Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday took on federal government, saying the failure of government to respect collective bargaining agreement was the reason for incessant strikes in the country, including the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The labour Union also expressed worry over the poor state of health system and the hardship it said the government has meted on the people.
The President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba who spoke at the 2022 May Day Commemoration in Abuja Sunday, said ” as we celebrate this May Day, our university students are at home as a result of strike action caused by the failure of government to respect collective bargaining agreement reached With university workers.
“We have already issued an ultimatum to government to resolve this national embarrassment, or they will have all of us to contend with.
” We are fully mobilised to resist a system a system of social apartheid that keeps the children the children of the poor at home, while the children of the rich are in school “.
The organised Labour said the will not wash to see politicians pull the country down with policies that are injurious to Nigerian workers, calling workers to enter the political ring and engage more vigorously with the questions of the collective survival as a people and as working class who produce the wealth that the political class squanders at whim.
According to president of NLC, ” the absence of serious engagement by our professional political class with the real issues that defines our lives and set the limits of decent living even as the campaign s for the 2923 general elects gets underway should alert and alarm Nigerians workers.
‘Instead of engaging the issues of physical insecurity, social protection, decent wages, unemployment and poverty eradication, fixing the security, our politicians are more interested in zoning of political offices and threatening the peace of our country which is already greatly imperilled.
” Clearly, it is a failed political class that would wish to keep the masses, workers and the daily sicio economic struggles we face as footnotes in the 2023 political agenda”.
In his address, the Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo hinged on the theme of the day, ” Labour, politics and the quest for good governance and development in Nigeria”, saying the present administration is committed to deliver good governance in the country.
“We are committed to doing much more. No Nigerian, especially one who contributes to the development of the nation by way of labour, should be denied primary health care because of affordability. Currently, only workers in organized labour benefit from the current health insurance system. Our goal is universal health care, to fund it we must look beyond our meagre Federal and State budgets the answer is compulsory insurance coverage for all Nigerians.
“Our focus is not only on the health of those currently in the workforce; we are also concerned about our senior citizens who spent their prime in service. There is absolutely no reason why any retiree should go into debt or be unable to access healthcare in retirement. This is why the Federal Ministry of Health has established a Ministerial Committee whose mandate is to come up with a framework for the provision of Health Insurance coverage for our retired senior citizens. I must mention here after 15 years of stagnation that we have now reviewed the hazard allowance for doctors and other health workers. The circular to that effect has now been released and it is with effect from December 2021.
“We will also expand and deepen implementation of the Employee Compensation Act so that workers all over the country receive compensation for injuries suffered in the line of duty and in the case of death, their dependents are adequately compensated.
“We must continue to take care of our people, especially when they are no longer active. No society has achieved appreciable levels of development without looking out for the older demographic of its population, especially those who have faithfully served the country.
“No one should go into retirement worrying about how they will make ends meet. It is because of this that last year, the Federal Government implemented an upward review of pensions under the Defined Benefit Scheme, in line with the review of the National Minimum Wage. Through PTAD, we have been able to fully liquidate inherited liabilities of many defunct agencies and companies, and settle significant portions of the few that are yet to be fully liquidated.
“Today, many civil service retirees, retirees of these defunct organizations and their next-of-kin have been able to collect their outstanding arrears and benefits. We will continue to prioritize reforms that ease the process of applying and receiving pensions and retirement benefits.
“However, we must recognize that the quest to give practical meaning to our Constitution’s promise of inclusion will take time. The lesson of history, the world over, is that structural inequities are not dismantled in one day. As members of the labour movement, you belong to a tendency that has been involved in the most consequential struggles of our history. You understand that the struggle for social justice, equity and fairness is an inter-generational one but each generation writes its own chapter of progress. Just as it took time to win our independence from colonial rule and just as it took time to establish democratic governance, we are moving steadily and surely towards a more progressive Nigeria.
“We are not unmindful of the anxieties of our children and their parents who are plagued by thoughts of an uncertain future as they stay home because their universities have been shut by an industrial action. I appeal to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the broader labour community to seek the path of dialogue. Disagreement and debate have always been part of the relationship between labour and the government. Even as we disagree today, we must not do so as mortal adversaries but as members of the same progressive family. We both want the same thing – a country that works for all and offers each citizen a fair deal – even if occasionally we differ on how to achieve this goal. But at all times, we have through dialogue found a path forward. It in this spirit that I call on ASUU to embrace dialogue with the Government and I call on the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to help facilitate a resolution of this dispute through dialogue. I believe that we can find a path forward in good faith. And this is what we will do.
“Finally, the progressive vision of inclusive growth and shared prosperity requires a revolution in our national productivity and our work ethic. On the part of government, this means ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to work, achieve productive personhood and participate in the development of their communities. But beyond this, it means that we must as a people commit to an ethos of high productivity and innovation, and of using technology to transform the way we work and do business. We cannot achieve this without a workforce that is attuned to optimizing our possibilities.
