ULC has come to stay, begins inauguration of state councils —Ajaero

Despite opposition to its registration as the third trade union centre in the country, which culminated in a series of letters to the Minister of Labour and Employment,  Senator Chris Ngige, President of United Labour Congress (ULC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, who is also the General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), said the newly launched centre has come to stay, as it begins the inauguration of its state councils across the country this April. He speaks with SOJI-EZE FAGBEMI on this and the issue of national minimum wage. Excerpts:

ULC is planing to inaugurate its state councils. How realistic is this with the situation on ground?

Before now we were existing as a faction, but that is over. This is entirely a new labour centre, with many other new unions who are affiliated to ULC. We have a programme this April to make sure that elections are conducted at the state councils. Most importantly, we want to make sure that some of them are ready before May Day. It is very realistic because we already have a functional secretariat and so the issue of conducting state, chapter or zonal elections are autonomous to the union. They may decide to run a zonal or state arrangement; so the secretariat will work out a time table to ensure the success of that  exercise.

Are  you saying that despite the opposition against its registration by the other existing labour centres, the ULC has come to stay?

Of course,  the ULC is a Non Governmental Organisation, it doesn’t require a license to exist and it is made up of unions that have license. It is a federation, so people come together to   federate. Before the National Assembly made the law that it should be 12 affiliate unions, it was two unions that make up a federation and that was in order to undermine the CFTU, which Adodo was leading by that time. The CFTU has eight unions in number, and they could not meet the number so they left TUC and joined the NLC and no law challenged them. So, if about eight unions left TUC to join them (NLC), they should also allow them to move. So the idea of leaving one centre to another is the exercise of their right. They should still allow or accept the to move, because those who left TUC to join the NLC are equally on the move again; while others are equally new. So this movement from one centre to another in exercise of their right is not new. That was how Didi Adodo, Princewill O.J, Promise Adewusi, as well as many others left TUC and joined the NLC. In that 2007 delegates’ conference, Promise emerged deputy president of NLC. The TUC never challenged them because they know that they have the right and freedom to move. Unions from NLC can join TUC tomorrow, they can also join ULC, precedent had already been set.

The N18,000 minimum wage is due for review. What is delaying the setting up of the committee to renegotiate it after the Technical Committee on Palliative has finished its works?

It is obvious that the minimum wage act has expired, and it is equally obvious  that we have on ground the palliative committee, also there are  various committees. So I think what happened at the last palliative committee meeting was a desire to have a minimum wage committe but that the palliative committee must wind up their activities for the minimum wage committee to be inaugurated but something happen that they could not achieve that. The next thing is that the technical committee would be disbanded and we expect that the minimum wage committee will be put in place to start their work. Comments coming from the Federal Government through the minister of Labour and Employment shows their readiness to give the new wage weather it is political or not, but I know  that if you don’t push you can’t get it.

The ULC proposed N96,000 as minimum wage, while the NLC and the TUC proposed N56,000. If the committee is finally put in place, what will be your level of involvement?

Well the issue of minimum wage is an all inclusive one, you can’t negotiate the minimum wage without NECA that handles the private sector and majority of our unions, not all are from the private sector base unions, so you can’t shave their heads in their absence.  That is one, two, what has happened in the palliative committee even after flexing of muscles, both my centre and the NLC and the TUC have to sit together in the interest of Nigerians and the workers, they held meetings together and come up with a uniform position. Now,  if there are proposals, because I don’t expect NLC and TUC to behave as if they are one Centre at the point of making proposals. Various interest groups like NECA, Governors’ forum and others will make theirs, at that point. When the meeting starts, the labour groups will go and harmonise and come with a unify position.  So, I don’t think we are going to have problem with either 96 or 56 as figures, we will harmonise it. Just like before we went for palliative committee, we had different positions.

Are you assuring Nigerians that you will work together to ensure a new minimum wage?

Yes! People must realise that it is for our good to work together if truly we are representing the workers.

How is your membership strength now with the privatisation of NEPA?

NUEE has being a union of both private and public workers. The NESCO in Jos has been in existence since 1929 I am sure we may have unionized them before NEPA. There is no way the law will say private or public, the private company we unionized are older than NEPA, so I don’t know of any new law. What I am saying is that 99 per cent of workers in private companies are unionized with the exception of Port Harcourt electricity, the case we have even won at the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP ) and the National Industrial Court (NIC) on the issue of unionisation. I am not sure of any other. So we have written Port Harcourt electricity to comply with the court judgement. If you have 18 successive companies and only one that is almost gone, I don’t know of any other challenges.