The party said that it welcomed the planned salary increment, noting that salary increment was overdue for the country, citing high inflation.
The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) has advised workers in Lagos State not to be tricked by the salary increment announced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while warning that it could a ploy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hoodwink workers to vote the party in 2023 general elections.
The party said that it welcomed the planned salary increment, noting that salary increment was overdue for the country, citing high inflation.
It urged the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to begin to demand a new national minimum wage while at the same time fight for the full implementation of the current one by the 36 states governments.
The party stated this in a release issued on Monday, signed by its Lagos State Chairperson and Secretary, Rufus Olusesan and Moshood Osunfurewa respectively.
Titled: "SPN Welcomes Planned Salary Increase for Lagos workers but Calls for Resistance against Anti-poor Policies of the APC Government," the party accused Governor Sanwo-Olu of implementing anti-peoples policies.
"The Lagos State Chapter of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) welcomes the planned salary increment announced by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu while addressing a gathering of workers during a visit to the office of State Head of Service on October 4.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu was quoted to have said that he had since September instructed the “Head of Service (HoS), the Commissioner for Establishment, Training, and Pensions to work out modalities for salary increases for the entire over 100,000 public service workforce."
"Indeed, we call on them to demand the involvement of Lagos state joint negotiation committee in working out the said modalities. To us, an upward review in wages is long overdue not only in Lagos but nationally.
"Given the economic hardship, high inflation, and high prices of food stuff, fuel and electricity, ordinary working class families are at the receiving end. This is as a result of anti-poor capitalist policies, something only compounded by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian war on Ukraine," the statement partly read.
The party noted that for the governor to have said he was not going to wait for the Federal Government’s minimum wage increase, which confirmed the fact that the current minimum wage, was due for a national upward review.
"Therefore, we reiterate our call on the NLC and TUC to begin to demand a new national minimum wage while at the same time fight for the full implementation of the current one by all the state governments.
"We also call on NLC and TUC to demand reversal of neo-liberal policies - privatisation of power, deregulation of the oil sector among others - and resist cuts in social service, education and healthcare underfunding.
"However, we frown at the fact that the same Lagos government that wants to be seen as pro-people with the promise of increase in workers’ salaries is compounding the economic hardship being faced by the ordinary people in the state.”
“For instance, it recently increased the monthly refuse disposal bill by 50 percent and hiked BRT fare. At the same time the state miscellaneous offence taskforce and its local governments criminally extort ordinary Lagosians on daily basis with obnoxious and outrageous and multiple fines and taxes. Also, many primary school pensioners who work as gatemen at most schools in Lagos State have yet to receive their pension after four years of retirement.
"Therefore, we call on Lagos state public workers and other ordinary people not to lose guard because of the planned salary increase, which is possibly done in order to woo support for the APC in 2023 elections, but be prepared to resist all anti-poor policies of the APC governments in Lagos and at the federal level," the statement added.