“Nations are built by people. And Nigeria is being built through the everyday honest toil of hardworking Nigerians – men and women like you gathered here today. You keep the engines of our country running despite the challenges we face. You are the strength and the hope of our nation. Whatever heights of greatness we achieve as a people will be because of your contributions to our national enterprise. I therefore urge you, as fellow progressives, to make common cause with us as we prepare to write the next chapter of Nigeria’s progress. And that future is here and it is bright
“Confronted with insecurity we are re-engineering our security architecture with greater focus on technology and modern force multiplier platforms
“We will achieve effective broadband connectivity for all by 2025, we remove the yokes of over regulation, multiple taxation and poor infrastructure from the necks of our private sector so as to unleash their productivity, we will establish a technology economy that will leverage on our broadband connectivity for all, encourage tech companies to train more tech engineers and …..surpass every nation in terms of the quantum and quality of tech talent, we will crack the power conundrum, by decentralizing the national grid system ….provide alternative grids with private sector investments , we will reengineer our educational curriculum to provide relevant education for the new jobs and opportunities of the 21st century…working with the States we will ensure compulsory free basic education for all children male and female.
“We will build on the Social Investment Programmes to a full scale social welfare programme. We have the talent, the resources , the resourcefulness, the resilience and the faith to do all these and more in a few short years. But we must decisively defeat the anarchists and terrorists, unite and heal our people and let a United and powerful country attain its manifest destiny. God Almighty has heard Nigeria’s prayers these many years and it is time to go forward and achieve.
“I ask that all working men and women, pensioners and veterans of the labour movement rise up to the occasion with our administration.
On his part, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige urged the organised labour to continue to eliminate actions inimical to the quest for good governance and development in Nigeria.
Ngige particularly appealed to labour to embrace acclaimed instruments of consensus building in times of differing opinions, rather than debilitating actions that lead to complications, such as loss of mandays and decreased productivity that threaten the existence of the enterprise and result in job losses. He frowned at the situation where strike is always the first option considered by unions in pressing home thier demands.
Speaking on the theme of this year’s celebration, “Labour, Politics and the Quest for Good Governance and Development in Nigeria,” Ngige noted that the rights emanating from employment relationship are reciprocal, pointing out that government in addition to being the “competent authority” in tripartism, is also an employer.
He explained that Article 2 of the ILO Convention offers workers and employers protection against any acts of interference by each other or each other’s agents or members in their establishment, adding that the principle of reciprocity must be respected.
In quest for good governance according to the Minister, trade unions must not dictate the manner government runs its business, just as the government shouldn’t interfer in the internal affairs of trade unions. He noted that the current administration has been faithful to this principle of labour relations.
Ngige described the theme for this year’s May Day as very apt with the next general elections around the corner and the electoral processes gathering momentum to usher in “new servants” for the country.
Urging the unions to use the opportunity to mainstream the yearnings of workers, he added, “but one wonders, however, the extent trade unionism and politics could cohabitate and interrelate. I am aware though there could be a parallel progressive linear interrelationship between trade unionism and the body politics.
“In building and sustaining the interrelationship, we also know that trade unions representing workers and voicing the needs and aspirations of those workers could be partners with the government in determination and application of the economic and social policies by utilizing social dialogue as a veritable instrument to forge new social pacts at times of socio-economic upheaval .”
In spite, the Minister reminded unions that it is illegal except where expressly stated in the union’s rules to use its dues to fund political activities.
“Freedom of Association is closely bound up with respect for civil liberties, however, we note that there is a distinction between the exercise of such rights and matters that could impair Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
“Our national Labour Laws recognize this distinction and provide that no Trade Union dues shall be applied for political purposes except if the registered rules of the Trade Union so allows.
“However, Trade Unions’ political relevance is most needed for good governance of the nation, for that is the main anchor for Labour Administration, social dialogue, social justice, equity, and decent work.
As the world gradually exit from the socio-economic challenges of COVID-19 Pandemic which affected businesses especially small and medium enterprises globally, Ngige noted that the informal economy was the worst hit in Nigeria. He however added that Government had in response set up a number of social programmes to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
“We join the global community to affirm our zeal and determination to as much as possible, build ‘forward better’ that which the pandemic took from humanity. We recognize all the global declarations and blue prints for development such as the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 which is a development blueprint to achieve inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development in the African Continent over a span of time; the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity; and the United Nations ‘Our Common Agenda’ which is an agenda of action, designed to strengthen and accelerate multilateral agreements – particularly the SDGs 2030 Agenda – and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
“These are all political Instruments for good governance and development which the Trade Union movement could key into in partnership with the government and build a nation we can all acclaim as ‘good’.”
