By Ibrahim Adam

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, carry out some bold reforms, robust fiscal and monetary policy actions to reduce the number of Nigerians, who may be pushed into poverty and acts of criminality.

Its President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, stated this over the weekend at the World Day for Decent Work, organised by the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) in Lagos.

Olaleye said: “Nigeria is a mono-economy; hence the collapse of international oil prices has been monumental. It has destabilised the macroeconomic balances, thereby further increasing the number of Nigerians living in poverty.”

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He called on employers in the public and private sectors to give attention to human resource as it remains one of the critical ways to bring back economic growth and build a new global economy.

ASSBIFI President Comrade Olasanoye Oyinkansola, in her address, said decent work for workers must be the foundation for recovery plans, adding that financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains the best framework for resilience.

“Towards attaining the New Social Contract for Recovery and Resilience in line with the dictates of the post-COVID-19 workplace, employers in the financial sector are compelled to adopt new rules to remain relevant in their place of work.

“These rules include alternate work days arrangement to comply with physical distance protocol, remote work, virtual meetings, seminars and conferences via Weimar, zoom, telegram, among others,” she said.

Olasanoye said to enhance recovery, the country must build a tripartite social contract, involving the workers, employers and government, on how best to withstand the aftermath of the pandemic using the contract as a foundation.