The workers decried the flagrant abuse of laws and rape of the treasury at various levels of government and agencies, adding that only a non-bias institution can ensure good governance and protection of our treasury.
At its workshop in Ibadan at the weekend with the theme “Trade Unionism and the Enhancement of Workers in the Steel and Engineering industry”, the workers regretted that the country has become a laughing stock among the comity of nations simply because the leadership has deliberately decided to wreck the country, and further impoverish the masses.”
In a communiqué signed by its National President, Comrade E.S Adigun and Senior Principal Deputy General Secretary, Comrade J.O Idowu, the union commended the government for the successes recorded so far in the fight but charged that they should be total irrespective of party affiliations and whose ox is gored. The workers blamed the government for not obeying court orders, stating it is a very bad precedence in a growing democracy like ours.
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Comrade Adigun also appealed to the National Assembly to remove the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the guise of voluntarism placed on the process for workers to belong to trade unions, adding that privatization has taken the jobs its members, especially as the privatized establishments are underperforming.
The union charged the government to protect local industries and the value of the naira.
“The cost of production has risen astronomically while the purchasing power of workers has remained constant. The Government has told us we have exited recession, but from the look of things happening around, that has not been the case. We have lost over 3500 workers in our sub-section while the country as a whole has lost over nine million jobs since this administration came on board,” Comrade Adigun reiterated.
Hon. S.B Ogunsade, Principal Partner, Bablink Consultancy, who was a guest speaker spoke on the need to hold regular workshops for workers education. He said that the theme of this year’s workshop was right because of the challenges confronting the workers generally, especially in the steel industry.
According to him, “years ago, workers were not owed, they worked in conducive environments and even when they retire they were paid their benefits in due time. All that are old stories now as workers now work under harsh conditions and live in a battered economy. Our pensioners have resorted to begging to survive. It is quite unfortunate, really unfortunate that even Labour Laws are not respected.”
and then