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Tag: labour

  • Labour blows hot again

    Labour blows hot again

    ‘Battle’ is its undeclared name, and so you never find the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chilling for too long without calling a fight. Sometimes, though, you wonder if the fight being called makes sense in the circumstance.

    The congress has announced plans to stage a nationwide protest on Wednesday, December 17, over insecurity in the country. In a communiqué last Monday at the end of its national executive council meeting in Lagos, it deplored heightened level of insecurity across the land, including the recent abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi that it described as alarming.

    The communiqué signed by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, condemned the abductions and killing of school staff during the incident and criticised reported withdrawal of security personnel from the affected school just before the attack. It called on government to secure all schools, particularly those in remote and vulnerable areas, and demanded immediate investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the security lapses.

    Among other things, the congress warned that failure by government to address insecurity and other pressing national issues could lead to escalated industrial actions across various sectors, including health and education. It made clear that workers’ safety and welfare remained a top priority in NLC’s advocacy, promising that the planned protest would be peaceful but resolute and aimed at compelling the government to act decisively. The congress also urged state governments and security agencies to intensify measures to protect vulnerable communities, particularly schools and students, warning that continued neglect could undermine national stability.

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    At the opening of the NEC meeting penultimate Thursday, Ajaero argued that Nigerians had endured enough, and it was time to put a stop to killings by criminal bandits and terrorists. “We are going to declare nationwide protests of mourning to demand an end to the killings. We will also demand to know who ordered the withdrawal of soldiers before the Kebbi school children were abducted,” he said.

    While Labour’s concern is perfectly legitimate, you would wonder what value a nationwide protest at this time would add to national quest for a remedy. As of now, the Kebbi schoolgirls referenced by the congress are out of the abductors’ hold and other abductees are also being gotten out, although by installments. There have been changes made in the security hierarchy, with a new Minister of Defence just settling to work. Ideally, he needs some space to get to grips with expectations. Besides, since the designation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Personal Concern’ by United States President Donald Trump, there has been heightened attention to security matters as makes any extraneous effort to call attention to the same issue totally superfluous.

    NLC, with its protest, will be making some noise just for the sake of it. There’s no end it will be serving that the Trump effect hasn’t more than served.

  • LP loses another Reps member to APC

    LP loses another Reps member to APC

    Another member of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives, Sunday Umahia, has joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). 

    Umehia, who represents Ezeagu/Udi federal Constituency of Enugu State, said he was leaving the LP because of the protracted crisis that has given rise to three different factions laying claim to the leadership of the party. 

    In his letter of defection read at plenary by the Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Umehia said Senator Nenadi Usman, Barrister Julius Abure and Alhaji Lamidi Apapa have continued to lay claim to the leadership of the party, while members are at a loss as to who they should defer to. 

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    He said he has resolved to join the APC and team up with the President and the leadership of the APC to provide leadership for the country and the South East in particular. 

    However, Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda said the constant defection of legislators is making a mockery of democracy in the country, saying the practice in the National Assembly appears confusing. 

    He said the time has come to take another look at the constitutional provision on defection and amend it to safeguard democracy in the country, while asking the Speaker to exercise his constitutional power to declare the seat of the defectors vacant. 

    He said further that the Supreme Court has put to an amend to the leadership crisis in the Labour Party and therefore can no longer be relied upon for defection because the Supreme Court judgement has settled the issue. 

    He also drew attention of the House to its standing order especially as it deals with the leadership of House standing committees which provides that leadership of committees are appointed on party basis. 

    He said those who have defected should be made to vacate their leadership position in committees while the parties theyblerr should be allowed to nominate a replacement for them. 

  • FG prioritises gender in labour reforms

    FG prioritises gender in labour reforms

    The Federal Government has announced that gender mainstreaming will be a key guiding principle in its ongoing labour reforms.

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Muhammad Dingyadi, made this known while delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Senior Officers’ Conference of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, on Monday in Keffi.

    The conference is themed, “Reforming Labour Administration System in Nigeria.”

    Dingyadi stated that integrating gender considerations into labour reforms would ensure equal access to employment opportunities for women and vulnerable groups, free from discrimination.

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    He added that other core principles of the reform included strengthening institutional capacity, digitising service delivery, enhancing tripartite collaboration, improving occupational safety and health coverage, and reinforcing accountability and compliance mechanisms.

    Speaking further, the minister said the conference theme not only reflected the ministry’s current priorities but also aligned with the national goal of leveraging human capital for sustainable development and global competitiveness.

    He noted that changing global work patterns, technological innovation, demographic shifts, climate change, and globalisation were reshaping the workplace, including how, where, and when people work.

    Dingyadi emphasised the need for the ministry to adapt to the changes by building a resilient, inclusive, and transparent labour administration system that met the demands of modern Nigeria.

