state. If it takes government almost three years to renovate ten schools out of over two thousands, how many years will it take it to renovate most of the schools that are now in terrible physical conditions; nay provision of modern facilities for teaching.

Potable pipe-borne water supply in the state can simply be termed non-existent; more than two years after the government came to power. Road rehabilitation has not applied to more than 70 percent of the local roads that are plied by most of the citizens, even with the current debt-financed rehabilitation projects in local governments. The local hospitals have not received any substantial improvement in terms of expansion, deployment of modern facilities and recruitment of adequate medical staff. Job creation in the state has only meant slave-labour as the OYES, youth volunteers employed by the government are paid poverty wage (of less than N10, 000) with no right to unionise or seek for improved working conditions. In fact, they are disengaged every two years with no disengagement benefits. Of course, the governor was quoted some months ago that more than 80 percent of the disengaged volunteers have been gainfully employed. Unfortunately, the governor did not tell the public whether it was the state government that employed them, or it was the N10, 000 monthly stipends that the volunteers used to get themselves employed. Yet, the state government claimed to have saved N35 billion. 

While of course, government cannot solve all the problems in a jiffy neither are we saying that only the state government can improve living conditions of working people, it is suffice to say that with judicious and democratic use of state resources, there can be enough resources to pay workers adequately and improve the conditions of the people substantially. For instance, by reducing the huge salaries and overhead for political office holders and so-called ‘technocrats’, enough resources can be realized to provide improved infrastructures. Furthermore, with massive equipping and refurbishment, public work ministry can conveniently undertake various government projects including road construction, school renovation, mass housing, etc. By putting execution of public projects under the democratic watch, supervision and management of workers, communities and professionals, the bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with public project execution in a capitalist economy can be avoided. This will also provide gainful, secure and decent employment to tens of thousands of youths. On the contrary, the government, on the basis of its pro-capitalist and neo-liberal orientation will not do these as such will reduce the huge amount going to the coffer of political patrons. The government is committed to capitalist political investors who have continued to hold the society by the jugular. This is why we are in an era of ‘government has no business in business’, even when the so-called private businesses are going under and are blighted by corruptive tendencies at faster rates than even bureaucratically run state enterprises and agencies. All of these have shown that against attempt by government at using the issue of developmental projects to deny workers adequate wage, there are genuine alternative of massively developing society, even with meager available resources.

As said earlier, workers, either in Osun State or elsewhere are watching with keen interest, the treachery of both Aregbesola government, and their own labour leaders (who are really dealers), and they shall rise again, this time bye passing the rotten officialdom of their unions. More than this, they shall rebuilds their unions on genuine democratic and revolutionary basis. They shall realize the need to build, along with other oppressed people, their own revolutionary political alternative to the ruling parties of privatization, commercialization, and corruption.

Kola Ibrahim

P.O.Box 1319, GPO, Enuwa, Ile-Ife, Osun State,

08059399178, kmarx4life@gmail.com

‘We are running an unjust political and economic arrangement in Nigeria’

Comrade Abiodun Aremu, the General-Secretary, Joint Action Front (JAF), an affiliate of the Nigerian Labour congress in this interview with KAYODE ADELOWOKAN, expressed his feelings on the unfair treatment Nigeria meted to retirees in the country especially those excluded from the coverage of the contributory pension scheme. He blamed the rise of corruption in the country on the prevailing negative culture of the Nigerian society. Excerpt;

How will you describe the attitude of some state governments who owe arrears of pension to retirees?

There is need for Nigerians to understand the basic arrangement of the society, first, in terms of the economic system of the society. Economy or production is the base of every society and whatever is the arrangement; the political and economic arrangement determines the position with which the individual person in the society will be.

In Nigeria, we are running an unjust political and economic arrangement that is concerned about greed and profits which are essential features of exploitation. Once an economic is driven by exploitative tendency, that economy is bound to operate a politically corrupt society and for anybody to relay the high level of corruption in the society, he/she must understand the kind of economic arrangement that we have in the country.

