Comrade Bolum Nwachukwu stands as a distinguished leader within the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria embodying a legacy of advocacy, dedication, and reform.
With an extensive career marked by a deep commitment to workers’ rights and socio-economic justice, Comrade Nwachukwu, the Delta State Chairman of TUC, emerged as a pivotal figure in shaping labor relations and union dynamics.A seasoned activist, Nwachukwu’s leadership is underscored by a profound understanding of the workforce in Delta State. His career trajectory reflects a blend of grassroots organizing and strategic negotiation, essential for navigating the intricate landscape of labor issues.
His approach combines rigorous analysis with compassionate advocacy, ensuring that the voices of workers are heard and their needs addressed with urgency and respect.
Nwachukwu’s tenure as a Chairman of TUC in Delta State has been marked by significant achievements in negotiating better working conditions, securing fair wages, and fostering robust dialogue between employers and employees. His leadership style is characterized by a collaborative ethos, working diligently to unite various stakeholders in the pursuit of common goals. This has not only strengthened the Trade Union Congress’s position but has also led to tangible improvements in labor standards and workers’ welfare in Delta State.
In this interview with Editor-In-Chief of Time Africa, Comrade Nwachukwu recognizes Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s proactive approach in addressing the challenges faced by workers and his dedication to creating a more balanced and fair economic environment.
Nwachukwu highlighted the governor’s readiness to pay the New Minimum Wage despite the State paucity of fund owing to multiple infrastructure development seeking for urgent attention.
The said by aligning the State policies with the needs of workers and businesses alike, Governor Oborevwori has demonstrated a commendable commitment to building a more prosperous and inclusive Delta State.
This interview has been edited for clarity:
What is the TUC official reaction to the Federal Government approval of the N70,000 minimum wage?
It’s a welcome development. We actually fought to get it higher but considering every indices and every other thing that was considered, we settled for the N70,000 and it’s a good one. So, we welcome the Federal Government initiative and with the speed it was passed in the House. We welcome it and we’re happy about that. The problem now is that the Consequential Adjustment is not there. We’re pressuring the Federal Government too to bring out the Consequential Adjustment, because we can’t implement without the Consequential Adjustment.
What do you mean by Consequential Adjustment?
What the law say is that the least earning worker Level 1 Step 1 for example, is at least N70,000 that’s minimum wage. But those who are in level 4-17 do not know what it’s going to be, and it must be uniform. So, it’s the duty of Salaries and Wages Commission to come up with the Consequential Adjustment chart. That is what we would now use to discuss with our Governors in the States that is what we will use to discuss with the private sector so that everybody would earn equally. That’s part of the law that was not sent to the Senate, but it will be worked out by the Executive and they’re working on it.
Still looking at the minimum wage, when you look at the least worker’s N70,000, is it just basic or allowance included?
Total package, that’s why it is called minimum wage. The least paid worker. In public service, we hardly have level 1 step 1. But in the private sector we have somebody who is not leveled, it means that your gardener at home will not be paid anything less than N70,000; your Cook, your Driver, your Domestic Staff, anybody you engage on a monthly salary must earn at least N70,000.
Is there not a law that before this…
There is nothing like that. You saw the law when it came, it did not say that. It is as simple as that. The minimum wage is for everybody. That is the nitty gritty of the explanation of the Executive Order. We expected that when the President was pronouncing, he would have made mention of that. All those things would have come when the Consequential Adjustment is made available. But for God sake, why would you employ somebody in this hard economy even if it’s one person and pay the person less? Am not an advocate of those who believe that if you’re engaging more than 10 persons, you’re free to pay them anything. That’s against the spirit of the law. The law says the minimum wage is for everybody working in Nigeria. Even if it is one person you’re employing, you pay the minimum wage.
Does that TUC believe that N70,000 is a living wage for Civil Servants considering the current economic realities?
