Christian Appolos | Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has charged the federal and state governments, and all employers of labour in the country to pursue a decent work agenda.
Decent work agenda entails provision of living wage, better working environment, provision of occupational health safety which the NLC said would translate to a progressive society and a better future.
NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who made this call during the celebration of World Decent Work Day in Abuja, further said that the condition of Nigerian workers is worse today than it was 10 years ago.
He added that the living condition of workers in Nigeria requires that the government and employers of labour treat workers fairly, therefore the need for the provision of decent work.
Wabba said that where decent work is provided, workers would still be able to take care of their families and suffer less economic hardship. He noted that many countries of the world have fully dedicated their efforts to providing decent work since it is the panacea to having a better society and living condition.
Wabba said, “Decent work has four pillars: the right for a decent job, the right for a decent minimum wage, the rights to collective bargaining with the employer, the right to belong to a trade union of your choice, and importantly, is the right to organise.
“All these are rights that make any work to be decent. These rights do not allow employers to deploy casualisation, to deploy the issue of contracting. This is what the law is against. Therefore we are joining our colleagues in all the countries of the world and also our unions around all the continents to canvas and insist that our labour laws be respected.
“Labour globally is regulated by laws, and we call them international labour standards. We don’t have a standard that is Nigerian standard.
“As we speak today, the membership of the International Labour Organisation is 187 countries. So, the event of today is taking place in 187 countries of the world and all of them are mostly members of the UN. So, Decent Work Day is very significant to every worker.
“Today, there have been a lot of challenges around the world that have reduced the issue of social justice to workers. Social justice entails that workers should be able to take care of their families even in the midst of economic woes, even in the crisis of swelling prices of food items, the crisis of price of energy, and the crisis of foreign exchange.
“Every country around the world is responding to addressing the issues of economic hardship and suffering of workers and citizens at large. That is why we are demanding a cost of living allowance to enable workers to face the challenges of economic hardship. More than 60 per cent of the countries of the world have actually extended that package to their workers.
“What is the condition of Nigerian workers today? It is worse than it was 10 years ago. This is the reality and it is what we are speaking on today.”
Workers will continue to demand for a better condition of service and for a better living wage. We will continue to demand for occupational health and service in the workplace.
“Therefore, we call on the government at all levels to actually renew our social contracts, the contract of employment that has to do with how a worker can be able to work in a decent environment. Everywhere around the world, leaders in the public and private sector are responding. So we are calling on the Nigerian government and all employers of labour to respond to the call of creating decent jobs, decent working environments and a better living wage.”
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then