The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has faulted the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over its call for the Federal Government to spend a projected oil windfall on wage awards and cost-of-living allowances for workers, describing the demand as “an exercise in absurdity.”
The policy think tank said the proposal by organised labour would sacrifice long-term economic stability for short-term gains for a small segment of Nigerians.
In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju and made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja, IMPI likened the demand to “eating the seeds and expecting to reap a harvest.”
The group said, “It appears that the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is determined to remain stuck in Nigeria’s old economic order.
“We, in this regard, reference the recent statement issued by the NLC in which it stridently demanded, among others, the immediate payment of wage award and cost-of-living allowance (COLA) for all workers to cushion the rising cost of living; immediate tax relief for workers, including suspending regressive taxes on low-income earners and taxing the informal sector.
“We consider these demands rather curious and insensitive against the background of various policy conceptualisations and their deployment by the Federal Administration to improve the quality of life in the country since the commencement of economic reforms in 2023, and in the face of the United States of America and Israel’s war against Iran.”
The group noted that the NLC’s demands were predicated on projections by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), that Nigeria could earn about N30tn in oil windfall from the ongoing Middle East crisis.
“Oddly enough, this plethora of demands by the NLC was predicated on the recent projections by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), signifying that the country may gain an estimated N30 trillion oil windfall from the ongoing Middle East crisis.
“We consider this proposal rather inappropriate in the context of the age-long principle that admonishes that ‘one cannot eat the seeds and expect to reap a harvest.’
“The principle underscores that consuming resources (time, money, talent, etc.) intended for growth prevents future returns, in line with the biblical concept of reaping what you sow. It advises against sacrificing long-term success for short-term gratification.
“Against the thrust of this principle, the implication of the NLC’s demands is an insistence that the Federal Government share with workers the anticipated N30 trillion that may accrue to the federation.”
IMPI further argued that the NLC’s proposal was unfair to the majority of Nigerians who work in the informal sector.
It stated, “In our opinion, this N30 trillion, if it truly crystallises as projected, holds the key to galvanising the growth of the Nigerian economy compared to any possible outcome that would be recorded if shared with formal sector workers under the ambit of the NLC.
“The fact of the matter is that formal workers represent just about 15 per cent of Nigeria’s total workforce, with over 85 per cent engaged in the informal economy. With a total labour force exceeding 113 million, who will care for the more than 96 million Nigerians in the informal sector if those in the formal sector alone share the anticipated windfall from the Middle East crisis?
“We find the NLC’s proposal at this time myopic, especially coming from a workers’ union with a history of engagement with various governments and, ostensibly, has an understanding of the undercurrents of the national economy at different times.”
