Extension of social protection through wages and Non-wage Benefits to---

Extension of social protection through wages and Non-wage Benefits to Nigerian Workers: Memorandum submitted to the National Salaries and Wages Commission



1. We the undersigned feel a desire and urge to submit this memorandum to the National Salaries and Wages Commission to put forward some views that could contribute towards solving the knotty problems of providing social justice and equitable wages for the teaming population of the working masses and the retired workers of the various civil service and public employment in this country.
2. These classes of Nigerians have been suffering in silence for too long and with the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) all their purchasing powers have been eroded. SAP has made everyone insecure, especially the vast majority working class; the retired groups, petty traders, labourers, farmers, the ordinary craftsmen and the transporters. Those groups are now wallowing in poverty, deprivation, suffering from high inflation and unjustifiable price in the market; making their lives absolutely miserable and deplorable. It has eroded their purchasing power and what they earn could not ordinarily make ends meet.
3. Social justice calls for adjustment in salaries, wages, pensions and gratuities in line with the rising inflation to enable the workers, and retirees at least those connected with public employment to cope with the situation. There is absolute need for non-wage incentives to aid the workers in areas like subsidized housing, consumer cooperative shops for employees, organized transportation to facilitate their ability to get to and from work and such assistance to enable access to sources of supplies and reduce pressure in the markets.
4. There s also a need for crystallizing the financial aspect of the social security for the working class to ensure adequate benefit arising to the beneficiary including employees within parastatals and some organized private enterprises. Financing could be by the workers, the workers union, the employers and the National Provident Fund. Such a system requires the use of some administrative structures, for effective and efficient administration of the scheme.
5. It is pertinent to note that the public sector is much more homogeneous in terms of salary and wage structure based on the GL civil service Grade, USS for Universities and related Institutions. The private sector has no uniform grade structures as such. Each industry or sector of industry or individual commercial organization may have its own version of the grading system. This makes it difficult to compare. Though, of course one can take a basket of them and generalize, identifying common incentive in addition to the ordinary salaries and wages, like transportation, leave and housing allowances or meal subsidy and annual bonus, etc. which make the private sector tick. These need to be articulated in the public sector organizations to instill some stimulus and gear them up.
6. It is our firm belief that absolute improvements in both wage and non-wage incentives plus some measure of social security are necessary to prop-up the decaying public sector traditional pattern of remuneration; such that it takes into cognizance the increasing inflation and the inability to control rising costs of living generally in the economy much of it arising due to deregulation and rising costs of foreign exchange.
7. We are quite prepared to elaborate on any of the points raised or appear to depend the submission if necessary. Thank you.


Signed Signed
Dr. Usman Ahed Zahradeen Dr. Isa Hashim


Signed
Mu’azu Muhammed Yusif

21st June, 1993