What was passed into law is not a living wage, it’s the National Minimum Wage not a Living Wage. A Living Wage is a different kettle of tea altogether. But for now we can make do with the National Minimum Wage of N70,000; we try it out for three years, after three years it will be reviewed, that’s what the law says.
From N250,000 the TUC and NLC were negotiating for to the N70,000, do you really see that as what Nigerian Workers are happy with?
Also remember that the N70,000 we negotiated was 135% increase from the N30,000 we’re being paid before. Like I usually tell people, if you go to war and you kill a dog of war at War, you have tried. If you had opportunity, you would have killed a human being. So, we also considered the economy and everything that is put into it. Mind you, the minimum wage is not for public servants only, it’s for everybody. And when you say you pay a minimum wage of this amount, you yourself would pay, because everybody is engaging somebody somewhere. And we’re looking at what we can try and see if it can cushion the effect of the hardship. I believe it will have a serious effect because with the minimum wage of N70,000 more money will come into circulation, people will invest, do some other things and the economy will begin to revive.
Calculating that and how the people feel towards that amount, during the negotiation, NGF were very vocal saying they could not pay N60,000. So, what changed? Is it that the President used his veto power? And now the Governors have accepted to pay the N70,000.
The same Governors who you said they cannot pay N60,000 are eager to pay the N70,000. For example, so many state Governors said they want to start now, it’s actually Labour that’s holding them saying, “hold on let’s get the Consequential Adjustment. Just yesterday (Friday) we met with the Committee for Delta State. They held a State Executive Council meeting the day before yesterday and the Governor insisted that a Committee be set up immediately and that the committee will meet with organized Labour immediately, that he wants to pay; which is very good. We acknowledge that, we thanked him for that because people had been asking “will the State Governor pay? Of course, he’s willing to pay. So, they met with us yesterday (Friday), I was invited to the meeting and we agreed to wait for the Consequential Adjustment to come. He now charged Labour to put pressure on the Salaries and Wages Commission to bring out the Consequential Adjustment so that he can commence. Mind you, why they’re still eager is that they feel the pulse of the people, they feel the pain. Asides from that, if they delay, they need to pay arrears and may not be able to carry it. They want to start now which means there’s no Governor who have said that he will not pay. They’ve all agreed. The income of the states increased because of the removal of fuel subsidy and even when it didn’t increase there are ways of doing it.
What you’re saying to Deltans is that the Delta State Governor is willing to pay the N70,000 minimum wage?
Our Governor is not only willing but he’s ready to pay the N70,000 minimum wage. We have a Governor who feels for the workers and he’s eager, not just willing, but eager. In the past, it’s Labour that would invite Governor saying “please set up a Committee let us discuss”. This time he set up a Committee and instructed that they meet with us and we met yesterday.
It is on record that some State Governors have expressed concerns that they cannot afford to pay the N70,000 minimum wage, what measures have the TUC sent to ensure that the Government meet up with this wage obligation?
Well, that statement was made before the passing of the law. Since the law was passed, I didn’t think any Governor had said they will not be able to pay again. They were consulted even before the President sent it to the Senate for passage, he consulted all stakeholders including Labour and the Governors and they’ve all agreed to pay. And mind you, the law provides for punishment for any employer who refuses to implement and the organized Labour is ready to take it to the grassroots. F any state fail to implement the whole national workforce will move down to that state to enforce it.
Do you foresee some States struggling more than other states?
There is no state that will struggle. There is no state that does not have capacity to pay. I don’t believe that.
Comrade, you sound very certain but you’re aware that even some states were yet to pay the N30,000 minimum wage.
It was merely political will. They manipulated the political will to pay. Some of those states were buying vehicles and doing some projects that were not even for the people.
But Labour as at then did not see that it was enforced, why should the Nigerian people trust the NLC and TUC that they can fight for N70,000 when they did not fight for N30,000.
