Wednesday’s suspension of the strike called by both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to protest against the assault on the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, came as cheering news as the discontinuation of the strike by the workers’ unions provided a momentary respite for the Federal Government that fought hard to ensure the workers rescinded their decision to commence the strike.
It is condemnable for the NLC President to be assaulted, few days to the governorship poll in Imo State during protest by Imo workers over Governor Hope Uzodinma’s refusal to pay salaries and allowances to the state workers as at when due. That Ajaero who hails from Imo and was demonstrating partisanship ahead of the governorship poll was not enough reason to assault him.
The fire this time
Many Nigerians were horrified when pictures of the brutalised labour leader were uploaded on various social media platforms. The police were condemned when they attempted to be economical with the truth when they declared that they took the NLC President into protective custody so as to avoid political thugs unleashing terror on him. The NLC President would later accuse the police of arresting and handing him over to thugs who assaulted him. From both accounts, and subsequent arrest of Ajaero’s attackers, as confirmed by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, it became clear that the police were only trying to hide a cow under the table.
Yielding to pressure from the public, the leaders of organised labour summarily suspended the industrial action and demanded on the government to tackle the challenges faced by workers and poor Nigerians as enunciated by both unions. The threat by labour to call out workers for a protest is an enormous tool of coercion often employed in labour negotiations, especially in a country where there are gross deficits in political leadership. Despite claims by some analysts that labour unions are an extension of some political interests, realities on ground portray the need to salvage the suffering masses and the need to protect them from strangulating actions of government.
From frying pan to fire
The last eight years of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration proved an extremely difficult moment for citizens whose living conditions took a dive down the slippery slope of decadence. Regardless of the promise by the former president to fight against corruption and develop the economy, to the dismay of his many teeming admirers before his emergence as president in May 2015, corruption acquired an unprecedented notoriety as the operating system.
When a nation is run in a manner that encourages acquisition of wealth without recourse to laid down rules, citizens are enmeshed in perils of moral decadence. When transparency is discouraged and those who should be punished are allowed to go scot-free; the essence of justice is frustrated. The conditions under which citizens are living are worsening by the passing of each day. Those who cursed our yesterday are now becoming convinced that we had a fair deal under Buhari. Inflation is now over 25 percent. Nigerians can’t afford rents and foot the bill of basic needs. Parents are now owing fees for their kids and wards, with prices of domestic products hitting the roof.
Considering the non-resolution of contentious matters between workers and the government, it won’t be long for labour to return to trenches to continue with the struggle. The condition of our nation is assuming an agitative dimension, with many predicting hard days ahead. As it stands currently, there are no signs that things may turn out good within the nearest possible time. Labour must wake up and rally citizens in forcing the government to perform its responsibility of providing for the welfare of Nigerians as enshrined in the constitution.
What Labour must do now
It is not enough for workers to always call on workers to pour into the street at the slightest provocation. Too many industrial actions by the workforce undermine the efficacy of strikes as a tool in pressuring the government to do the right thing. The impoverishment of citizens, made worse by corruption in both public and private sectors, portray workers as major deciders of our nation’s destiny. The workers’ unions should be in the vanguard of promoting transparency in the workplace. If this is achieved, the level of corruption that has vitiated development efforts can be combatted.
An organised labour that is committed to transparency won’t look the other way, while some of their members collude with other rotten eggs in the system to defraud the nation. This is the time for Labour to desist from further industrial actions just to prove the lethal capacity in strikes to disrupt the system. Organised Labour must walk away from deploying strikes as the only means to standing up for the rights of their members whose earnings have depleted due to the devaluation of the naira. Working for the collective interests of citizens should be the new rule of engagement.
In cognisance of the above, labour should work in synergy with the National Assembly in order to work towards charting policies for the development of the country. Both the NLC and TUC must restrain themselves from deploying threats of strikes and be engaged in constructive engagements for mutual benefits.
