NLC mobilises against removing labour from exclusive legislative list
….Vows to picket lawmakers
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected plans by the National Assembly to remove Labour issues from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List, with a plan to picket the offices of Lawmakers found supporting such move.
The NLC, in its Communiqué after the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting, signed by Joe Ajaero, insisted that “Labour issues must remain in the Exclusive Legislative list to avert negative implications for workers and the economy”.
The NLC noted that Nigeria’s political economy has deepened the precarity of working people and further exposed the fragility of the social contract, at a point when Nigerians are feeling deeply abandoned.
The Union lamented the intensifying cost-of-living crisis and the chronic socioeconomic gaps that have undermined inclusive development and weakened workers’ interests.
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It noted that there is an urgent need to reclaim the socioeconomic framework for the country’s common good.
The NLC stated that the “CWC expressed grave concern over the escalating economic hardship which has pushed and kept millions of Nigerians in multidimensional poverty, adding that “Workers and their families continue to bear the brunt of unrelenting inflation, surging food prices, prohibitive transport costs, and the erosion of real wages.”
On the ongoing regional Public Hearings on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, the NLC warned that the process must not be reduced to a ritualistic exercise.
“Instead, it must serve as a historic opportunity to address the structural imbalances that perpetuate underdevelopment, entrench inequities, and stifle the productive forces of our federation,” NLC said.
The Union, therefore, cautioned ” those who seek to remove Labour issues in the constitution from the Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent list to desist,” adding that ” Such moves by those who want to further impoverish Nigerian workers would be resisted.
“All Nigerian workers to begin mobilization across the country to picket the offices of any National Assembly member found supporting the removal of labour issues from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent list” .
The NLC also called for a genuine fiscal federalism that empowers sub-national governments to drive economic development,
as well as reforms to close the leadership recruitment gaps that have bred mediocrity and state capture.
Others include the strengthening of Nigeria’s electoral system to ensure that electoral outcomes are truly reflective of the sovereign will of the people rather than products of rigging, vote-buying, and other malpractices that have delegitimized democratic governance.
“The CWC unequivocally condemned the alarming and continuous deterioration of security across the country. The spate of mindless killings in the Middle Belt, the North East, the North West, and the general climate of violence and criminality are stark indictments of state failure to protect life and property.
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Decry killing of 700,000 Nigerians in one year
It also lamented that “nearly 700,000 lives lost in just a year according to reports to insecurity in Nigeria can only happen in nations at war.
” When farmers can no longer access their lands to farm, famine becomes a looming danger. The present high prices of food in the country can only be attributed to insecurity”
The Meeting therefore demanded that the Federal Government and security agencies take decisive, coordinated action to stem the tide of insecurity and restore public confidence in the capacity of the Nigerian State to secure its citizens.
“Time for talk shops and promises have gone and what is needed now are actions.”
….Demands release of withheld Osun State LG allocations
Also on Local Government Autonomy and Diversion of Osun state local government funds, the NLC condemned the continued withholding of the funds belonging to the local government in the state and urged the federal government to immediately release them.
“The Congress called on all stakeholders engaged in the constitutional review process to enshrine provisions that safeguard the financial and administrative independence of local governments.
“It reviewed with grave concern the deliberate withholding and diversion of statutory allocations due to the democratically elected Local Government Councils in Osun State, orchestrated by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in collusion with the Minister of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“This act constitutes a blatant violation of the Constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and the judgment of the Court of Appeal affirming the legitimacy of the current Local Government leadership in Osun State.
“The CWC condemns in strongest terms this partisan interference, which undermines grassroots governance, deprives workers of their wages, and sabotages essential services such as primary healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
“The NLC demands the immediate and unconditional release of all withheld Local Government allocations to the lawfully recognized administrations in Osun State.”
The Congress also insisted that the Attorney-General of the Federation must retract all unlawful directives to federal financial institutions and cease further politicization of Local Government autonomy.
“The NLC warns that failure to comply within a reasonable timeframe will compel decisive actions to protect workers’ rights and uphold the rule of law.”
The Congress also kicked against the growing trend whereby certain employers are willfully violating the Trade Union Act 2005.
According to the Congress ” The Act, in clear and unequivocal terms, upholds the principle of Voluntarism as a cardinal pillar of trade unionism in Nigeria, guaranteeing every worker the unfettered right to freely join any trade union of their choice without coercion, intimidation, or interference.
It noted that it is unacceptable that, despite the express provisions of the law, some employers continue to dictate, compel, or otherwise manipulate workers to belong to specific unions, often citing spurious reasons relating to job classification, grade levels, or other self-serving justifications.
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” This practice constitutes a direct assault on workers’ fundamental rights, an affront to Nigeria’s international obligations under ILO Conventions, and an egregious abuse of authority.”
It also directed all affiliate unions so affected to not only reject and resist any attempt to impose union membership on workers but also to mobilise and proceed to picket any employer engaging in such illegal actions, in line with the NLC’s commitment to defending the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers.
The Nigeria Labour Congress assures its affiliates of its readiness to support their actions in protecting their members from such employers’ impunity and abuse.
The NLC also urged the government at all levels to fast-track efforts to reduce the crippling effects of high transportation costs on workers and the broader populace.
The NLC however, thanked the Government for the donation of CNG buses but called on the government to expedite the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure nationwide.
“This measure, if effectively implemented, will ease the burden of mobility costs and mitigate the inflationary pressures confronting households.”
