Ajaero accuses ruling elite of pushing laws that weaken labour rights

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has accused the ruling elite of pushing laws that weaken labour rights and expand the power of big business.

He made the claim on Monday at the opening of the 2025 Harmattan School in Abuja, where he said workers must resist attempts to erode their freedoms.

Ajaero told participants that the Harmattan School is not a routine academic event but a gathering of workers committed to defending their rights in a world shaped by economic pressures and fast technological change.

He said the theme of the programme, which focuses on workers’ rights amid global economic shifts, captures the current struggles facing Nigerian workers.

He said the country is at a turning point where workers are facing what he described as a double attack, one in the workplace and the other in the political space.

“We are confronted with a dual assault; the intensification of exploitation in the workplace and the alienation of our rights in the political sphere. The onslaught against Nigerian workers and masses is continuing at all fronts by remorseless agents of Capital in all guises.”

According to him, the capitalist system is seeking new ways to increase profit at the expense of ordinary people, leaving Nigerian workers exposed to harsher conditions.

Ajaero accused major corporations, especially the Dangote Group and those involved in the NLNG Train 7 project, of violating labour rights.

He said these companies operate like independent states where union activities are suppressed and workers treated as expendable tools.

Ajaero warned that the ruling class is planning to back such practices with new laws.

Speaking further, he revealed that efforts to create Special Economic Zones and other industrial enclaves are designed to give companies legal cover to exploit workers without consequences.

“The character of this assault can be seen in the brazen and unrepentant violations of workers’ rights by monopoly capital, as epitomized by the Dangote conglomerate and events at NLNG Train 7 project and other enclaves of slavish work in Nigeria.

“These entities operate as a state within a state, a law unto itself, where trade union rights are crushed, and workers are treated as disposable inputs in a vast profit-making machine. But this is not an isolated case. It is the model which the ruling elite seeks to generalize.

“We are aware of sinister attempts in the corridors of power to craft specific laws; to create so-called “Special Economic Zones” or “Industrial Enclaves”; that would legally sanction these violations, granting capital a license to super-exploit without consequence. This is the legal codification of class warfare, and we must name it as such.” He said

Ajaero described the move as an attempt to legalise class oppression and urged workers to confront it with organised resistance.

The labour leader also said the government is attempting to take full control of key social security institutions such as the NSITF and PENCOM.

He warned that such moves could weaken workers’ influence in managing their savings and could turn the funds into political resources for the elite.

Ajaero said the same forces behind exploitation in factories are also trying to shape laws and institutions across the country. He called for a united response from workers to defend their rights from what he called coordinated attacks by powerful groups.

While calling on participants to look beyond workplace issues and understand how technology and national security challenges are connected, he said insecurity in several states is linked to competition for mineral resources needed for modern technologies.

According to him, the rise in kidnappings, killings and territorial violence is not random but part of a struggle for control of land rich in minerals such as lithium and tin.

He said many states have become battlegrounds because of what lies beneath their soil.

“Why is there a surge of violence, of kidnappings, and of a general state of anarchy? We must view this through our objective lense. Greedy, speculative capital is in a frantic scramble to capture vast swathes of our national territory.

“Our lands are rich in the mineral resources that fuel new technologies; lithium, tin, cobalt, and others. This is not random banditry; it is a primitive accumulation drive for the 21st century.

“The chaos is a smokescreen, a strategy of de-population and terror to clear the land for capital’s plunder. From Sokoto to Zamfara, Katsina, Benue, Kogi, Kwara and Plateau states etc have become theatres of terrorism because of the treasures beneath their lands. The consequences are devastating and personal for us the working people.” He said

Ajaero said the human cost of this crisis is being felt across the country. He condemned the abduction of students and teachers in Kebbi and Niger states and said violence against farmers, teachers, miners and health workers is weakening the nation’s social fabric.

He said insecurity, inflation and unemployment continue to make life difficult for workers while those in power enjoy comfort and luxury. He warned that the country is drifting into deeper crisis unless workers take action to defend themselves and their communities.

Ajaero however, urged workers to shift from being victims to becoming agents of change, even as he said that only organised action can stop what he described as systematic attacks on workers’ rights and secure a better future for the country.