    He described the conference as a timely opportunity to reflect, reset, and renew commitment to decent work and equitable labour practices.

    Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Salihu Usman, highlighted the need for Nigeria to re-evaluate its labour system to keep pace with global changes.

    He stressed that technological advancements such as Artificial Intelligence and emerging workplace trends had transformed the world of work, and the conference presented a platform to reposition Nigeria’s labour administration accordingly.

    (NAN)

  • Labour urges Tinubu, NASS to reverse emergency rule in Rivers

    Labour urges Tinubu, NASS to reverse emergency rule in Rivers

    Organised Labour in Rivers has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to reverse the ongoing emergency rule in the state.

    The Labour in a statement signed by the  Chairperson, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Alex Agwangwo; Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ikechukwu Onyekwuru and JNC, Emecheta, described the declaration as premature and baseless.

    Labour said the emergency had impacted the local government workers, who according the union had yet to receive their salaries and had been exposed to avoidable economic hardship.

    The union said considering the strategic importance of River economy and the Niger Delta region, the state of emergency had the potential to negatively impact the country.

    The claimed that the state of emergency put the state at a disadvantaged position as potential investors, that indicated interest in the “New Rivers Vision” had all backed out of planned investments.

    The statement said: ” While the Rivers state Organized labour supports maintaining law and order, it insists that actions such as declaration of state of emergency and suspending elected officials must align  with the Nigerian Constitution and protect workers from avoidable wage invalidity, non-payment of salaries at all levels, safety and security threats.

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    “Government must prioritize the safety and welfare of its citizens over political interests.The Rivers State Organized labour is appealing to the President, National Assembly, and Judiciary to urgently reverse the premature state of emergency and suspension of elected officials and return the state to normalcy.

    “The federal government is strongly advised to engage in genuine dialogue to prevent further escalation of the issues in Rivers State. All workers are advised remain calm and continue their duties while awaiting a favorable response on the concerns raised.

    “The Organized labour may be compelled to take strategic union actions which might disrupt national economic activities if our demands are not met within a reasonable timeframe.”

  • Labour canvasses inflation-driven minimum wage increases

    Labour canvasses inflation-driven minimum wage increases

    The Organised Labour says it plans to advocate for an increase of the ₦70,000 minimum wage to reflect inflation rates.

    Labour officials argued that workers’ wages should rise in tandem with inflation each year, rather than waiting for five years between increases. 

    “What we are pushing on for Labour is that instead of you (the government) waiting for five years to increase the minimum wage, you will now look at the inflation of the last five years and try to make some adjustments. 

    “Why can’t we reflect the inflation on an annual basis?” stated Festus Osifo, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on January 1, 2025.

    Osifo explained the TUC and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) members have initiated discussions on this matter. 

    He added: “For example, we have entered January 2025, by the 15th of January 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics is going to release the inflation figure for December.

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    “So, what we are pushing for as Labour is that, if for example, the inflation figure is 35%, apply that 35% to the ₦70,000 minimum wage so that it will become reflective of what the true value is.”

    Looking ahead, Osifo emphasised the same adjustment should be made annually. “When we get to 2026, you will also do similar application. That is actually what we are pushing. We shouldn’t be waiting for five years.”

    Osifo also noted that while the new Act mandates adjustments every three years, the Labour movement is advocating for more frequent updates. 

    “We could be doing them systemically by applying the inflation as of December of the preceding year to what the minimum wage is. This is part of the position that we are also going to canvass this year. We started the conversation last year but we will continue it in 2025.”

  • Labour seeks change in economic policy

    Labour seeks change in economic policy

    • As NUSDE elects new leaders

    The Organised Labour has urged the Federal Government to urgently look into the current economic policy, saying that Nigerians are passing through very difficult times .

    The union under the aegies of National Union of Shop and Distributive Employees (NUSDE)  called on the Federal Government to implement urgent economic reforms to ease the burden of rising energy costs, inflation, and devaluation of the naira on workers and businesses.

    This demand was made during the union’s 13th National Delegates Conference, held recently in Ibadan.

    Delivering his welcome address, Comrade Aminu Megbontowon, the newly elected president of NUSDE, lamented the negative impact of skyrocketing petroleum prices, electricity tariffs, and the devaluation of the naira on the purchasing power of Nigerians.

     “There is no justification for petroleum products to be over N1,000, considering Nigeria is an oil and gas-producing country,” he said. Megbontowon also criticised the rising cost of electricity, noting that recent tariff increases had driven up production costs, forcing many companies to close and resulting in job losses for union members.

    He urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to reverse what he described as “anti-people policies” and introduce measures such as reducing energy costs, ending naira devaluation, and adopting single-digit interest rates to foster industrial growth.

     “The Nigerian economy needs cheaper energy, basic infrastructure, and an industrialisation plan to compete globally,” Megbontowon emphasised.

