The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) on Sunday lambasted the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), saying the two frontline labour groups have failed Nigerian workers.
In a communiqué issued at the end of an online meeting of federal workers nationwide, the labour group also stated that the NLC and TUC “deserve a vote of no confidence.”
In the communiqué signed by the FWF National Coordinator, Andrew Emelieze, the group stressed that the two unions have always been a disappointment and have “severally disappointed Nigerian workers.”
The FWF said, “We, the federal workers, have therefore evaluated the activities of the NLC/TUC, and we have come to the conclusion that the NLC/TUC is deceiving Nigerian workers and that this present crop of leadership will not lead a struggle towards the emancipation of the working class. We will only be deceiving ourselves if we don’t engage this ugly situation critically.
“It has always been a story of disappointment. The NLC/TUC have severally disappointed Nigerian workers. The current hardship faced by workers nationwide has shown that the NLC/TUC and their affiliate unions have failed the Nigerian working class.
“There is no excuse, however, to allow for this mass suffering and torture of the working class. The current situation has proven that the NLC/TUC has been allegedly playing lip service to the plight of suffering workers and the masses. The two labour centers have been allegedly hypocritical, playing to the gallery and most times diverting the attention of workers with petty agitations.
“Labour has been dysfunctional, even when President Tinubu unilaterally removed the subsidy on petrol, which to most of us is economic sabotage. Labour was not able to find a rationale to mobilize the workers to totally reject the petrol price increase from ₦187 to over ₦1200. This shows that labour has abandoned its responsibilities.”
According to the Workers Forum, for decades, labour has not been able to win a living wage for workers.
It alleged that Labour has been passive while the government continually privatised the country, deliberately devalued the naira, and deconstructed our communal values.
It maintained that the recent new national minimum wage has exposed labour, adding, “The NLC/TUC were not able to win a decent wage for Nigerian workers. Funnily, the labour leaders still went ahead to give the ‘Gbosa’ labour salute to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the ₦70,000 pittance given as the new national minimum wage, an amount currently worth just $40, which cannot even be enough for monthly transportation to work, let alone buying a bag of rice.
“Upon tax and other statutory deductions, the new minimum wage will translate to less than ₦60,000 take-home pay. Yet, the government still went ahead to increase the price of petrol, increase interest rates, and devalue the naira before the implementation of the new national minimum wage.
“This, to us, is wickedness, and labour has shown itself to be part of this conspiracy against Nigerian workers. To the best of our knowledge, labour has gone to sleep, and whenever the opportunity arises, workers are traded off and sold out by the NLC/TUC.
“We are also using this opportunity to remind the federal government that we, the federal workers, are rejecting the starvation ₦70,000 minimum wage, which to us is oppressive, exploitative, and wickedness visited on the workers.
“This is not the best of times to owe salaries. We are calling on the federal government to immediately pay November’s salary and ensure that December salaries are paid before Christmas and not repeat the incident of last year that saw the delay in December salaries.
“We are also giving our final warning to Mr. President to address the hunger and hardship crisis confronting us, the federal workers, and the masses at large, else we will not hesitate to pass a vote of no confidence on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as earlier promised. We will also lead agitations to revolt against hunger and hardship in Nigeria if these crises are not addressed.
“We have lost hope in labour and cannot continue to deceive ourselves. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have failed Nigerian workers. The vote of no confidence on them remains valid until the current leadership is dissolved.” (Guardian)
