Nigeria Labor Congress

Workers in the Federal civil service and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies have expressed their readiness to proceed on an indefinite strike should the Federal Government refuse to accede to the demands of the Nigeria Labor Congress. 

The workers made this position known in a Press Release titled, FEDERAL WORKERS ARE READY FOR THE INDEFINITE STRIKE ACTION AND TOTAL SHUT DOWN. WORKERS HAVE SUFFERED ENOUGH and signed by the National coordinator of the Federal Workers Forum(FWF) and former chairman of the Oyo state council of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''Once again, federal government workers are ready for the indefinite strike action and we are looking onto the NLC/TUC to rescue the Nigerian people from this untold hardship. However, if the NLC tarry further, the Federal Workers Forum will not hesitate to call all our members nationwide to perpetual protest.

''Our demand is simply a fair wage.Our government must stop acting as if they don't have a conscience. The government should stop playing games in the lives of people. Nigerian workers are no slaves,we are not beggars, we are public sector workers,we are citizens and we deserve to be treated fairly as a matter of right. Enough of the hide and seek game over the welfare of the federal workers. The present wage is shamefully too poor and it is not taking us home. This would be an embarrassment to the federal government of Nigeria. The FG should weigh the implications of workers' poor wages for overall effectiveness of productivity and society at large.''

''We call on the TUC to rethink her strategy and do the workers' bidding. All efforts must be made to ensure synergy among our labour centers. The obvious divergent views are that over methodology by the NLC and the TUC are not in the interest of the toiling workers. None of the labour centers should be allowed to be used as a clog in the wheel of progress. ''

''The general consensus among workers is that the TUC has been compromised. It is now left to the TUC to prove otherwise as we are all preparing for the indefinite strike action. We call on the NLC/TUC to make this strike action the mother of all strikes. The Nigerian workers and indeed Nigerians must not be betrayed by labour. Our people have suffered enough.'' the release concluded.

The decision of the Federal Government to implement the Stephen Oronsaye report would not reduce the costs of governance.

This assertion was made recently by the chairman of the Oyo state council of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Emmanuel Ogundiran.

''The bifurcation and the so-called proliferation of appointments gave rise to the Stephen Oronsaye report. Have those conditions changed? Are those issues no longer there? If they think that the implementation of the report would reduce the costs of governance, they are looking at the worn place.''

''We have always asked, why are civil servants the first to be sacrificed in almost every situation? We are not against the implementation of the Oronsaye report or any reform, but the question is, will it have a meaningful impact on reducing the cost of governance? We also want to ask politicians what has happened to the retinue of aides of political office holders and the proliferation of political appointees. What have they done to them? And if they implement the report, all we are saying is that there should be no job loss and whoever that would be displaced by retirement, sacking or whatever, should be paid immediately if they leave service. ''

''But if that should be the case, what happens when we have a full Minister and a Minister of state for one Ministry, what are they ministering? All these should be considered holistically. ''What we are telling our political leaders is that they should first remove the log in their eyes before removing the speck from the eyes of others. They are killing the civil service by the day. Good luck to them with the implementation,''Comrade Ogundiran concluded.

Nigerians have been advised to identify criminals in their communities as a crucial step towards addressing the unending insecurity in the land.

This advice was given on Thursday by the chairman of the Oyo state council of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT), Comrade Raji Oladimeji in a chat at the union's state secretariat in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

''The spate of insecurity in different parts of the country is alarming. We have to go back to the drawing board. That is why we have to appeal to the parents forum to rejig the security apparatus in our various communities. Schools are located within communities. Let us identify those who constitute a nuisance within the community. Let us also be our brother's keeper,'' Comrade Oladimeji stated.

The chairman vowed to pursue the advancement of the welfare of union members to a logical conclusion, saying, ''believe in your leaders, our constant discussion and engagement with the Government is yielding results, the issue of leave bonuses has been resolved, other issues shall be resolved.''

He commended the state government for reinstating 120 primary school teachers who were previously laid off, adding,'', to us a responsible body, it is a welcome decision, it is a good development.''

Members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions(NASU) have been called upon to be security conscious and report suspicious activities promptly.

This call was made by the chairman of the union in the University College Hospital(UCH)branch Ibadan, Nigeria, Comrade Kehinde Abiona. ''Information is key to all we do.  We must be our brother's keeper. I call on all NASU members and Nigerians to be security conscious and report all suspicious activities around them in good time. We always sensitize and educate our members on basic security measures, Comrade Abiona disclosed. He appealed to the hospital's management and government to speedily facilitate the implementation of all that is due to the workers.''

''Many of the negotiated terms of contracts should be respected. The issue of promotion letters should also be resolved. Our members who have been promoted are yet to receive their promotion letters. And the is also the issue of promotion arrears for 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Another major issue is the lack of working tools for our members. Most of these tools are purchased personally by the workers. They personally purchase their raincoats, torch-lights, cutlasses among others. Of worry is that our members go for self development programs, in the absence of interventions by the management'', Comrade Abiona concluded.

The chairman  fiurther stated that the union  was fully prepared for  the outbreak of the monkeypox and other diseases, stressing that it successfully made provisions for members during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Workers in Nigeria are now face to face with the fact that those elected(or selected) to defend and protect their interests, now nurture contrary motives.

These motives have over time impoverished the generality of workers in Nigeria and they are complaining bitterly. What is to be done ?

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