WHEN THAT HALF BREAD BECOMES BAD

When I hear that workers are going on strike because they haven’t been paid salaries, it baffles me a lot because I feel a country like Nigeria where we have a lot of associations representing member’s interest shouldn’t experience such, but again this is Nigeria where most people are afraid of fighting for their right. I really don't understand why people would work and won’t get paid, isn’t that absurd? 

I have tried to be quiet on this issue but the recent news about states owing WAEC has forced my hands to the keyboard hence the typing of the article began. First, it was governors owing the state workers, the most noticeable has been Osun State. I read about the strike action that took place in Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife because they haven’t been able to pay the non academic staff for about 64 months.

Whenever I hear issues concerning employers owing their employees three months salaries or more and the workers are still going to work it makes me angry, I mean why work if you won’t get paid but hey! This is Nigeria where the government would threaten you with the “no work no pay policy”. Then again I ask the question “why do you have to keep working without been paid?  If the government want us to follow the policy of no work no pay then they should always be ready to pay us as at when due and this is where I blame the so called formed association that assume they are protecting the interest of their members and yet they won’t act when issues like this arise. 

I am not sure if you haven’t taken note of it but I can say authoritatively that practically all the government parastatals have associations, I mean why wouldn’t they when even residence of streets do have associations how much more a body that works for the government. Typically I am not a fan of associations because I see it as an avenue for someone to get rich and have more influence over the other members though I know that is not what the definition of an association means but that is exactly what is happening in my dear country Nigeria.  The core values of forming an association is no longer what most leaders of associations hold dear instead they are more concerned about the power and influence they would get by heading the association s.

Let take the case of Ife for example, there is an association that represents the interest of the non academic staffs of the school and that is the Non Academic Staff Union of University (NASUU), this association is a nationwide association and has members if not all but mostly all university in Nigeria. Now my question is this “what was the NASUU Chapter of Ife doing that it allowed its members to be owed more than 12months salaries?” I know members of the body working in the school might be afraid of sack or query but what actions did the NASUU take to prevent such wicked act to happen to its members, I know some would argue that they went on a strike to show their dismay at the situation but the question is why wait that long? 

This kind of action is what I call medicine after death, it was clear the money wasn't going to come anytime soon so why didn't you go on strike after the first 3 or let me say 6 months of not getting paid? Why didn't they start the protest the moment the salary wasn't coming in why wait for over 12months before embarking on a strike? When a worker starts any work there is an agreement that says that after 30 days you get paid unless it is stated otherwise so if that is the case why should I wait more than 365 days to get paid? I mean let reverse the case let say you tell your employer you won’t be coming to work for the next three month what do you think would happen? Unless you are going on a vacation you would get fired on the spot or the employer won’t pay you for that three month, so why do you have to wait for 64months before going on a strike action to voice your anger? I think we need to know that once we agree to work for someone especially government agencies and parastatal you have entered into a legal contract that says that you work for a period of 30 days of a month and get paid at the end of the that month unless it stated otherwise by your employer and you also agree to it.

The development and growth of an economy depends on how well its labour force is been treated, yes unemployment in Nigeria is very high and that is another factor that would make workers go to work when he/she hasn’t been paid for more than six months because like we say “half bread is better than none” but I keep asking “what if that half bread is bad? As Nigerians we have this mentality that It is better you have a job that they don't pay you all your entitlement regularly than you not having a job at all which is totally wrong yet again there is no job security so you still stick to your half bread is better than none even if that half bread is not good.

We need to understand that the labour force/market of a country is the most powerful aspect of the nation and you have the right to hold the nation to a ransom if they nation isn’t treating you right.