Look Beyond Routine Protests, Centre Urges Labour Leaders

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has urged labour leaders to look beyond routine street protests and start engaging more meaningfully with political frameworks that shape workers’ lives.

CITAD’s executive director, Engr Y.Z. Ya’u, gave the charge during the opening of a three-day training for trade union leaders and educators recently held in Kano State.

He said, labour movements must shift from what he described as “bread and butter unionism” to more strategic and informed advocacy that tackles the structural conditions affecting workers.

He explained that, the workshop was designed to enlighten and revive trade unions so that union members are better equipped with skills and knowledge to effectively represent workers and have collective bargaining to win meaningful victories for their members.

“Trade unionists must pay attention to political processes and policy directions. These policies affect the space in which unions operate and union members should have the analytical skills to critique existing frameworks and propose viable alternatives,” he said.

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Linking the training to CITAD’s broader philosophy, Ya’u further argued that real transformation comes from active civic engagement, not token participation.

He added that, in the past decade, many civil society efforts have been limited to passive engagements such as election and budget monitoring rather than transforming the society.

Engr Ya’u, therefore, tasked union leaders to build a culture of accountability and active engagement in order to regain its vitality and independence.
In their remarks, participants thanked the centre for organising the training towards participatory unionism.

One of the participants, Comrade Sani Shehu, said the training had opened his eyes to how unions could be more than just platforms for salary agitation.

He added that, there is the need for many union members to know more on how to translate national budgets, economic reforms and international agreements and how it affects their daily struggles.