Today, the cure policy of the government is privatization of the economy. Government is not the key driver of the Nigeria economy and to that extent; it opens up the economy for those private individuals whose interest is greed and profits at the expense of the social welfare of the majority of Nigerians.

When you are now talking about corruption in the pension industry; it is quite disturbing at the high fly of corruption in the country. Pension just a part of earn earned labour of any worker because when you work, what you are paid is a fraction of your labour input. The fractions of that labour input that are being kept and are supposed to be invested are what constitute your gratuity and pensions which are suppose to be given to you and once you have an economic arrangement that the focus of those who run it government is greed and profits then, what you have                is looting; various corrupt atrocities because money that are supposed to be legitimately dispensed to the beneficiaries now become money that are being looted and mismanaged.

When you are now talking about the rising profile of corruption in Nigeria, it comes in the context of the economy because if the economic arrangement comes with the intention of serving the people, there will be no money to loot. For instance, there are over 50 million unemployed Nigerian youths today and if those money are to be deployed into the productive sectors, into creating economic opportunities, economic base which will allow a lot of people to work, then, you will discover that Nigerians need more money but when those money are not channeled to social welfare because by virtue of the adoption of the economic agenda of no liberalism, it will make Nigeria dependent on the western creditors’ nations and to the dictates of IMF, world bank and world trade organization. Part of the demand from these creditors’ nations approves that there must be no subsidy, so the government have no business in business. The economy must be privatised and once there is privatization /deregulation, the concern is basically profits. When you are now talking of fighting corruption within an established institution, it will not work, because the looted money has already become an avenue to corrupt the system, escape justice and also to manipulate the judiciary.

If we truly need to fight corruption, we need to fight it from a holistic perspective. Our present Nigeria leaders cannot fight corruption because they earn their profits from corruption. There is nowhere a system that engender corruption can fight corruption, meaning Nigerians must be prepared for a struggle to recover their sovereignty; this is a struggle to ensure political and economic independence because when you talk of independence, it is system that gives you the power to run your own affairs in the way that suits your needs and aspiration. Nigeria is not independent today because we are still dependent on the creditor’s nations’ dictates and that is why you find the minister of finance, CBN governors, economic planning ministers and others that are ministers or holding executives position today only by the virtue of recognition by the IMF and the world bank whose policies are anti-poor and anti-welfare of the people. Whose policies essentially taking away jobs and never create any job and that is what basically create room for corruption and never think those who profit from corruption will in turn now fight corruption.

The Economic and Finance Corrupt Commission (EFCC) was never the creation of the Nigerians rather was part of the requirements from the creditor's nations. In term of your running democracy; democracy to an average Nigerians especially the over 50 million unemployed youths is that how much access to job opportunity do I have; democracy to the market traders is how could I access stock and capital as to run my small business to earn decent means of livelihood and to farmers in the rural areas is how they are going to access necessary farm input so as to carry out their farming.

Similarly, democracy to workers is how their fruit of labour which they have legitimately contributed can be given to them. Once we proceed from that context then we will see that there is need for struggle to fight for our total independent; there is need for a struggle to rid off present looters and exploiters from Nigeria who are surviving by the grace of corruption. There is need to overthrow the present unjust order because it is the looted money that is being use to corrupt the political system has now become the highest bidder and it is this same looted money that make an election to be do or die affairs because politics has now become a business enterprise; once you can find your way into the office then you can access funds that are not through your own productive effort. Being in the office, you have access to all forms of subsidy that are denied the people and that is why we have in the presidency, despite their stupendously accumulations of public wealth they still sustained in the budget that cater for them and their children. Let us ask, what they do with that Money they falsefully accumulated because they are on subsidy of food, medical facility, fuel, education because their children are catered for from the state resources. Invariably, they are beneficiary of all forms of subsidy even from collective wealth of the country. So why would they not now lynch from other wealth of resources that should have been available to develop infrastructures, provide public health, public education and to provide services that people can derive maximum happiness and security of lives and property is what we are expecting.

