May Day celebration: Workers, FG face-off disrupts proceedings

.Workers reject Ngige, stop Oshiomhole from addressing them

.Labour unions reiterate demand from Govt

Commotion erupted at the Eagle Square Abuja on Monday as thousands of expectant workers of various workers’ unions curiously demanded the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari, whom they said needs to address their suffering, especially the issue of the long overdue review of National Minimum wage.

The drama started when the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, failed to appear to address the workers rather delegated a senior Director, claiming that he will be addressing the workers as a representative of Mr. President on the same occasion.

The workers, who claimed being deceived by Ngige, as the Minister of Labour, approached the podium to disallow any other proceeding with the demand that they will not listen to any other Government official except Mr. President whom they voted in to help cushion the sufferings of millions of Nigerian workers.

The scenario took a dangerous and uncontrollable twist when former Labour leader, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, mounted the podium to test his popularity as a solution to calm the aggrieved and disenchanted workers but was met with a stiffer opposition as the chanting crowd assured him of a showdown.

The unfortunate event threw the dignitaries in attendance including the Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and representative of the Senate President into confusion as they were all shielded out of the Eagle Square under the protection of the joint security men.

The workers, who defied police water tanker, took over the podium and seized the microphones to their satisfaction, chanting ‘Ole Ole’.

However, the aggrieved workers told The Daily Times that the Eagle Square face-off has become a better opportunity to confront the Government who has told lies since its inauguration.

According to one of the labour leaders who did not want his name in print, mammoth crowd that greeted this year’s May Day celebration was due to the apathy to the present Government.

His words: “Please do not be deceived, and do not think that we are here to praise the Government. All the people you see here are ears to hearing one thing and that is the possible increase in minimum wage any other thing short of that is useless”

Speaking also, another worker, Miss Janet Isa, said: “Our own mumu don too much’. Why will these people be treating us like this when their children are abroad studying and even to pay school fees in Nigerian for our children has become very difficult? Today we are saying no to their sins”.

Meanwhile, President of the Nigeria Labour Union (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Waba, said that the Federal Government must be held responsible for the suffering of Nigerian workers whom he said has remained under paid despite the incessant increment in prices of items in the market.

Wabba while delivering his speech before a handful of workers at the Eagle square after the mayhem that saw workers desert the Eagle Square, stated that Federal Government must do something possible to address the situation.
Addressing the media shortly after his address, the NLC president said that what happened at the event was a pure anger of what has been happening.

He said that this is an expression of people’s anger on what is happening today in the country. “It is an expression of people’s anger. You have the issue of salary arrears, promotion arrears, leave allowance as well as the non-payment of retirees’ arrears. And here we are under recession,” he said.

Wabba said that what government can do to address the matter is to start discussion on the issue of minimum wage.
“We expected that either the President or the Vice-President would have been here to address the people on the matters because it is long overdue. And as we all know, the behaviour today shows an accumulated anger since many workers today in Nigeria do not have up to three square meals a day and this calls for sporadic action.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has blamed the disruption and protest by workers at the May Day celebration in Abuja on factions in the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

Ngige told newsmen on the sideline of the celebration on Monday that what happened was as result of infiltration by non-workers into the rally venue and not necessarily workers anger about minimum wage.
He said that workers had no reason to be angry with the present administration because it had been very friendly with them.

“The Federal Government has been friendly to workers to the extent that it even went ahead and initiated the bailout fund. “No government has done that before and that was because we did not want to lay off any worker.

“So what happened today is that some people who are not really workers infiltrated this arena and they started causing some problems. Be that as it may, we are going to address the issue of minimum wage, we are also going to address the issue of backlog of promotion areas and allowances of all sorts. “We captured them in the 2016 budget but for some reasons the releases are not forthcoming but the president of the senate has assured us now. “So we are going to capture them in the 2017 budget and once it’s captured in the appropriation, the minister of finance will handle the rest.”

Ngige insisted that the venue was infiltrated by non-workers due to some factionalisation within the labour federation, adding that the conclusion was reached based on intelligence report.

However in their different statements marking the Workers’ Day celebration, the United Labour Congress (ULC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), among others, demanded that the governments at the federal, state and local levels should review the minimum wage of workers, improve security, clear backlog of salaries, reduce the rate of unemployment and curb corruption‎.

The National President of ULC, ‎Comrade Joe Ajaero, said: “We have watched with increasing despair the mounting deprivations and sufferings that have presently held Nigerian workers and masses in its throes without remitting.

The most harrowing is the fact of the seeming hopelessness of it all. Every passing day, Nigerians wake up to the news of the screws getting tighter in the midst of apparent confusion and near absence of direction amongst the leaders whose duty it is to engage the situation creatively in order to see the nation out of the morass.”

Comrade Ajaero however urged the Federal Ministry of Labour to urgently pursue the revitalisation of the Nigeria Labour Advisory Council a tripartite body with a view to reviewing Labour Laws and enacting new ones to strengthen the nation’s industrial relations space and make our workplaces and work safer.”

He said: “The need for a review of the National Minimum wage act is now more urgent than ever not only that it has become long overdue but that it has become a critical national factor for economic development. The work of the 16-Man Technical Committee cannot continue forever. We suggest that the Tripartite Committee as required by law be set up without further delay to negotiate the national minimum wage floor for immediate submission to the National Assembly for passage.

Our demand for a N96,000 (Ninety-Six thousand naira) national minimum wage remains valid and we are committed to seeking its passage into law and are determined working with other groups to ensure that Nigerian workers receive a better deal in our workplaces.

On his part, National President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in his statement said: “As usual, we are pushing for the interest of workers, not only workers, but the interest of the Nigerian public, from social and economic angle to security angle, down to issue of strategic institutions, like power. All of these will actually be accommodated in our address.

“All issues pertaining to development will also be addressed because it’s when the economy is doing well that citizens of the country will also do well, and side by side with the issue of good governance. But most importantly, the well-being of the worker will be pushed to the front burner because if workers create wealth then, they need better attention.”

Also speaking, President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, called on the Federal Government to fully implement the National Automotive Policy initiative launched in 2016 through the Bank of Industry to assist the middle class patronise local assembly plants, adding “through this initiative, a lot of serious Auto Plant will boost their sales and stabilise the market and create jobs even in this recession.”

However, the South-West Chairman of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Lagos Chapter, ‎Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo‎, said “the possible way out of recession is for government to begin to put up people-oriented policies that will arrest the massive poverty in the land.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, in a May Day message to workers through Olowookere Samuel, the ministry’s deputy director press, extoled the spirit of Nigerian workers, who irrespective of the present economic challenges in the country has remained hopeful of a better tomorrow.

He said: “The Federal Government is not unaware of the economic challenges facing Nigerian workers in the public, the private and informal sectors of the economy. We appreciate your resilience and hope for better days ahead.

“Mr. President is committed to the enhancement of workers’ welfare, through programmes like the Federal Integrated Staff Housing Scheme, FISH, and creation of enabling environment to stimulate the economy with the aim of improving the social-economic well-being of Nigeria in all sectors of the economy.

“As we celebrate today, I urge Nigerian workers not to relent in their support to the Change Agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.”