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Unity & Solidarity With Health & University Strikes – together we can defeat Bola T-Pain

November 2, 2024

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In the last week of October, workers in two vital social sectors were on strike against the government’s austerity measures. Health workers, united in JOHESU, and university non-academic staff of NASU and SSANU are fighting against the government’s failure to adequately fund health and education. With robust solidarity from across the labour movement these trade unions can defeat Bola T-Pain’s austerity measures.

The Tinubu Government has inflicted untold pain and hunger on the popular classes for nearly a year and a half. The World Bank and IMF are celebrating the government’s full adherence to their recommendations. Their hope is that this austerity will bring greater profitability to the Nigerian economy and so attract foreign direct investment. Bola T-Pain’s promise is that this additional wealth will trickle down to the poor majority.

Unfortunately, the evidence does not confirm this hope. Especially over the 15 years to 2015, the Nigerian economy grew massively. But at the same time the real value of the minimum wage reduced significantly and poverty increased massively.

Economic growth is built into the core workings of capitalism. But this is never enough to ensure prosperity for all. The free market, neoliberal policies adopted by Bola T-Pain’s Government always lead to greater inequality – further wealth for the already rich, corrupt elite and greater hunger for the rest of us. The World Bank and IMF say that these policies should continue for the next 15 years for the benefits to be realized.

Nearly 50 years after Margaret Thatcher came to power, the new British government is still repeating the same mantra. Austerity and poverty now, with the promise of wealth for the many in the future. This is the same promise that the ANC has been making in South Africa since Nelson Mandela came to power 30 years ago. All this time the wealth never trickled down to the masses, but gushed up to the corrupt elite.

It is only robust united trade union action that can change this scenario. We need unity and solidarity with the health and university workers to achieve their specific demands and to win our more general demands for:

• a decent minimum wage with annual increments in line with inflation; with full implementation of the new minimum wage as soon as possible

• payment of all salary and pension arrears in states and payment of proper palliatives

• reversal of school and tuition fee hikes and the introduction of a maximum affordable fee level