2017: Labour Gives Hope To Nigerian Workers
The United Labour Congress of Nigeria, (ULC), has assured Nigerians and workers of their commitment in 2017, promising to work with Governments at all levels towards effective governance thus building a Nigeria that would rekindle the hope of the citizens and guarantee the benefits of nationhood to all Nigerians.
This was contained in a statement signed by the President of ULC, Comrade Joe Ajaero and made available to newsmen yesterday.
The statement read, “We are determined to engage the Government at various levels to generate appropriate policies and programmes that would cushion the present suffering and hardship that have become our collective lot in the past few years.
“As we all march into the beginning of 2017, as we all ponder the direction of the nation; its economy; the colour of its politics and their probable impact on the lives and aspirations of the downtrodden masses especially Nigerian workers who have been subjected to all manners of deprivations by mindless and lawless employers; energised by impunities meted out to workers by state Governments who have owed workers’ salaries for upwards of seven months with various unilateral actions against workers and illegal deductions from workers’ salaries; the United Labour Congress of Nigeria wishes to felicitate with all Nigerian workers and masses and congratulate them on their continuous perseverance and resilience in the face of these daunting challenges”, ULC said.
The new labour movement promised to intensify effort through the various platforms they are currently involved in especially the 16-Man Federal Government Technical Committee to revisit the high cost of Petroleum products in Nigeria and to ensure that the general malaise bedevilling the energy sector are constructively engaged.
‘ The (ULC) therefore calls on the federal Government to make this committee more effective and empower it to conclude its work quickly.
‘The (ULC) is focused on working with the federal Government through the federal Ministry of Labour to put in place various regulations and working with the NASS to make appropriate laws that would address the diverse lawlessness of both foreign and local employers in our workplaces. Unilateral sacks and illegal retrenchments will be tackled head – on while the use of casual and contract work will be seriously tackled to create a Nigerian workplace that is compliant with the Decent work Agenda.
“The ULC shall work assiduously with the federal Government for an upward review of the national minimum wage to N96,000 per month which has been long overdue. We shall seek greater coverage of the minimum wage to include all Nigerian workers whether working in the formal or informal sectors. In this light, we shall work towards designing a wage floor that would be automatically self-adjusting just like it is done in other advanced nations of the world bearing in mind that in the US, just yesterday, the minimum wage automatically went upwards from U$8:00 per hour to U$11:00 per hour. This is a national increase of about 37.5% in a nation with declining inflation and low cost of living”.
