45 percent of Nigerian workers are casual workers

Says NLC wants Security overhaul

 

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said on Wednesday that about 45 percent of workers in the country are operating as casual workers with employers in the banking as well as oil and gas sector the major culprit and asked the government not to do anything that will further compound the current precarious employment situation in the country.

The congress also asked the government to overhaul the nation’s security architecture to deal with emerging security threats that are threatening to stifle the current economic recovery and growth especially after the last recession.

Speaking at the 61st Annual General meeting of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), President of Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said Organised Labour will soon visit those employers of Labour that specialized in subjecting Nigerians to unhealthy Labour practices.

In his address read by the General Secretary of Congress, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, the congress said that “a Report by the Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights, 45% of Nigeria’s workforce operates as casual workers. Many employers in the downstream oil and gas and banking sub sectors still indulge in labour casualization. For such employers, we assure you that we will soon be at your doorsteps. We will dare you! We shall win”

The congress asked the federal government to thread carefully on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and ensure robust consultations with labour and employers before ratifying the ACFTA.

It said that the government should ensure that smuggling and false declarations on countries of origin do not stifle local competitiveness of Nigerian businesses if ACFTA is eventually ratified.

The NLC also calls on government to “overhaul our security architecture to deal with emerging security threats that are threatening to stifle the current economic recovery and growth especially after the last recession.

“Many businesses have been shut down in many of the flash point communities as many innocent Nigerians are forced to flee from their homes and take up residence in Internally Displaced Persons Camps scattered all over the country.

“The recent resurgence of Boko Haram insurgency also needs to be tackled. While we commend the Nigerian Armed Forces for the sacrifice and commitment to restore normalcy and peace in different troubled spots in our country, we warn of the dire consequences of allowing the current gloomy security situation in Nigeria to relapse into a political recession.”

The congress said while NECA which is the umbrella body of employers in the country has a strong bond with Nigerian workers, there are still a few employers who have refused to be on the same page with the rest of employers in taking the issue of workers’ rights and entitlements seriously.

The congress said: “Just last week, the Nigeria Labour Congress and its civil society allies took on MTN over several and severe anti-workers policies. It is unfortunate that organized labour was forced to adopt the strategy of picketing against MTN.

Read Also: NLC pickets MTN office in Kano

“For more than five years now, the NLC has been trying to make MTN understand the need to allow its workers to unionize Our position is that MTN cannot reap so much profits from our country and still treat our constitution and labour laws with disdain.

“MTN, unlike its operations elsewhere, has refused to allow its employees the freedom to join trade unions. Efforts by well meaning Nigerians including the leadership of NECA to make MTN realize that it cannot continue to break our laws without consequences failed.

“It is unfortunate that MTN has chosen to be the face of corporate rascality in Nigeria. The Nigeria Labour Congress wishes to advise MTN that it’s poorly thought out script of “industrial apartheid” has died on arrival.

“Having fought from the frontline in the struggle for Nigeria’s independence and having resisted apartheid and neo-colonialism in South Africa and other parts of the Global South, organized labour in Nigeria will remain unwavering in its commitment to uproot every vestige of modern day industrial slavery as being championed by MTN.

“It is very important that we sound a note of warning that last week’s picketing of MTN offices nationwide is only a first service of notice. If MTN refuses to heed the voice of reason and chooses to trudge along a perfidious path, it can be rest assured that Nigerian workers will adopt every legitimate means within its reach to ensure that workers locked up in its concentration camps are freed sooner rather than later.

“MTN is not alone in the practice of casualization of labour and anti-unionization. We wish to remind all employers that our laws allow all workers to exercise their freedom of association to belong to unions of their choice in line with the provisions of ILO Convention 87 and Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Casual workers in our workforce operate under very precarious conditions with near total denial of the benefits associated with permanent and decent work. Nigerian workers can no longer offer their labour to slave drivers whose only interest is profit maximization and capital mobility.

“I wish to reiterate the commitment of organized labour to keep open our warm hands of fellowship to NECA especially given the commitment of many of your members to harmonious industrial relations. We assure you of the commitment of Nigerian workers to continue to give you their best efforts knowing full well that we are all partners in progress for the good of our country, profitable businesses and the betterment of the lives of millions of Nigerian workers who are the hands that turn the wheels of prosperity.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress will continue to stand by NECA in ensuring that we foster a suitable environment for businesses to thrive. It is in this wise that the Nigeria Labour Congress has always taken up strong advocacy and campaigns for laws and policies that improve the ease of doing business.

“We will continue to work with our affiliate unions to ensure that high-handed taxes and tariffs by government are re-negotiated to enable businesses to thrive, ensure workers retain their employment and for government to enjoy sustained revenue.

“Currently, the Nigeria Labour Congress is taking up the issue of the recent 500% hike in the excise duty on alcohol, spirit and tobacco. We are working with our affiliate union in the food, beverages and tobacco sector, the National Union of Food Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), to engage the Federal Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly on this issue.

“We have already submitted a memorandum and made appearances together with NUFBTE at a Public Hearing by the Nigerian Senate on the issue of the hike.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress has adopted a traditional posture against neo-liberal tendencies of successive governments in Nigeria which we believe is extremely hurtful and deleterious to our local enterprises and employers of labour.

“The NLC has also been proactive and vocal on the need for government to improve on critical national infrastructure. It would be foolhardy to continue to depend on generators to run our economy and expect robust competitiveness and sustained growth. The truth is that we cannot continue to operate a 19th century infrastructure and expect to experience a 21st century economy.”

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