By Abdul-Qadir Thamin Ayinde
Due to an incessant dollar rise or other factors, prices of food and commodities rise. Commodities that are normally bought by traders from the company for N10,000 to be sold at N12,000 (20% profit N2000), when the company price rises to N20,000 the same trader will sell the commodities at N24,000 (20% profit N4000). The profit commensurates with the rise in inflation. Operation What we buy we sell. They control their own salary immediately.
At this particular time, the service providers like barbers, tailors, bricklayers and drivers will also double their prices or wages. Even the house owners will double their house rents. *Operation We Must Also Survive* They control their own salary immediately.
Although they complain, they manage their ways out of the inflation. But, what of the salary earners? Nobody cares. Their employers also keep quiet, even when they gain more. *Government are not ready to raise their salary immediately*
The consequence is that the food supposed to be taken by one person from the salary will be shared by three or four people just for the 200% inflation rise. I will explain.
The feeding money allocated for one person will ordinarily be shared by two people when the costs are doubled. But the situation is worse than this. Other fixed expenses like house rent, electricity bill, transportation fares etc are to be paid. These are sometimes supplemented by the insufficient feeding money.
How will the salary earners survive in this type of situation. Yet, he must be punctual and hardworking with the little food in him. He must pay for the exorbitant transportation fare, maintain his or her family etc.
How can a responsible man earning N100,000 (total take-home) manage with a wife and three children? Has he gone beyond his boundaries? Please good economists, help in this regard!
What if the price now rises up to 300%-400% depending on the various commodities and services as the case is now in Nigeria within the last four years?
The traders maintain their percentage profit while the service providers keep on increasing their charges to fit in. They control their salary at every moment
The government (employers) now are adamant on 100% increase after serious but non-conclusive series of dialogue. They earmarked more than million as their own basic and eventually earning roughly N40,000,000 monthly (based on the then data exposed). There was enough money in Nigeria for this but their was no enough money to pay for the minimum salary less than N100,000. What a disgusting unjustifiable difference and a symptom of corruptive inequality!
Since an objective dialogue doesn’t seem to be in our political culture, the Labour Union now resorts to downing tools.
Kudos to the empathetic citizens who put their legs in the labour’s shoes, realistic of the horror the labours had been passing through all this while. Inflation skyrockets, salary remains static. Yet, duties are to be diligently performed without bribery and corruption.
However, some inconsiderate and selfish people consisting majorly of some traders and service providers are now blaming the indefatigable Labour Union of aggressiveness and inconsideration. This, apparently, must be out of selfishness, wickedness or sheer ignorance. They think only of their own. They control their earnings every moment, but want labour to remain static even after 4 years since the last 2019 salary increment.
What we should bear in mind is that possibly, as usual, the inflation still continues rising, and that though the salary is increased, its value is not maintained. So the victory should be significantly achieved.
My humble submission here are these:
1) Some objective yardsticks should be used in measuring the rate of inflation since the last salary increase in 2019. Is the average increase in inflation in the general cost of living 200%, 300% or 400%? The government should consider this rate in increasing the basic salary.
2) These yardsticks should also be used every year (12 months) to consistently relieve the economic pressure on the salary earners by annual adjustment of the salary
3) Government should set up objective Machineries to regulate prices and stabilize the economy.
*NIGERIA WE HAIL THEE
