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• Our leaders treat us with scorn- Labour •Demands 65 years retirement age
From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the in-coming administration of Bola Tinubu to continue to respect workers’ rights.
Speaking, yesterday, at the Workers’ Day Celebration at Eagle Square, Abuja, he tasked the Tinubu-led government to observe the pillars of decent work, which includes, promoting jobs and enterprises, guaranteeing rights at work, social protection, social dialogue for consensus building and sound national industrial relations system.
Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha said: “The government affirms the need for the enthronement of decent work which sums up the aspiration that all people have for their working lives; for work that is productive, delivers a fair income with security and social protection, safeguards basic rights, offers equality of opportunity and treatment, prospects for personal development and the chance for recognition and to have your voice heard. These elements of decent work concur with our commitment to reduce poverty and forge a path to achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development, and ultimately peace and security in communities.
“Workers’ rights coupled with socio-economic justice make a happy workplace. We therefore agree that a fair economic structure targeted at creating opportunities for all to succeed irrespective of sex, race/ethnicity, age, disability, creed, religion is sine qua non for progress and development.
“I regard the theme for this year’s celebration as apropos considering that this marks my last attendance at the nation’s May Day’s celebration in my capacity as the President and Commander – in – Chief of the Armed Forces. We have gone through the trios of negotiations and collective bargaining mechanisms utilising the instrument of social dialogue and like in any other human relationships, sometimes we disagree to agree or agree to disagree, but always progressively seeking a consensus for a better society and economic growth.”
At the event, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) lamented how Nigerian leaders have continued to treat workers with disdain. They also condemned the just concluded general elections describing it as the most distorted, corrupted and abused, saying that it marked a dangerous watershed in the nation’s political engagement as a people and nation.
In a speech jointly read by the NLC and TUC presidents, Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo respectively, the labour leaders condemned the trend where despite their immeasurable contribution to the growth and development of the nation, workers’ welfare was handled as though it were a form of charity.
They also questioned why a government would owe salaries of workers for years without any remorse, saying any nation thinking seriously about development would not joke with its workforce.
Organised labour said societies cannot make progress if workers were not treated fairly, advising that if government and social partners want increased productivity they must treat workers better.
Labour also described the controversies surrounding approval for the venue for the event as indicating the kind of battle ahead for citizens of the country.
“Nigeria is at the crossroads, and requires an honest and concerted effort to sail to safety. We have discovered that the more some patriotic Nigerians work to sustain the unity of the country and economy, the more some tear us apart. They do not really care about what befalls the country because they have dual citizenship.”
Labour called on the judiciary to exercise due diligence in its handling of the various elections petitions presently before them.
Also, NLC specifically called for the review of civil servants’ retirement age and years of service in the entire public service to 65.
Its president, Jeo Ajaero, called for the general review of core civil servants’ salaries to narrow the gap in other civil servants’ emoluments and those in other segments of the public service.
He said the extension of years of service should go round, as it had been done in other sectors of the public service in the country.
“Only few other establishments, including the core civil service, are now left out. We are, therefore, demanding that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the civil service, be reviewed upward to 65 years of age and 40 years of service, ” he said.
Ajaero said that the union had, over the years, demanded for salary review, but had yet to receive Federal Government’s attention.
On gratuity payment, the NLC president said union leaders had, on several occasions, presented the issue to government without any positive response.
He said Nigeria has unfortunately become a country led by men and women whose delight seem to be enacting policies detrimental to the progress of the nation.
Ajaero explained that Nigeria’s economy was on auto pilot, struggling on its own to survive.
He decried the attitude of those entrusted to manage the country’s economy for throwing filth and injecting toxins into it.
He said the system was serially abused and had, therefore, become one of the most mismanaged world economies.
