Shop and Distributive Trade Senior Staff Association (SHOPDIS) and UNI Global have called on employers to allow unionism, saying that the organised labour is ready to put the operators in check.
They said some employers were breaking labour laws, by hinging employment conditions on anti-trade unionism and threatening to sack workers, who dare to align with unions.
Speaking during a campaign/engagement with companies on unionism, the President of SHOPDIS, Comrade Azeez Ajibola, said they had the backing of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) with the support from UNI Global to address the challenges with unionism.
He said a lot of organisations were not unionised, hence the mandate to ensure that slave labour is eliminated in the sector.
He said: “We have come to terms with the reality that the majority of the companies don’t want their workers to join unions while some have allowed their staff to unionise. Others at the point of entrance warned their staff against joining any trade union of their choice.
“We have been doing this for some years. We have reported it to the higher authorities. We have engaged some of the Human Resources(HR) of some of these companies and also enlightened them on the benefits. We believe that it is something we need to address in the sector. We have got positive responses from some while some are not cooperating. The truth is that we will not relent until we achieve our goals. And this is going to be addressed with the support from UNI Global.’’
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He warned that companies that are yet to comply still have the opportunity to correct the anti-labour acts or face the union’s wrath.
Ajibola commended the Federal Government for some of its policies for workers.
He, however, called for revisions to the Nigerian Labour Act to ensure that workers, regardless of their employment status, were afforded basic rights such as fair wages, job security, and access to social protection.
SHOPDIS Acting General Secretary, Comrade Olanrewaju Ganiyu, added that it would be in the interest of employees and organisations to allow their workers to join the labour unions, adding that this would protect the rights of the workers and also benefit the employers.
“We have been on this for a while and we will not relent. We know that we will face lots of challenges. It’s going to be a gradual process,” he said.
Ganiyu said one of the major challenges in the sector is casualisation. He decried that the casualisation of workers had emerged as a significant social issue and a detrimental factor in labour relations across various industries in developing countries, especially in Nigeria.
He said efforts were being made by the union training to raise awareness among workers about their rights, empowering them to organise and demand better conditions.