The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged federal government to ensure decent work for all Nigerians, describing casualisation of work in the country as unacceptable.
Speaking during a rally to mark the World Decent Work Day, NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said casualisation of job is evil and must be resisted.
“We demand an immediate end to all forms of employment that offend human dignity and deny workers access to living wages, social protection and denial of right to forms union. We ask employers of labour to respect the law and where the law is observed in breach, the Ministry of Labour and the other agencies of government should enforce the law.
“Today is a day set aside globally; to recognise the contribution of workers to the growth of economy, peace and development, and importantly, the prosperity of every country.
“Workers create wealth of the world, and therefore in Nigeria we create the wealth and if we create the wealth, it goes to say that workers must also be well taken care of.
“The challenge that is ravaging the world today, in fact, the effect is more felt by the workers, because as we speak, the purchasing power of workers have been reduced to nothing.
“N30,000 cannot buy a bag of rice, and we know how cost of goods or services have gone up. In fact, the worst is that when you retire, you have to struggle to get your benefits.
“In other countries, senior citizens live with beauty and their dignity is recognised. They have houses for senior citizens. They are free medical care for senior citizens. They are housing for senior citizens, but in our own case, if you don’t have a family to take care of you, it’s between you and your God. That is not decent work.
“All the workers must have social security cover that can take care of them when they are old, when they are aged and have no power, and that is why we will start every conversation with trying to defend our retirees.
“We agreed that the contributory pension scheme will certainly address all the challenges associated with pension payments, gratuity payment, and social security for all workers in the public service, and even in the private sector. But today as we speak even the government that promulgated that law have not been faithful in remit it’s own percentage.
“That is why we have backlog of people that are retired, and they are not been paid, because the accrued rights must be available, and it must be in the retirement savings account of workers, for them to retire, and earn their benefits.
“That I think should be an issue that needed to be addressed, not losing sight of the fact that in all the
tiers of government the federal government is trying because I’m aware that recently, Mr President approved N79 billion to pay the liability arears of the people that have retired, and that constituted an increase of 2.5% and also, part of their accrued rights.
“Importantly, we are also to address the issue of precarious work in all sectors of our economy. Precarious work means that workers must work with dignity, workers must have Social Security. Workers must have adequate remuneration, and today, all of us are aware that civil servants are the least paid in Nigeria. When you compare to all other sectors. Yet, they are putting their best to service economy. These cannot continue and that is something that needs to be reviewed.
“Importantly, is the issue of other benefits that accrue to them, particularly in the sub nationals, as we speak Comrades, only two states are faithful in implementing the contributory pension scheme, and the pension and gratuity across the 36 states is also running into billions.
“So, let me say nicely, that if the poor is allowed to be sleeping without having three meals per day, if they will be allowed to be sleeping with their eyes open, it then clearly means that the rich, even if they have cumulated humungous wealth, he will also be a very good material for kidnapping. That is what is happening now,” Wabba said.