Let me bring you back to what happened recently. In the past, the issue of the minimum wage negotiations never went the way this last one went. There was a tripartite Committee, everybody and everybody agreed, and it was so much stressed and we agreed. That of N30,000, yes, we discussed it but it didn’t go this way. So, everybody is aware. When N30,000 was said, the situation of the economy was not this bad. Now it is terrible, so everybody will comply, I’m assuring you. Don’t worry we will go out.
What step is the TUC planning if the state government refused to implement the new minimum wage?
Simple, we mobilize the whole country, not just Delta State. In the past it was left for the state councils, but this time entire TUC and NLC will mobilize Labour to that state as our dwelling place and the state Governor will host all of us.
This is an extension to that question. What if it’s the private sector?
We mobilize and shutdown the place.
What happens to the staff that’s earning let’s say N50,000, they would lose the whole N50,000 now?
Why would they lose N50,000? They must pay, we shut them down and they pay. Would you think they want to let their business go because they don’t want to pay the minimum wage? They will pay, we all agreed. We had a consensus, the private sector was involved in the negotiations, and they’re ready once the Consequential Adjustment comes. Mind you private companies were paying more than N70,000 already.
Is there a timeline given to state governments to implement the new minimum wage?
The timeline is as soon as the Consequential Adjustment comes they would start the implementation. They’re eager to implement fast because if they don’t, they would now be faced with arrears and no state government wants to pay arrears, because it’s bulky. For 135% increment, if you miss out one month, it’s going to be heavy on you. So, talking about wisdom of management, it is in their own interest that they start implementing immediately.
Who pushes for this Consequential Adjustment Is it State Government or Labour?
Ordinarily, the Federal Government would have rolled it out immediately. I just came back from the National Delegates Conference of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, because I’m also the Chairman of Association of Senior Civil Servants Delta State Chapter. And there part of our communique is that we move the Salaries and Wages Commission to immediately bring out the Consequential Adjustment. As at yesterday when I was going in with the Government team, I called the Secretary General and he said they’re already in the office of the national Wages Commission, that they’re pressuring them to complete the assignment and bring it out. NLC Secretary General was also there. So, Labour is pressuring, but we don’t want it done haphazardly so that the workers would not be cheated. We will also look at what they have done and agree that it is right, then, we roll it out.
So we don’t have a time frame like two months or thereabout?
Two months is too far, we’re talking of matter of days and weeks it will come out by God’s grace.
What strategies that the TUC have in place to ensure that Civil Servants are not unfairly treated during this transition to the new wage?
That is what I’m telling you. The strategy is that we must work with the national chart so that everybody is paid equally. There is a way the Consequential Adjustment is worked out and we stay with that chart. The negotiation shouldn’t be whether we would be able to pay, the state government wants to see the chart to know what it’s going to cost them. Employers of Labour wants to see the chart to know what it’s going to cost them. But that chart once it comes out, it becomes a document that must not be tempered with.
Let me hold brief with the Government a little, we also had conversation with the minimum wage negotiation process and had some state government talk about the work ethics of workers. What do you have to say to workers who abscond from duty post and all of that since there is a pay rise?
My dear the workers are doing well. They’ve always tried. You’ve been on duty, you stay here for almost 24 hours, are you not a worker? I don’t have closing time in my office, even though I’m a Labour leader, I’m always in my office, m primary assignment is paramount. Most workers even when they do not have money to pay transport they find their way to work. Even when they were paying them N30,000 minimum wage and it couldn’t take them home, they still found their way work. So, I praise the workers, they will put in more, they would do better. They’ve been trying their best. Things have not been working, I don’t believe that there’s poor work ethics that people don’t go to work, no. anytime I come here I see you people on duty, you’re a worker. Go to any Ministry you see them on duty, go to any office you see them on duty. The workers are working that’s why we’re asking for a better pay because we’re already working. The new minimum wage paid, they will put in more efforts. It will always get better. You can never finish the work in the farm in one day.
