The Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA) has called on the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to take urgent measures to reduce poverty in the land, as Nigerians, including construction workers, were increasingly finding it extremely difficult to survive with their meagre salaries.
The call was made at the association’s special delegates conference, which ended on Wednesday in Abuja.
The delegates in session, through the national president, Comrade Ayodeji Adeyemo, called on President Tinubu to save the construction industry by intervening in the various lingering issues between the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) to put a stop to the mass sacking of workers currently ongoing in the industry.
According to him, construction workers are part and parcel of the larger Nigerian society. “The difficulties faced by Nigerians and, by extension, the construction workers are real, especially the floating of naira and the removal of fuel subsidy. Workers are finding it difficult to transport to their various workplaces and juggling the meagre salaries between the various conflicting needs of sending their children to school, feeding the family, and sheltering them, not to talk of other luxuries like medical care and clothing; those are luxuries now in Nigeria,” he stated.
The delegates in session also urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to put in further effort to address the increasing spate of insecurity in Nigeria as construction workers have been kidnapped in their respective offices and houses and on their way to project sites.
“On the security situation, we have heard some of our members kidnapped even in their various homes and sites, and I believe the construction workers are worse affected in this regard,” Adeyemo added.
He advised the association‘s members to prepare adequately for life after retirement, with a particular focus on their health, investments, and savings.
He also reiterated the need to build good relationships with the public and continuous capacity building that fits into an ever-evolving, innovative and technologically driven future.
The conference featured a seminar on ‚Strategic and Effective Leadership Styles in Trade Unionism and Building a Sustainable Retirement Plan in a Depressed Economy‘. It was meant to build the delegates‘ capacity and prepare them for survival in economic uncertainties after retirement.
