Eid-El-Kabir: Don't criminalise social dialogue, NLC cautions Govt

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has cautioned the government not to criminalise social dialogue, saying that social dialogue can only be meaningful when every party comes to the table in good faith.

In its message to mark the Eid-El-Kabir, the congress also commended the worthy sacrifice of the Nigerian workforce to all segments of society and called on the government, employers and workers to renew their commitment to making worthy sacrifices towards building a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, secured, and sustainable society.

The message, signed by the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said: “We call on the government to take utmost caution not to criminalise social dialogue. Social dialogue can only be meaningful when every party comes to the table in good faith. The government being the custodian of the ideals of our collective civilization must embrace social dialogue and with utmost good faith.

“Peaceful protest is a form of social dialogue. Peaceful protesters must not be harassed, humiliated, brutalized, maimed, imprisoned or killed. Violent crushing of peaceful protest sends a very dangerous signal that civilization and indeed our shared humanity have failed. The government as the embodiment of our sovereignty must ensure we never get to that point.”

The statement read: “What would life be without the loving sacrifice of workers? In the spirit of Eid-el-Kabir, workers have sacrificed the pursuit of personal wealth, fame and luxury in order to serve humanity. It is not for want of alternative choices that many workers chose to serve. Workers work in response to the divine call to be the productive wheels of the human population. In the course of turning the wheels of productivity, workers sacrifice a lot.”

Wabba pointed out that the relevance of work and the role of workers in sustaining humanity is best exemplified by the response of the working-class population in confronting the challenge of COVID-19 which has ravaged the planet for the past two years.

He said: “Just imagine the fate of humanity in the hands of the novel coronavirus disease if there were no nurses, doctors, environmental health inspectors, morticians, laboratory scientists, drivers, pilots, airport workers, maritime workers, cleaners, agricultural workers, civil servants, law enforcement officers and market men and women.

“As we celebrate the Sallah this year, we must all be mindful of the prevalence of the third wave of COVID-19 which has afflicted many countries of the world with the very virulent Delta variant. We urge all citizens and workers to be on the guard and take necessary precautions.

“We implore our dutiful frontline workers not to let down their guard. We urge them to continue to religiously observe all the COVID-19 handling and treatment protocols. We need you alive and well to keep making sacrifices.”

The congress called on the government at every level in Nigeria to prioritise a human-centred approach and built-up resilience to the COVID-19 insurgence.

“As we go through the blizzard of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for stronger commitment to social protection and welfare benefits for the most vulnerable in our society especially workers, the unemployed, women, young persons, the disabled and the aged. It is the duty of our government to ensure that the impact of COVID-19 leaves no one behind,” he said.