    The conference also served as a platform to reflect on NUSDE’s recovery from internal crises that plagued the union in recent years.

     Megbontowon detailed how the union overcame illegitimacy issues under past leadership, including the removal of officials who overstayed their terms and mismanaged funds.

    Read Also: Labour in showdown with four states over minimum wage

    He highlighted some achievements of the new leadership since assuming office in March 2024, including clearing 15 months of staff salary arrears, rejoining the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and initiating programmes to unionise more companies. “The theme of this conference, Re-engineering NUSDE for Growth and Effective Service Delivery, reflects our commitment to building a vibrant union,” he added.

    Also speaking at the event, the National President of the Precision, Electrical, and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA), Rufus Olusesan, condemned the Federal Government’s economic policies linking them to worsening poverty and inflation in the country.

    “It is disheartening that while the minimum wage of N70,000 is yet to be implemented by many states and private employers, inflation has eroded its value,” Olusesan said.

    He called on labour leaders and all working-class Nigerians to unite against corruption, and unsustainable public spending.

     “The government must immediately investigate the corruption in the NNPC that has left our refineries non-functional despite huge maintenance costs.

    “Despite spending a  whopping sum of N11.35 trillion on turn-around maintenance of 3 moribund refineries between 2010 and 2020 alone, and despite the dwindling purchasing power  of the working masses , the government has rather increased its wastefulness with a cost of governance that is now unsustainable,” Olusesan lamented.

    He further called for the withdrawal of charges against activists arrested during the August 2024 “Endbadgovernment” protests, describing peaceful demonstrations as a fundamental democratic right. This is even as he urged unions to remain resilient, emphasizing that, “The struggle continues as we shall never surrender to neoliberal forces and their local collaborators.”

     Both union leaders expressed optimism about the labour movement’s ability to influence national policy and improve workers’ welfare.

  • LP to boycott council polls in Anambra East

    LP to boycott council polls in Anambra East

    The Labour Party (LP) in Anambra East Local Government Area (LGA) has threatened to boycott the September 28 Local Government Elections in the area.

    The LG Chairman and Secretary of the party, Mr Chidi Chinwuba and Mr Onyeka Aghadiuno, made the threat in a statement issued in Awka and made avaliable to newsmen on Friday.

    The statement urged the public to disregard any list published by the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) that included any LP candidate in the LGA.

    According to the statement, the list did not originate from the party.

    It explained that LP neither conducted any primaries to nominate candidates nor submitted any names to ANSIEC.

    The two party chieftains, therefore, charged the commission to delist any flag bearer purportedly on LP’s platform for the polls in the area.

    They further threatened legal action against the commission should it go ahead to publish any LP candidates’ names in the area for the exercise.

    “LP Anambra East Chapter wishes to disassociate itself from the September 28 LG elections in the state.

    “The party, through its rightful leadership, has issued a statement that we, as a party, are not participating in the election.

    “The general public is hereby urged to disregard the list published by ANSIEC as the names attached to the LP in Anambra East did not originate from the party,” they stated.

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    They further warned that “anyone dealing with these individuals does so at their own risk,” adding that the party in the area would not be held liable for any negative occurrences.

    They alleged that including the party’s candidates for the polls by ANSIEC “suggests a desperation to involve parties in an already compromised election.

    “Those responsible for this are mischief makers seeking to deceive the innocent and law-abiding citizens of Anambra East LGA and Anambra State,” the statement added.

    It further disclosed that the state chapter of the party was already in court, challenging the election process, hence, will not participate in the exercise.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ANSIEC Chairperson, Mrs Genevieve Osakwe, had on September 11 released the final list of qualified candidates for the council polls.

    Osakwe said that the candidates and political parties for the elections should begin their campaigns, adding that the list of candidates had been published as required by the Electoral Act.

    She urged the public to visit ANSIEC headquaters or the LGAs to verify the names of the candidates contesting for various positions.

    She assured Anambra electorate that the election would be free, fair and credible.

    (NAN)

  • Labour farce

    Labour farce

    For the Labour Party (LP), it appears war without end — except that it’s all a self-imposed farce. 

    Ab initio — and that by far pre-dated LP’s latest tryst with Peter Obi and his Obidients — LP is always driven by election-season opportunism.  Any surprise that, for the umpteenth time, it’s being blown away by a post-poll dynamite of intrigues, by co-”labourers” that had nothing in common beyond grabbing power?

    Look at the main contenders, starting with embattled chair, Julius Abure.  Smart guy!

    He kept his cool as “capitalist” Obi captured the “socialist” platform.  He was content to play figure-head chairman, as Obi and alleged gang took complete control of the LP 2003 presidential campaign fundings.  Why, to secure his own strategic goals — party chair — he even “donated” 2027 tickets to Obi (presidential) and Alex Otti (lone LP governor of Abia)!

