The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has elected a new leadership. TOBA AGBOOLA spoke to some Nigerians on their expectations.
Dr Oyerinde, Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA)
The new Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) must go into deep consultation, collaboration and social dialogue
We congratulate Comrade Ajaero and the new leadership. We expect that he and the new team will continue in the tradition of excellence, social dialogue, collaboration and partnership that has been established by the founding fathers of the Labour movement. The need to deepen Social Partners engagement cannot be over-emphasised as we all face and confront socio-economic issues that threaten our collective survival as employers and workers. We trust that Ajaero’s tenure will usher in more reforms and his contributions fundamental to the achievement of a stable and functional industrial relations system in Nigeria.
Prince Billy Harry, President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN)
NLC is expected to pursue the welfare of the workers.
I want to congratulate the new NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero and the entire leadership. It is very important that the Organised Labour stay united. The new leadership must ensure that there is unity within them.The new leadership must give room for meaningful deliberations with governments and stakeholders.
They must structure the union in a way that it will pursue the welfare of the entire workers. They must not politicise issues, reach out to work workers and identify their challenges.
I also expected the new leadership to deeply look into the issue of new minimum wage. It is long over due. Before they embark on any mission, they are expected to do a proper consultation get results.
Lastly, the NLC leadership should act as watchdog to all organs of government . Once again, I congratulate the new leadership
Sunday Odedeyi, Lecturer/Political Analyst
NLC should act as watchdog to the organs of government.
We expected a non-partisan leadership that will hold the political class accountable in both the federal and state level .
A leadership that will hold the governors accountable for the welfare of the people workers in their state. Leadership that will ensure implementation of local government autonomy. To check the unscrupulous activities of foreign-owned companies and see to the welfare of Nigerians working in foreign companies .
Mr Dawudu Micheal Olusegun, lecturer/public analyst
NLC is expected to start on the need new minimum wage for workers.
The new NLC President, Mr Joe Ajaero, is a veteran labour activist and leader who has fought for the rights of workers. He’s well-respected in labour circles.The average minimum expectation of the worker from the new NLC team led by Ajaero is the protection of the rights of the average worker, be it in public or private employment. The most auspicious time for the defence of the rights of the worker is with the socioeconomic and financial challenges confronting the average worker.
The world over, the worker is saddled with humongous and vicious inflationary impact on his or her wages in a way never seen before. For the worker, it is the more evident in his wages, emoluments and the general condition of service.
Mr Ajaero has his work cut out for him. The issue of fixing the minimum wage falls under the exclusive list of the Federal Government to which every other tier of government is obligated in complying with. The N30,000 minimum wage was worked out by the Buhari government and it’s unfortunate that many state governments are yet to implement this.
Ajaero has to start from there and, thereafter, work his way up to much bigger issues to help the worker. It’s a daunting task with dwindling government revenues. With his new team, that’s the least they can do for the average worker.
Mr Edmund Onwuliri, civil servant
NLC must not be seen as an appendage of the government.
“Over time, it has been said that the leadership of NLC is an appendage or an extension of the government in power. I think that this notion is the aggregate of the views of a number of committed workers. The expectation is that NLC should be seen as being independent; being able to not just be a watchdog but also work with the government in making the life of Nigerians better not otherwise, particularly those who are workers.
“We expect the new leadership of NLC to position the Congress as an independent pan-Nigerian organisation that does not need to tell workers and Nigerians where it stands but whose actions will define and showcase its place and position in Nigeria. Protection of the interests of workers should evidently be paramount to this new NLC leadership.
“If you look at what is happening in Nigeria, one is tempted to ask, is it that NLC has lost its voice to call government’s attention to the sufferings of workers and Nigerians by extension or that it can no longer take action to cause the government to ameliorate the suffering of workers?
“The independence of the labour movement should be guaranteed and sacrosanct; it must never be compromised. The new leadership of NLC must never be an appendage of the government or an oh yes organisation to the government.”
Mr Ameh Ejekwoyilo, media expert
NLC should live up to its name.
“I think the new leadership of NLC has a lot on its table in terms of rejuvenating public confidence and trust in the NLC. NLC, as the largest labour union in Africa, ought to live up to that space it occupies. I am convinced that within the last decade, if not more, the NLC leadership has not lived up to the expectations of workers and Nigerians at large. The impression of Nigerians is that the NLC leadership often sells out at the most critical time.
“Look at the kind of mess that we have found ourselves in Nigeria lately. I am talking about the fuel scarcity and naira redesign policy. Of course, if the NLC was up and doing, it would have been able to interface with the government and see how these issues can be resolved in the interest of workers who are suffering so much owing to these two issues.
“We are expecting the new leadership of NLC to first rebuild the trust and confidence of the affiliate unions in the Congress, as Mr Ajaero in his speech promised. Then chart a common front to tackle the injustice that has deprived workers their human rights; that should be the first thing he has to do. Of course, there is always room for dialogue and negotiations between the government and the NLC but it should not be at the detriment of the workers.”
Comrade Sylvester Nwaiwu, National Chairman, Contribution Pension Scheme, Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP)
Lay emphasis on contributory pension issues.
“Our expectation from the newly emerged National Executive Council of NLC led by Comrade Joe Ajaero is that they should lay emphasis on the contributory pension in Nigeria. It has never happened at any time that a country is running two parallel pension regimes. That is what we are having in the country today, different from the agreements the government as employers reached with workers.
“We expect Comrade Ajaero to emphasise the need to correct anomalies in the contributory pension scheme sector. Pensioners are suffering. The Federal Government hardly knows if there is anything called contributory pensioners. For instance, what we call pension increase that’s supposed to come every five years or when salaries increase, whichever comes first, from 2007 when retirees started emerging under the contributory pension scheme, the Federal Government has not paid a dime to any contributory pension. But from 2007 till date, including the 2019 increment arising from the national minimum wage, every pensioner under the old defined benefit scheme has benefited from that leaving those of us under the contributory pension scheme uncatered for.
“It is a very big job before the new leadership. And the earlier they start paying attention to that, the better for everyone because those of them in the office today will become pensioners tomorrow, including the president himself.”