Salute to the worker

On this day throughout the world, organized demonstrations and street marches take place to celebrate workers’ rights that have been won over the years and also highlight their plight. This year, Nigerian workers are marking the occasion under the shadow of a schism in the umbrella labour platform, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which unfortunately […]

On this day throughout the world, organized demonstrations and street marches take place to celebrate workers’ rights that have been won over the years and also highlight their plight. This year, Nigerian workers are marking the occasion under the shadow of a schism in the umbrella labour platform, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which unfortunately has broken into two factions following disputed elections.
 Full time employees have certain enforceable legal rights, which include the right to written terms of employment, to earn a decent wage, not have illegal deductions made from salary, to a paid holiday, to time off for union activities, to paid maternity leave, not to be discriminated against, and to a notice of dismissal. These rights were won after bitter and sometimes bloody struggles, and May Day, as the day is also known, is a reminder of those who made sacrifices in furtherance of that quest and the fact that the fight for worker rights is a never-ending process.
Conditions for workers in Nigeria are far from the ideal as many of these rights exist only on paper. Indeed, poor remuneration and late payments are a norm. Although national employment laws such as the Labour Act 1974, Trade Unions Act 1973, Trade Disputes Act 1976, Factories Act 1987 and Workmen’s Compensation Act 1987 are outdated and need updating, they remain the extant laws. But only an employee who no longer desires to remain in employment would try and enforce his rights or take his employer to the appropriate agency for contravening employment laws. Many Nigerian workers are not conversant with the details of our labour laws and do not know their rights, the employers tend to get away with trampling on the rights of the worker.  Inhumane working conditions, long working hours, lack of medical facilities and casualization of labour are common practices in many foreign firms operating in the country. Some indigenous firms are involved too.  This mode of employment allows employers to escape penalties of the provisions of labour laws that refer to full time staff.  
 In other countries, labour unions place their weight behind the left-wing or socialist parties which are dedicated, at least in their manifestoes, to uplifting workers’ welfare. In Nigeria there are no such distinguishing ideological bents among the political parties. Activists for human and workers’ rights are regular victims of official harassment, arrests and premature retirement from the service. The National Assembly has passed an Occupational Safety and Health Bill to deal with such matters, but the President has yet to assent to it, although practices in this area have been identified as being some of the main causes of institutional corruption in the country.
Leadership squabbles in the NLC have led to a severely weakened central labour movement in Nigeria in recent years. The outgoing government made the right decision when it announced the recognition of one the factions led by Mr Ayuba Wabba. Given the outcome of the recent NLC delegates’ conference, which was marred by ballot box snatching, and the subsequent election that followed, it makes sense that a move towards reconciling the factions is made in the interest of the workers and also for a stable working environment in the country.  
This is necessary in view of the crucial role that central labour leadership plays in many potential conflict areas in worker interaction with the government and private sector. The recent decision by the government to put a stop to fuel subsidy is one of such areas. The national minimum wage, considered as being ridiculously low, will be further devalued by the expected removal of such subsidy, further providing cause for worker agitation. Today should therefore provide the occasion to unify the NLC, which would then be in a position to provide direction to the Nigerian workers and represent their interests in talks with the government and other employers of labour.