The 1981 general strike and the struggle for minimum wage

LIFE has become nasty, brutish, and short for Nigerian workers in 2024. Life is now full of hunger, pains, insecurity and poverty. Unemployment, underemployment and inflation are high. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics ( NBS), “the food inflation rate in December 2023 was 33.93 per cent on a year- on- year basis…

The rise in food inflation was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, fruit, milk, cheese, and eggs… In December 2023, food inflation was highest in Kogi ( 44.73 per cent), Kwara ( 41.33 per cent), and Imo ( 39.54 per cent) .” The current monthly minimum wage of 30,000 Naira cannot cover the rising cost of food, not to mention other essential means of subsistence.

The Nigerian working class won a monthly minimum wage of 125 Naira in 1981. At the prevailing exchange rate of N0.61/$ 1, this was equivalent to $ 204.92 a month. In 2011, the monthly minimum wage was increased to 18,000 Naira, or an equivalent of $ 113.92 at the prevailing exchange rate of N158/$ 1. In April 2019, the monthly minimum wage was increased to 30,000 Naira, or an equivalent of $ 98.36 at the prevailing exchange rate of N305/$ 1. Today, the minimum wage remains at 30,000 Naira, or an equivalent of $ 19.96 at the prevailing exchange rate of N1503/$ 1. The agitation for a new minimum wage by Nigerian workers has reached a feverish pitch.

In January 2024, the Federal Government inaugurated a 37- member tripartite committee on the national minimum wage. The committee is loaded in favour of employers and consists of 12 members representing private sector employers and 12 members representing public sector employers ( the Federal government and the State government) and 12 members representing labour ( NLC and TUC). The objective of the committee is to recommend a new national minimum wage.

The minimum wage means different things to workers and employers. From the worker’s viewpoint, the minimum wage is the prevailing price of his labour power ( his capacity to work) in the labour market sufficient for the reproduction of the labour power of his family of six ( himself, his wife, two male children and two female children).

The factors determining the minimum wage include the prevailing cost of food, beverages, housing, clothing, transport, communication, education, health care, and other means of subsistence as well as economic indicators such as the poverty rate, the consumer price index and the inflation rate. From the point of view of the employer of labor ( private employers and public employers - federal and state governments), the minimum wage is the marginal cost of an unskilled labour unit.

This is the change in total production cost arising from the production of one additional labour unit or worker. In a developing economy with unlimited supply of labour, the marginal cost of a labour unit tends towards zero as profits and surplus value are maximised.

Therefore, the minimum wage demands of workers and employers are different. The final negotiated minimum wage is determined by the balance of power between workers and employers. Given these different viewpoints, we will examine how the Nigerian working class won a monthly minimum wage of 125 Naira in 1981.

In 1980, Nigerian waged workers were faced with galloping inflation. Increases in the prices of food items were often more than 100 per cent. For example, a bag of rice, imported at a cost of N15 , was sold for N35 in some northern Nigerian cities and N100 in Lagos.

A 50 kg bag of flour, imported at a cost of 11 Naira, was sold for N30 in Lagos and N27 in some northern Nigerian cities. Nigerian workers began agitating for commodity price control and lower government fixed prices. 53,012 workers were involved in 20 strikes resulting in 579,415 mandays lost in January 1980.

The NLC, led by Hassan Sunmomu, delivered a ‘ Workers Charter of Demands’ to the Presidency with an ultimatum to meet all demands by March 31, 1980 or face a general strike.

The Federal government was forced to increased the monthly minimum wage from 60 Naira to 100 Naira in response to the workers’ demand. The increase in wages did not stop the workers struggles. Many more strikes took place in the following months. More than 100,000 mandays lost were recorded every month between June and December of 1980. For instance, in November 1980, 25,663 workers were involved in 22 strikes and 998,361 mandays lost were recorded.

In February 1981, Hassan Sunmonu was reelected as the NLC president during the NLC National Delegates Conference. David Ojeli, a Vice President of NLC and National President of the Nigerian Civil Service Union, who lost to Sunmonu, formed the ‘ National Committee for Democratic Trade Unionism’ as an opposition fraction in the NLC. He was supported by eight out of 40 unions. The conference agreed that the NLC leaders should demand a monthly minimum wage of 300 Naira and increases in pensions and allowances.

The NLC gave the Federal government an ultimatum and promised to embark on a general strike if its demands were not met by May 11, 1981. On the same day, most unionised workers went on strike.

A 100 per cent response rate was reported in some cities, while in others, the response rate was below 50 per cent. Generally, response rates were higher at points of production where rank and file workers made up the local leadership.

The national strike lasted for two days. About 700,000 workers out of one million unionised workers participated in the strike leading to 1,400,000 mandays lost. The rank and file workers continued the strike until May 18, 1981 when the NLC leadership appealed to them to return to work. The strike was supported by unwaged workers, the unemployed, women, students and the general Nigerian society.

The success of the general strike forced the Federal State to negotiate. In the ensuing negotiation, the NLC agreed to call off the general strike for a 67 per cent increase in the minimum monthly pension rate from 30 Naira to 50 Naira. The transport allowance was increased by five Naira for all grades of workers. The National Assembly promised to set a new minimum wage within 30 days. Car loans and other basic allowances were to be reviewed. No worker was to be penalised for participating in the general strike. On June 1, 1981, the Federal government introduced new income policy guidelines that would limit wage increases by linking it to higher productivity.