Economy of greed and profits means you are not your brother's keeper, for there to be hunger or hungry people in the society, it means that there people who have looted what would have be useful for every Nigerians. So, you cannot expect corruption not to rise when the zeal is to loot and that is why all the sectors of Nigeria economy is collapsing; is it the aviation industry you may want to talk about or banking industry? We are all witnesses to the revolution that took place in the banking sector some years back; banks are suppose to operate on private capital; when the banking industry were failing; the likes of intercontinental bank, Oceanic bank and a host of others, they were bail out by public capital.

Similarly, refinery licences have been given to over 40 Nigerian individuals and companies yet none of them have been able to build a single refinery yet they want to take over the refineries constructed with public resources. Licenses were given to people to generate electricity none of them have generated any rather what they want to do is to take over Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in which all the public resources have been invested in, the same thing happen in the aviation sector; they kill the Nigerian Airways. Viz-a-viz are the things that inform the impunity for them to loot public resources and use the same resource to undermine the law. There is nothing like the rule of law in Nigeria, what we have is the rule of the rich against the poor. Looking at it within the context of the objectives economy as stated in the section 6 of the Nigeria constitution is clear that wealth shall not be concentrated in few hands at the expense of the majority but what we have today is few Nigerians who are stupendously rich. Alhaji Alico Dangote is the classical example of those who have almost looted the country dry. You can go and surveys then find out from any of the Dangote companies today; we have the case of over 700 workers laid off in 2009 from Dangote pastal, Ikorodu, for demanding a review in their conditions of service. These and many others are what created avenue for looting public funds and the only way to stop corruption from being on the rise is not to expect the EFCC nor the code of conduct bureau to address those issues because those institutions lack the capacity to address the issues but the people can address those issues by showing their angers either by stoning some these people and make the society ungovernable for them and comfortable at any stand. Revolution is the only way to get the people to rally round themselves and make sure that there is definite end to corruption, also have their own political party that can bid for power because the whole set up of the society now is about power. Nigerians must begin to realise, without a party of the people, that want to give jobs to people, that wants to run the economy in such a way that every Nigerians will access to education, good health care facility, decent job, social welfare, every Nigerians shall be cater for by the state. Even in the advance capitalist country, they grant social welfare concession to the people because they know that without that, the society will collapse. Here, our society is going down because the economic arrangement only allows the few in the society to live and be rich on the labour and sweat of others.

The mentality of the greed which have infected the society so deep have been carried to the level of callousness where you have no regard for a fellow human begin even the compassion for the aged is lost; they wait till the aged will wait on the queue and in most cases die there yet they are not bordered, only to give empty promises that they are going to pay and at the end of the day, nothing will be heard.

The pension money is not begging money rather it is legitimate money that the people have worked for, so both the state and federal that woe pensioners within their jurisdiction have the responsibility to pay and that was what informed the protest beyond just paying but also agitating for a living pension. A living pension means that their pension must relate to the prevailing economic situations. In which way, if there is inflation that affect pension then the pension payment must be improve upon on the basis of that so that they can earn the value. Much as workers, we want improvement in their wages and conditions of service, the retirees who had also worked must be granted some of those awards, so that is why if you look at the concept of the present protest it not just about the federal government owing pensioners money, the state are also owing,  As a matter of fact, the Lagos State Union of Pensioners of Nigeria has declared the state government has the most notorious in undermining the implementations of the various awards harmonization awards of pension there was a six years award 42%, 6%,15% which are awards on harmonization which are given  between 2000 and 2007 which the Lagos State government have failed to implement, there was some where they have tried to implement and pay for instance like the one of year 2000 where you have that 142%, there is a six years of pension that ought to have been paid those pensioners between year 2000 and 2006, as at today the Lagos State government still owes that 142% for about three years due to the pensioners. because they have only paid three years out of that, there was these issue of the award of 2003 which was the six per cent for the past 10 years Lagos State government has not paid any kobo, As a matter of fact LSG was the only government because of its notoriety and viciousness that challenged those awards by the federal has to improve the life of the pensioners in court and they were defeated that these are there legitimate earnings and they must have it and so that is the context in which we have found ourselves and that is why for JAF it is not just enough to say pay the pensioners what you are owing, rather, it is to ensure that the pension funds are managed by the beneficiary themselves, the pension fund are paid prompt as at when due, the pension fund must be a living fund for them.

