The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) has urged Organised Labour to immediately mobilize and declare a nationwide strike to address the pressing issues of the minimum wage and the recent hike in electricity tariffs.
In a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Bosah, CDWR called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) to declare and mobilize widely for a 48-hour general strike and mass protest.
The primary demands include a minimum wage of no less than N200,000 and the reversal of all anti-poor policies, such as privatization, deregulation, subsidy removal, and the electricity tariff hike.
Bosah recalled that the NLC and TUC have been in a standoff with the government and private sector over a new minimum wage. Negotiations have been deadlocked for over three weeks, with the government and private sector insisting on paying N60,000.
This provoked the declaration of an indefinite strike, which began on June 3, 2024, but was suspended on June 4, 2024.
CDWR highlighted a recent example from Kenya, where mass protests led by young people forced the Ruto-led government to withdraw an IMF/World Bank-inspired tax increment policy.
“This example shows that it is also possible for Nigerian working people and youth to force the Tinubu-led government to reverse the prices of petroleum products, electricity tariffs, fee hikes in public schools, and all other neo-liberal capitalist policies, which would give some immediate respite to most Nigerians,” the statement read.
The statement continued:
“CDWR calls on the leadership of NLC and TUC, as the next step in the minimum wage struggle, to declare and this time mobilize widely for a 48-hour general strike and mass protest to demand a minimum wage not less than N200,000 and the reversal of all anti-poor policies (privatization, deregulation, subsidy removal, electricity tariff hike, etc.).”
Addressing the perceived failures of the NLC and TUC in previous mobilizations, CDWR emphasized the need for trade unionists and activists to organize a grassroots campaign. This would build support for the struggle and ensure that trade unions have leaders who take their responsibilities seriously.
“Amongst the immediate demands should be the call for the inclusion of a demand that the minimum wage must be automatically adjusted in line with the rate of inflation and rising cost of living. The minimum wage need not wait for four or five years before adjustment,” Bosah noted.
“This may forestall needless long negotiations and ensure wages do not fall behind the inflationary rate and poverty line. However, we should add that it will require a serious struggle to force the capitalist elite to agree to this and actually implement it, as they will try to take back any concessions they have been forced to make.”
