NLC and the problem of unpaid salaries

Last week it was reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed workers in states owing arrears of salaries to evoke the “no pay no work” in dealing with their respective governments.  About 30 of the 36 states in the federation are unable to pay regular salaries due to sharply declining federally distributable revenue and the heavy indebtedness of some of the states. Rising from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Sokoto, the NLC lamented the plight of workers under the current economic situation. “NEC acknowledged the difficulty faced by the working class and their families” who had seen prices  more than quadrupled in the face of static wages and pensions that are seldom paid as and when due

We had made the point on countless occasions that the current Nigerian federation is not working, was not created to work and needs fundamental restructuring to function as a true federation.

The current Nigerian federation was set up to be financed by rents from the sale of oil resources. This is against the classical dictates of federalism where the component units enjoy fiscal autonomy and revenue flows from the component units to the centre. That order was reversed by the military, which centralized oil revenue collection and its consequent redistribution to all tiers of government in Nigeria. Consequently, states in Nigerian came to depend almost exclusively on the federally distributable revenues for survival.

One consequence of the ‘distributive’ character of the Nigerian state is the proliferation of states and agitations for more states by groups in Nigeria since, it appears, the raison d’être for states creation is for them to be used as instruments of extraction of resources/rents from the Nigerian state by ethnic formations. Any wonder then that states in Nigeria have elaborate governance structures – over bloated executive councils, parliaments, judiciaries and civil services just like the federal government – whereas they, bar Lagos, produce very little or next to nothing and have no way of justifying their existence as semi-autonomous entities within the Nigerian federation? With the current arrangement, the major preoccupation of political authorities in Nigeria will continue to be ‘allocation’ and ‘distribution’ of rents rather than with ‘wealth creation’.

It was therefore inevitable that the moment the price of oil began to collapse, the Nigerian federation was threatened. There have been several bailouts to states but that hasn’t solved the problem.  To be sure, we totally condemn the situation where workers are owed several month’s salaries and are not paid as at when due. This is most reprehensible and a denial of worker’s fundamental human right to decent living.  We also feel the states involved must prioritise the payment of worker’s salaries and ensure that workers are not owed for work done.

But if the NLC must face the truth, it must realize that the present federal arrangement is unworkable and unsustainable and as long as the price of oil remains low, states will continue to find it difficult to fulfil their obligations including payment of workers’ salaries.

This is where we feel the NLC must also properly consider its reaction. It is clear to all that the current workforces of most states are over bloated and inefficient. Attempts by state governments to reduce their workforces have been met with stiff opposition by the NLC and the organised labour movement. By threatening “no pay no work,” the NLC is tacitly encouraging state governments to proceed on a sacking spree as some of them had clearly wanted to do. Also, we feel the “no pay no work” order of the NLC will not achieve much and will not solve the problem of states’ inability to pay their workers.

It is our considered view that the NLC and other labour and trade unions should join hands with those calling for the restructuring of the Nigerian federation along fiscally viable lines such that states will be financially and economically viable enough to maintain and pay its workforce without recourse to the federal allocation. Only a viable federation can ensure fiscally strong and stable states.