THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has affirmed its readiness to partner with the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) in building the capacity of Nigerian workers and their leadership.
The President of the Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba gave this position, even as the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), tasked the institute to focus on ideological re-orientation training of trade unions leadership in the country.
Comrade Wabba, who was speaking when the management of the Institute paid him a courtesy visit at the Labour House, Abuja, expressed optimism on the new initiative and the partnership’
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The congress president described the MINILS as an Institute that is dear to the Nigeria Labour Congress and assured its management of the Congress readiness to collaborate with the Institute in the area of training and retraining of its officials and members for better productivity.
“I want to assure you of our readiness to collaborate with you and see how we are able to maximize the benefits that the Institute in its experience as a foremost Labour Institute can actually bring to the Nigerian workers,” he said.
He then promised that the NLC will work towards a concrete arrangement to ensure it builds an ensuring partnership with the Institute.
According to him,”We will do everything possible to ensure that we are able to have a concrete arrangement on how to go about the partnership which I believe will be an enduring one.”
In his remarks, the Director-General/Chief Executive of MINILS, Alhaji Saliu Ishaq Alabi congratulated the NLC President on his recent victory in the struggle to better the lot of the Nigerian workers.
He noted that the Institute has contributed its quota to the development of the country through its activities, adding that the need to partner with the NLC was borne out of the desire to serve the Nigerian workers who are its clients better.
The Director-General who noted that the Institute is supposed to be funded by the tripartite body made up of Labour, Government and Employers’ Association, observed that it is only the Government that has been the Institute’s sole financier.
To this end, he called for the intervention of the President of the congress, adding that his intervention would go a long way in helping the Institute in many ways.
In his contribution, the acting head of Academic and Distance Learning Department, Dr. Sylcanus Adamade said the Institute is doing its best to stand out as the foremost labour educational organisation in the country.
The Institute, according to him, has been running a National Diploma programme in Industrial and Labour Relations.
“We are also working out a partnership with the University of Ilorin so that in due course, the Institute will be running a degree programme in conjunction with the University right in the Institute” he added.
In a similar development, the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) has lauded the Institute for providing qualitative labour education, in which members of his union have benefitted immensely from.
The National President of AUPCTRE, Comrade Benjamin Anthony while receiving members of the management on a courtesy visit to his office said the Institute had impacted significantly his leadership skills and practices.
He, therefore, pledged that his union will continue to partner, support and participate in the Institute’s programmes.
He, however, decried the near lack of ideology of some union leaders and charged the Institute to come up with programmes tailored towards building trade union capacity on ideological re-orientation and on how workers’ interest can be advanced in consonance with global best practices.
“The rank and file of the union need appropriate education to act in a manner that will promote workers’ right, welfare, social justice and decent work”, he added.”
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