Does the TUC have plans to work with other Labour Unions like NLC to present a united front in dealing with State Governments? Because we’ve seen cases where the TUC is saying one thing the NLC is saying another. This time around is the TUC working with other Labour to present a united front?
What we have in Delta State and other states is organized Labour. In organized Labour you have the TUC and NLC and we speak with one voice. I just told you that we were in a meeting yesterday. Actually in that meeting the NLC chairman was the one that spoke. We met before the meeting and agreed on what each of us would say and we said you present it. After his presentation I just said I concur, because that is what we agreed. That is one front. We go there as organized Labour. When we get there, we don’t talk of TUC position or NLC position and that is what happens at the national level and at all levels because the problem is the same and the solution must be the same. So, we have organized Labour and not TUC or NLC.
Are Legal Avenue that the TUC is planning to use if the state government fails to comply with this new minimum wage?
The law provides for that, sanctions are there. If it gets to that we’ll do that. We have our Counsels waiting, if we have to sue any state government we’ll do that. But I know we won’t get to that. They will pay. Don’t worry.
Is the TUC ready to educate their members on their rights after the Consequential Adjustment has been settled?
Yes we do. We’ve already started doing that, we have our platforms where we talk to them. What I’m even doing now is part of the education. Our plan is not only to educate them on the implementation of the new minimum wage, also on the management of the new minimum wage. Because when money enters your hand you begin to do things that you are not supposed to do. So, we’re already talking to our members that the new minimum wage that is going to come is not a bonus. You don’t go and marry new wives or acquire girlfriends or you begin to buy car when you don’t need another car, or you begin to throw parties. You have to invest and one of the ways you have to invest is to put ourselves in a position to help drive down the prices of commodities in the market. You have to do bulk purchases, you have to do investments. Some of our members will now go and buy foodstuffs and reselling. Those things would help drive down the cost of commodities and we can put ourselves into cooperatives. You can increase your stake in the cooperative and let the cooperative do bulk purchases and distribute to members. By so doing, the prices of goods will come down because there will be competition. There will be more money and there will be more items to purchase. We should look at how to use it to feed ourselves and our families. The school fees will also increase, it has already increased because the cost of living is high and we have to pay school fees. This minimum wage is meant to help us solve these principal problems, and economic issues, not marrying or drinking and throwing parties, no. those are part of the education. It’s not just enough to tell them about implementation, you also tell them on how to manage the wage so that it will be better for everybody at the end of the day.
One of the fears of the people in relation to the increment of the minimum wage is also the increment in the cost of goods and services out there. Does organize Labour have measures in place to help mitigate this?
Interestingly, simple economics, when there is increase in supply the price drops. With the inflow of more money more persons will participate and when they participate there will be increase in supply and prices might come down. It does not necessarily mean that because there is more money in circulation, people are not able to afford it because few persons are the ones doing it now, so they jack up the prices. And asides from that, government is not only looking at just paying minimum wage, at the meeting yesterday government also made it clear that they’re also looking at security issues, so that the minimum wage to be received would be meaningful. They’re looking at how to reduce cost of living, because if you pocket the minimum wage and you’re not able to go home with it, its meaningless. With the attention that is being given to security and commodities especially in Delta State, the minimum wage will be useful in the hands of the workers. And mind you, the minimum wage for the worker means more money to the dependents.
Is the TUC okay with the 3-year review of the minimum wage?
It used to be five years in the past, three years is fine. Mind you review does not necessarily men upwards. If the economy recovers the review can be downwards. We pray that Nigeria gets to that level. If naira recovers why not? We review downwards.
Finally, what message do you have for workers and the public considering the new minimum wage and negotiations?
My message is simple please be guided. The minimum wage is coming. Don’t make useless expenditures. It is not a bonus to your earnings. Try to apply it. Do what one or two things that can bring you more money, take care of your health and take care of yourself but try to invest a little even if it is 25% of your entire earning, do little investment and earn more money and next time will be better.
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