In the same vein, our society has the responsibility to cater for the aged and that is what happened in every responsible society. If you look at the constitution today, it makes it mandatory for the government as part of its social welfare responsibility as stated under section 16 that “the state shall ensure maximum happiness of its citizenry as to include; a national minimum living wage...” that is what is in the constitution, pension for the aged. Beyond even given them their legitimate allowance, the aged deserve some compassion from the path of the state and that is why a responsible society would make medical facility available to the aged in the society free to any level including free transportation that is comfortable. These among many others are part of the struggle that Joint Action Front (JAF) is all out for, to correct the corruption level in the society.

In your view how have your retiring members benefited from the activities of PenCom especially regarding the arrears of pension owed to them ?

The issue clearly is at the door step of State governments because pensions are legitimate earnings of the workers. As to the National Pension Commission (PenCom), that is just for the purpose of managing the pensions and if you set up a commission to look into pension cases and that commission has now become a vehicle for looting, it shows you the looting character in the government because there is no reason whereby the agency that was empowered to recover and ascertain pension funds thereafter turned itself to a looting. The perfect example is the case of police pension fund.

The law in our society protects the rich and regards as criminal activities individuals that may steal goat and cause him to go to jail for three years without an option of fine but  gives option of fine to those that steal billions of naira The option here is as small as of N750,000 which is easy to pay and still walk freely in the society.

It is the law in our society that allows the rich to escape justice.

The laws are specifically made to benefit the looters in the society, it encourages corruption because if you have an option to go and loot and you return you have the option of paying N750,000 the why will you not loot?

You cannot expect that law to change because it is a deliberate plan to free those who are looting, and you cannot loot without relating on the path of that who have looted the society and that is the linkage.

In Nigeria today there is no poor man that can access the loan of N10,000 without collateral; some of the looting funds becomes a collateral to the looters

Meanwhile if the law has been such that there is capital punishment for those that loot no one we go near looting the resources of the society because those funds are meant to take care of social welfare responsibility of the society.

Therefore if you don't want corruption and looting to be on the rise you have to change the present system that encourages looting and exploitation, we need a system that take care of the welfare and happiness of Nigerians. So the issue goes beyond paying the pensioners. The issue also has to do with the struggle to ensure that the resources of the Nigerians are judiciously deployed to the benefit of every Nigerian.

What is labour doing  about pension arrears owed by other states governments or are you  after only Lagos ?

Anyway, Labour is in the best position to explain it own plan but at the level of JAF, we are committed to taking up the cases of pensioners to wherever those cases may be in Nigeria because what has happened in the last few days has been an eye opening. Before now, Lagos state government use to give the impression that they owe nobody any pension; it took the declaration of this protest by pensioners to unveil the lies that has been given to the public.

We want to encourage the union of every states; either Lagos, Osun, Rivers, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri and others to bring out their fact and expose those government owing them in terms of their commitment to paying them as at when due.

How convinced are you that government will honour the agreement reached with Labour and its affiliates?

There is a caveat in the statement released by labour that if by first week of May 2013, if those agreements are not honoured, they will be back to the streets. For us in the Joint Action Front (JAF), we don't trust this government for any reason, there is no reason why anybody should have confidence in this government; this government have the catalogues of precedents of dialogues, agreements and promises reached that it has refused to honour in the time past.