NLC reflects on challenges, solution at 40

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) begins the celebration of its 40 years of existence this week, even in the midst of challenges to the union, the entire labour movement and the country.

For a labour Centre founded in 1978, the union would use the celebration to reflect on the challenges facing it and the wider labour movement and identify ways these challenges can be addressed.

The Chairman of NLC 40th anniversary celebration, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, gave the position and plans of the union. According to him, the NLC has witnessed a number of trials and struggles.

“On two different occasions since the formation of the union, its leadership has been dissolved by military regimes of General Babangida, between March and December 1988, and by General Abacha in 1994 till his demise in June 1998, before we again reclaimed our organisation two months later in August 1998.

“In the period in between, the union has encountered a number of challenges, gone into battle with government and other employers, and won some memorable victories for Nigerian workers in particular and the mass of our people in general.” Comrade Adeyemi said.

To him, however, “reaching our first 40 years is therefore an opportunity to celebrate an opportunity to reflect on decades of struggles, the impediments, the successes, and to outline the immediate and medium-term challenges facing our movement as we march towards the golden jubilee of this union in another ten years.”

Reasons for the 40th anniversary celebration. Adeyemi, said it is to celebrate forty years of struggle and perseverance as a working class organisation and to highlight the congress history and its accomplishments.

Besides, he said the opportunity would be used “to reflect on the challenges facing the NLC and the wider labour movement and identify ways these challenges can be addressed.”

It would also be used to articulate an agenda for Congress in the next ten years as it made marches towards its Golden Jubilee.

According to Adeyemi,  various programmes have been lined up for the event. He stated that  there would be awards and recognition giving to selected persons in appreciation of their contributions to NLC or the entire labour movement over the years.

These awards range from long service awards to deserving staff of Congress, awards to past and present leaders of the NLC and the preceding generation before the current NLC was formed.

He said: “In the above respect, awards will be given in the Ggneral category of contribution to the cause of the working people; a 2nd category will be recognition of intellectuals of the working class; another is those who have used their legal practice to promote the cause of the working class.

“There will also be recognition for female trade unionists and activists who made path-finding contributions to our effort to involve and integrate women in trade union activities.

“We shall use this occasion to induct a number of our veterans into the Labour Hall of Fame. This, as is the practice, is the ultimate in the scheme of awards.”

More importantly, he pointed out that soon after the formal celebrations are completed, the congress will turn attention to planning in earnest for the re-launch of the NLC Labour College Endowment Fund.

This, according to him is based on the realisation of the necessity to operationalise a full fledge labour college to serve NLC and its affiliates.

Adeyemi said: “It will be recalled that in the early 1990s, following the failure of the then NLC leadership to convince the military regime to hand over the Michael Imoudu Institute of Labour Studies, Ilorin, Kwara State to the NLC to manage exclusively, the Comrade Bafyau leadership of Congress launched a Labour College Endowment Fund at the National Arts Theatre in Igamu, Lagos.

“We raised over N10 million then and put it in a fix deposit. This amount which is today’s value is over N400 million was one of the casualties of Abacha’s sole administratorship in the NLC, as it was withdrawn and squandered by the government appointed Sole Administrator.”

However, he stated that the celebration is not just about this era, but the celebration of the era of the advent of trade unionism in Nigeria and the Labour Movement’s contribution to the anti-colonial struggles.

He said: “This anniversary is therefore organically linked to the August 1912 formation of what is today known as Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU). It is also about the 1945 general strike for Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) led by Labour Leader No. 1, Pa. Michael Imoudu. This strike lasted all of 52 days.

“It is also about the 1949 Iva Valley Massacre of coal miners by the colonial police which directly fuelled the agitation for self-rule and independence from Britain.

It is similarly about the 1st NLC, which was again led by Pa Imoudu as President.”