Economic Hardship: “Our Jobs No Longer Safe,” Labour Fumes, Makes One Demand From Tinubu

• As economic hardship persists, the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu has been given fresh tasks
• The organised labour lamented bitterly over the job security of its members and urged the government to tackle it without delay
• This is amid the ongoing talks between states, the federal government and labour for the full implementation of the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Amid economic hardship and a hike in inflation, the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE) has voiced concerns about the job security of its members.

At its 32nd annual Industrial Relations Seminar held in Ilorin, Kwara state, the union noted that the economic downturn ravaging the country has made the jobs of members very unsafe and implored the government to urgently address the challenges of the sector.

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The president of the union, Comrade Goke Olatunji, noted that manufacturing was critical to driving Nigeria’s economic growth and ensuring a sustainable future for its people, Vanguard reported.

How economic downturn is affecting workers

While lamenting that the present socio-economic situation was not favourable to everyone, including businesses, he said:

“Manufacturers are lamenting daily due to high cost of production as a result of high interest rate and high electricity bill, while petroleum products that are supposed to be for alternative power generation, are equally very expensive.

“The volume of exports and imports determines economic growth. Where import is greater than export as we experience in Nigeria, it weakens the local currency, causes inflation, man-power turnover, hunger and poverty which may likely trigger social unrest such as the recent #endbadgovernance protest.”

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Olatunji expressed sadness that the economic downturn also affected the sector, especially workers. He said:

“Workers on daily basis suffer from job losses due to redundancy, closure and relocation of factories. Majority of them work under precarious conditions with poor salary and no incentives or motivation. The present inflation rate and exchange rate are having negative effects on real value of naira. It may interest you to know that the dollar equivalent of the recently signed minimum wage of N70,000 is far below when it was N18,000.”

This development comes amid talks between President Bola Tinubu, state governors and the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) on the implementation of the N70,000 new minimum wage.

Read more about labour and economic hardship:

• NLC, TUC ask govt to step down issue of minimum wage
• "This is unbearable," Sanusi decries spate of economic hardship in Nigeria
• Economic hardship: Tinubu reveals actual month Nigeria’s suffering will end

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Some workers to receive N200,000 minimum wage as FG ends 20-year dispute in maritime Sector

Minimum wage: Delta NLC awaits FG's template

In another development, Legit.ng reported that Goodluck Ofobruku, the NLC chairman in Delta, and his Trade Union (TUC) counterpart, Martins Bolum, specifically requested a stay of action by the state government “in the best interest of workers.”

Ofobruku assured workers that they had nothing to fear as the funds for the new minimum wage were already in the 2024 budget.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng