The minimum wage is the lowest wage per hour that a worker may be paid, as mandated by federal law; it is a legally mandated price floor an employer is required to pay earners for the work performed. These are the reasons why the new minimum might turn out to be a mere mirage.
Last week, the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC) threatened to go on strike starting from Tuesday, November ,6, 2018 if the union’s demand for salary increase is not met by the government. While most people believe that the NLC has become a spent force, a shadow of its old self, and its leadership a group of sell-outs; threats of strike from the NLC is still not dismissed as empty by people in government. Therefore, when the NLC announced its proposed plan to go on strike if the demand for increase in the minimum wage of workers was not met by the government most Nigerians saw it as a potential face-off between the government and the Labour Union and started embarking on the preparations that would cushion the effects of the strike on them.
However, at the eleventh hour, on the midnight of Tuesday, November 6, 2018 the union announced shelving the strike after reaching an agreement with the federal government on N30000 as new minimum wage. Cheering news for the Nigerian workers? Will the new minimum wage be implemented in all the states of the Federation? Will it, in the long run, be a true cause to cheer for workers or something that will make them sigh? The minimum wage is the lowest wage per hour that a worker may be paid, as mandated by federal law; it is a legally mandated price floor an employer is required to pay earners for the work performed. These are the reasons why the new minimum might turn out to be a mere mirage.
SOME STATES ARE NOT PAYING EVEN THE 18000 MINIMUM WAGE
You may find it shocking that some States in Nigeria are not paying the 18000 minimum wage approved by the Jonathan-led administration. And even some that are paying have a huge backlog of unpaid or partly paid salaries. Take Osun state for instance where for over 2 years workers, especially senior workers, are being paid half of their monthly remunerations. There are other states in the country which are not paying the 18000 minimum wage. This inability to pay the money is always hinged on the decline in the price of oil in the international market. In fact in 2015, barely some months after the inception of Buhari’s administration, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum announced that they could not continue paying the N18000 minimum wage. A part of the communiqué released by the forum read “The situation is no longer the same when we were asked to pay N18,000 minimum wage, when oil price was $126 (per barrel) and we continued paying N18,000 minimum wage when the oil price is $41, while the source of government expenditure is from oil, and we have not seen prospects in the oil industry in the near future”. Since there has not been a considerable increase in the oil price the governors may still cite this same excuse for not paying the new minimum wage.
MINIMUM WAGE AS AN INDUCEMENT
While it is not arguable that an increment in workers’ salary is long overdue. A close look at the history of Minimum wage in Nigeria and the Nigerian government will show that for civilian government that deemed it fit to increase workers’ salaries and this often comes on the eve of an election year; except Obasanjo-led administration who announced increment some months into his tenure. They do this in the hope of swaying the chunk of the electorate’s votes in the favour of their party at the pool. The first National Minimum wage was announced under Shehu Shagari in late 1981 purportedly to induce the masses to help him realize his re-election dream. His administration pegged the minimum wage at N 125, ten years later Babangida’s regime increased it to N250. In the year 2000 Obasanjo increased it to 7500. And In 2011, on the eve of another election year Goodluck Jonathan increased to N18000. The Buhari-led administration is increasing the minimum wage to N30000 three months away from general elections. There seems to be something fishy about the timing even though it is a welcome development started by this administration in November 2017 when Buhari set up a 30-person National Minimum Wage Committee.
MINIMUM WAGE BEING USED TO PLAY POLITICS
The question we need to ask is: Why did some states agree to pay the new minimum wage why negiotation is still ongoing between the government and the representatives of NLC. Check the list of states that made the announcement and you will agree with us that they did so to discredit the Buhari-led administration and not of unalloyed love for the masses or the Nigerian workers.
Why this has a political undertone it has actually brought to the issue of restricting to the front burner again. The fact that Nigeria is not practising fiscal federalism is making it possible for the government at the centre to determine the various states with dissimilar Internally generated revenues. And the same very reason will be convenient excuse for most governors who will not pay the new minimum wage. And this might make the celebration of workers in this state short-lived and a fantasy.