The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) joined the rest of the world to celebrate the World Day for Decent Work, with a protest march to decried poor condition of Nigerian workers in Abuja.
The celebration of the 2016 World Day for Decent Work with the theme “End Corporate Greed,” commenced with a rally at the Labour House, Abuja, where over 2,000 workers, led by the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, gathered to lament the plight of Nigerian workers.
Comrade Wabba who described the working condition of Nigerian workers as pathetic, said the day was set aside by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to draw attention of corporations across the world to issue of decent work environment.
The NLC President said “We demand, as we match for the 2016 World Decent Work Day, that a labourer, a pensioner deserves his wages. There must be dignity in labour. Let us collectively end corporate greed, let there be enough so that there will be shared posterity.
“The condition of workers around the world is nothing to write home about. In the context of the Nigerian situation; the working class is passing through a lot of difficulties. Salaries are not being paid in some states as at when due, pensions are not being paid, gratuities have not been paid in many states in the last 15 years.”
During the celebration, he noted that the N18,000 national minimum wage was long overdue, and is no longer visible in the face of the current economic challenges and realities.
Wabba led the workers to picket Artco Industries Limited, a Lebanese construction company, for sacking 128 workers without due regard to the principle of collective bargaining agreement.
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