Weekend Arena - Labour Union Wants To Strike? No Be Today Nyansh Face Back Abeg!

  

What is your spontaneous reaction these days when you hear Labour Union in Nigeria wants to go on strike?

A famous English writer, Richard Llewellyn in his popular novel, ‘How Green Was My Valley’, which ran in four volumes between 1939 and 1975 captured the role of labour unions thus: “Let the Unions become engines for the working people to right their wrongs. Not benefit societies, or burial clubs. Let the Unions become civilian regiments to fight in the cause of the people”.

How does this apply to Nigeria?


As the buzz generated from the Edo guber polls was settling, Nigerians were looking forward to something as enlivening (the first fair election after Prof Jega’s exit), only for the joint labour unions (Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress) to announce their threat of a strike scheduled for September 28th. According to them, the Federal Government must reverse the recent increases in the prices of petrol and electricity. 

As usual, the officials of NLC and TUC were on every available media platform-radio, TV, online- meaning to mobilise Nigerians to join the struggle, so the FG would reverse the policy.


But what the labour union leaders did not know (or knew but chose to ignore) was the fact that the average Nigerian has grown thick skin over threats handed down by labour unions as exemplified by today’s Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress. 

With compromise, oozing from many of their actions, people have stopped seeing labour leaders as part of them, but as an extension of the ruling class. These sentiments were lavishly expressed on most radio shows with Nigerians summarily dismissing the strike as another shadow-chasing exercise that would see the officials of the unions soft-pedaling once ‘they get settled’ by the government. For a great majority of Nigerians who spoke on radio, the labour leaders are in this struggle to feather their nest!

But this is an ugly trend indeed and a reflection of the decadence in the society.

The reason is not far-fetched. On so many instances, the organised labour has stood aloof to watch bad governance in the country, and this has aggravated this impression of compromise amongst Nigerians. In 2012, protesters, led by the labour unions, thronged the Gani Fawehinmi Park at Ojota, Lagos State, to resist the increment that brought petrol to N120 from N65. But when the present government decided to abolish the subsidy arrangement, the labour did nothing aside asking for increased minimum wage which did not come until 2019. The organised labour is very aware that Nigeria has refineries, which have refused to work in spite of the billions being spent on them annually, yet they look on with indifference.



Over the years, Nigerians have been ‘wailing’ that the cost of governance in the country is so huge and rubbing off negatively on the citizens, because the few resources available are literally appropriated amongst the ruling class in the form of bloated allowances and wages, yet the organised labour has not deemed it reasonable to embark on a strike to demand reforms.


During a radio show over the looming strike, a listener had called in to ask the national president of the TUC, Quadri Olaleye, why labour is reluctant about demanding that earnings of politicians be pruned. His response was as lame and feeble as can be: “we tell them about the need to reduce cost of governance during negotiations but such issues usually do not come to the public domain”. If such a crucial issue, milking Nigeria dry, has not come to the public domain, it simply means labour has refused to give it the serious attention it deserves. The organised labour is aware of what is called ‘security vote’, which avails some hundreds of millions of naira to state governors in the name of securing their states…what national strike have they contemplated to halt this?



While the recent increase in the prices of social services are condemnable, what was the labour expecting when they watched the government suspend the subsidy regime with an explanation that the price of fuel would be determined by the international market until Nigeria’s refineries begin to work optimally? Nigerians should ask this crop of labour leaders what they have done about workers in states like Abia, Osun, Kogi and others who are being owed years of arrears in salaries and allowances. 

They kept mute and watched the defaulting governor re-elected! How about retirees who put in 35 years only to wait till death to get their entitlements, while politicians get huge disengagement allowances after four years? Perhaps, this crop of labour leaders do not realise they have a strong role to play in building our democracy. That is the only explanation for their growing indifference over issues that are crucial. May be they should meet the likes of Frank Kokori for lessons.


During the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, how many times did the national leadership of NLC or TUC come out to remind the federal government of palliatives for vulnerable Nigerians? It was only the chairperson on NLC in Lagos, Sessi Agnes and the TUC chairman in FCT who ‘managed’ to talk about palliatives for vulnerable Lagosians and personal protective equipment for health workers in FCT respectively. But now that the economy is gradually opening, they have woken up with plans to shut the country down with a senseless strike that would achieve nothing aside hurting the economy more and probably have them ‘settle with government as usual’. 

Abeg…no be today nyash dey for back!