The gathering of workers’ unions were promised that the heydays of the Nigeria Labour Congress will be restored. Today, the leadership of NLC under Comrade Joe Ajaero, has begun a mission to form a stronger bond between affiliate unions and the Congress. CHRISTIAN APPOLOS, brings insight.
Apparently, the feeling that workers’ rights and entitlements are greatly trampled upon and treated as less priority by successive governments in Nigeria, sets in play the motion to form a formidable bond within themselves to pursue and protect their members’ interest. Perhaps, it might also be the name calling in some quarters that: ‘NLC is a toothless bulldog’.
On the other hand, it might be the myriad of pressing issues affecting workers’ condition of service and the constant wailings of affiliate unions about unfair labour treatment by the Federal and State governments, that spurred the current leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to re-entrench in practicality; a popular mantra: ‘injury to one is injury to all’, within the labour movement in the country.
Moreover, the International Labour Standard championed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), encourage workers across the world to unionise and form a strong bond in order to have a better chance when negotiating with their employers. This is importantly to maintain balance in the world of work in regard to the protection of workers’ rights and promotion of their interests against unfair labour treatment by either government or private sector employers.
These therefore must be the reason the President of the Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, in his inauguration speech on February 8, 2023, vowed to re-unite and form a formidable bond between NLC and its affiliate unions to defend the interest of workers and Nigerians at large. And today, the game seems to be on.
Note that the affiliate unions of the NLC are 53 in number. And they the Nigeria Labour Congress’ backbone and strength. In fact, they are the main reason the Congress prides itself a pan-Nigerian organisation, whose only interest is a better country for the citizens.
To kickstart what the Congress termed familiarisation and galvanisation tour, Comrade Ajaero and his delegates first visited the affiliate unions whose headquarters are in Lagos, while the visit to unions with head offices in Abuja started on Monday 22 May, 2023. The Amalgamatied Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreation Services Employees (AUPCTRE), was the first union visited in Abuja.
The visit continued till Friday 27 May, 2023, to the following unions; the Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education, Nigeria (SSUCOEN), Nigeria Union of Public Service Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processing and Allied Workers (NUPSRAW), Senior Staff of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU). More unions will be visited by the delegates very soon, information revealed.
All the unions visited presented their challenges, ranging from government’s lackadaisical attitude to improving facilities, condition of working environment, implementation of agreements, refusal to paid withheld salaries that accrued during strike action, minimum wage, poor funding of education sector, poor remuneration of workers monthly salaries, unfair treatment of some Director Generals and Chief Executives and so on.
In his reactions to the unions at the various meetings, the NLC President praised the unions and pledged the commitment of the Congress’ new leadership to working for them. He went further to assured the unions that issues affecting their members are on the top priority list of the Labour Centre. Ajaero noted that it is the statutory duty and responsibility of the Nigeria Labour Congress to fight for the interest of the affiliate unions. He added that without the unions, NLC will not exist, therefore the NLC under his leadership must pay serious attention to the challenges facing the unions.
Furthermore, Comrade Ajaero stated that NLC under his watch has decided to form a stronger bond among the unions under its umbrella. He added that such bond will help the Congress and its affiliate unions resurrect their fighting spirit for workers rights and interest, as well as in negotiation with employers and in taking industrial action as the case may be.
“ Without the unions there is no NLC, the strength of the unions translate to the strength of the NLC. The unions own NLC. Therefore the unity of labour unions is a priority for us. We need to be more united and form a stronger bond in the interest of the rights of our teeming members across Nigeria. As you know, nothing has every been given to us on a platter of gold. Everything entitlement and implementation of our rights our members enjoy today was gotten through firm demand and struggle. That’s why we say “the struggle must continue”.
He added; “That is why we decided that one good thing we must to do under our watch is to make NLC a proactive labour centre. We want to make NLC a fighting machine. No apology to any human being, whether a governor or president. If you step on our toes, within 2 hours, we start the fight. Some people will say Ajaero is a mad man but it doesnt matter.
“Today, there are concerns that unions no longer fight, state councils no longer fight or to sustain a fight. Whether it is true or not, the fact is that if we stop fighting, unions will go into extinction. You don’t beg your oppressor, begging your oppressor will worsen your situation. It is apparently that some oppressors through their attacks have succeeded in weaken some of our state chapters and even some national unions, but we will change the situation. And that is why we are here. We are poised to galvanize and re-trench the fighting spirit of labour movement to enable us withstand the challenges ahead.
“The ILO is championing a decent work agenda and a new social contract in the interest of bettering the world of work and living condition of workers and the society at large, and we a tripartite component of labour governance must prepare ourselves and be ready to play our path. For us in Africa and Nigeria in particular, government hardly on their own come up with ideas and policies that will better the living and working conditions of workers. We must only be lamenting, we must rather strengthen ourselves to be able to engage government in the interest of workers and the citizens at large.”
The NLC president reiterated; “We will not here and lamenting, therefore we are not ashamed of fighting the battles of our members. We want a government that Nigerians will enjoy and this level of under-development will stop. Because what we are seeing is that Nigeria is under-developing. The country is rescinding everywhere owing to government poor policies and implementation attitude.
“You can imagine a situation where some State governors are refusing to pay a meager N30,00 minimum wage passed into law since 2019. You begin the wonder the kind of human beings we entrusted the leadership of our country and future in their hands. This same people lavishes our common wealth, monies meant to pay workers’ salaries, do developmental projects and secure our lives and properties; dividends of good governance, in personal gratifications. Yet they always find a way to play victim whenever workers’ unions protest against unfair labour treatment either through street match or strike. We must not allow them continue, while we just lament and laments.”
Also, Ajaero charged affiliate unions to take the issue of politics very serious. He hinted that its high time labour unions and members supported and vote fellow trade unions members into political office positions, so they can have a voice in the decision making of government, especially on labour related issues. He explained that it will be difficult for a trade unionist who is elected to govern a State to less prioritize payment of salaries and pensions.
He further urge unions to train and retrain their members to understand tenets of labour movement, labour laws and to be bold to front challenges confronting workers and unions. He then told each union visited to bring forth the pressing issues they want NLC’s intervention on for further discussion, and action plan.