    But now the gloves are off and Abure’s “automatic ticket” just lapsed: Obi and Otti must battle and bristle with others!  Beware of the Greek and his gifts?  Well, call it a reverse quid pro quo: if Obi and Otti can’t guarantee Abure as national chair, Abure too can’t guarantee them automatic tickets!

    Then, Otti.  Oti’s deputy was at Abure’s coronation at Nnewi, Anambra State.  What might His Excellency be thinking?  Hunting with the hounds but running with the hare — plainly hedging his bets? 

    It would appear, by midwifing a temporary LP leadership that could toss Abure into the nearby Jabi Lake, Otti seems to have decided the Abure trip was a journey to nowhere. 

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    Still, strictly: can a party’s mere candidate — though governor he may be — turn around to “pontificate” on who the party boss must be?  That might not sound so sweet from the mouth of Abure because he’s involved.  But on its own, it’s bitter kola to chew on the fundamental weakness of Nigeria’s political party system.

    Joe Ajaero?  For all his clamour to use NLC goodwill to push Peter Obi’s partisan whims, he and his NLC are now screaming outside the fence, after their tenant had effectively locked them out.  That’s the Abure magic!  Well, Abure might not be a total stranger to NLC.  Still, when it boils down to LP sweepstakes, he rather subscribes to that philosophy: “what is ours” is different from “what is mine”.

    And Peter Obi himself?  Just call it the verdict of Karma.  Again, beyond mutual opportunism, Obi shares ideologically nothing with LP — he’s as hard core capitalist hustler as LP is Aluta socialist dreamer.  Then, add Obi’s vacuous post-election denial noise.  A worthy democrat accepts defeat when he loses.  Not Obi.  More than one year after, he has instead gone on an endless post-election moonlight tales.

    For all of these, Karma could have crowned Obi’s efforts with LP confusion, placing him in its very vortex. 

    But beyond LP, Abure, Otti and Obi, it’s clear: nothing good comes out of mutual opportunism.  This LP farce is living proof!

  • Labour condemns invasion of NLC Secretariat by Police

    Labour condemns invasion of NLC Secretariat by Police

    The global Public Services International (PSI) has condemned the invasion of the Headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Abuja by security operatives.

    The organisation said the action of the security operatives was a violation of the rights of workers of the NLC and the abuse of power against an independent institution like the NLC.

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    It also condemned the alleged incidents of harassment of the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero and demanded an end to the harassment of trade union leaders in the country.

    The organisation conveyed its message in a statement issued by PSI General Secretary, Daniel Bertossa.

    The organisation urged the Federal Government to release anyone unjustly detained due to protests and guarantee the safety and security of all citizens, including workers and trade union leaders.

  • Labour condemns police alleged invasion of NLC Secretariat

    Labour condemns police alleged invasion of NLC Secretariat

    The global Public Services International (PSI) has condemned the invasion of the Headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Abuja by security operatives.

    The organisation said the action of the security operatives was a violation of the rights of workers of the NLC and the abuse of power against an independent institution like the NLC.

    It also condemned the alleged incidents of harassment of the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero and demanded an end to the harassment of trade union leaders in Nigeria.

    The organisation conveyed its message in a statement issued by PSI General Secretary, Daniel Bertossa.

    The organisation urged the Federal Government to release anyone unjustly detained due to protests and guarantee the safety and security of all citizens, including workers and trade union leaders.

    The statement reads: “Under the guise of a search for seditious materials purported to have been produced by the NLC for the End Bad Governance Protests led by citizens of Nigeria, especially the youth, the Nigeria police invaded the office of the NLC and took hundreds of books and other publications belonging to the NLC.

    “This is a violation of the rights of workers of the NLC and the abuse of power against an independent institution like the NLC.

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    “It is the right of the people of Nigeria to speak and demonstrate against continuous hardship and deteriorating economic livelihoods. This is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution and global human rights conventions and statutes which Nigeria subscribes to.”

    “We therefore call on the government to release anyone unjustly detained due to protests and guarantee the safety and security of all citizens, including workers and trade union leaders.

    “PSI also supports the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NLC’s demand for an official apology, the return of books and other properties taken, an international inquiry into the matter, immediate withdrawal of the security forces from the premises of the NLC, and other demands for rebuilding the Nigerian economy, investing in the provision of quality public services, and ensuring peace and security.

    “We also condemn previous incidences of harassment of the NLC president

    Comrade Joseph Ajaero and demand an end to the harassment of trade union leaders in Nigeria.

    “We advise that the government should convene an inclusive stakeholders’ dialogue, a beacon of hope in these challenging times, to discuss the pressing issues confronting Nigeria and offer durable solutions to hunger, poverty, inflation, insecurity and widespread dissatisfaction with government policies.”