Amid the clamour by organised Labour for an upward review of workers’ wages, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has said wage increase would have little or no economic impact on the living condition of Nigerians at this point of hyperinflation in the country.
He said Labour should rather focus on the purchasing power of the Naira, adding that possessing more money does not translate to improved quality life.
Recall that following the demand by Labour, the federal government set up a tripartite committee to address the issue.
Adebayo however said it is not the volume of money in one’s hands that matters but what the money can buy.
He said: “There are things we need to understand in basic economics. Having more money does not guarantee you anything. Everybody who’s living today has more money than Julius Caesar. Anybody who’s living today has more money because at that time, the entire British economy was not up to one billion pounds for the first 1000 years of her existence. Purchasing power is what is important.
“So, what we should focus on is what the money can buy, not the volume of money that is with the minimum wage. How much was my father earning when he married my mother? He was not earning 20,000 pounds at that time a year. So, now can you pay anybody 20,000 a week and the person will not curse you?”
He argued that what is needed is to increase productivity so that the purchasing power of the Naira will be strengthened and workers will enjoy whatever amount they receive as the minimum wage.
“But, you have to increase the volume of housing available. You have to increase the volume of foodstuff available. You have to increase the number of classrooms available. You have to increase the spaces available for productivity by making sure you ramp up production,” he said.
Adebayo noted that the organised labour does not represent the interest of a greater number of Nigerians as only a few Nigerians belong to the organisation.
He said: “As for organised labour, they are a subset of the Nigerian political class. They don’t represent the workers. I am not saying that to insult the present leadership or anything. No, it is just the structural part of it. Before you can be a member of the NLC or the TUC, you must have a job. And there are more people without jobs than people with jobs.”
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