By Esenvosa Izah
Workers in Nigeria on Monday joined their counterparts across the world to mark the 2023 May Day, popularly known as the workers’ day.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the day is marked to renew workers’ agitation for improved working conditions and general welfare.
The 2023 Workers’ Day theme is “Workers Rights and Socio-economic Justice “.
In Lagos, workers converged on the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, also known as Onikan Stadium, to celebrate the day.
Some of the workers who spoke with NAN were hoping that the incoming administration would prioritise issues affecting them and also improve the economy.
According to them, the issues include outsourcing and casualisation in the sector, delayed and poor retirement packages, among others, which deprive workers of their rights.
The Chairman, National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employee, Mr Ajila Wasiu, urged the incoming administration to address the outsourcing in the sector.
“We are at a situation where many workers, more than 60 to 70 per cent in the industry, are either outsourced or contract staff.
“This is a situation where you have given your best, and many of us have gone through rigorous activities in bringing up the institutions, in contributions to the growth of the economy.
“However, it is very unfortunate that at the end of the day, workers in that institution are either contracted or outsourced; and that is unacceptable.
“The union is making effort to correct it; it is a work in progress and hopefully, we believe with the general collaboration and in agreement with stakeholders, things will be regularised,“ Wasiu said.
Also, Mr Oladokun Oyedotun, the Unit Chairman, National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees, 7up Bottling Company Limited Chapter, said there was the need to address retirement packages of retirees.
Oyedotun said, “The interest of workers should be utmost pririty to the government because we have many things we have been agitating for.
“We will be happy if government did something about the retirement package to benefit retirees, including their welfare and families.”
In his remarks, the State Chairman, Nigerian Union of Teachers, Lagos Council, Mr Akintoye Hassan, said this year’s May Day was significant because it was the election year.
According to him, it is significant because new leadership emerged in the Nigeria Labour Congress, in the person of Mr Joe Ajaero as president.
“It is also a period where we just had the national election in which in this same month a new president, new group of Individuals will be inaugurated to the see to the affairs of the nation at the executive and legislative levels.
“So, we are having a new crop of leadership from both labour and partisan politics; this is a new direction, new people, now coming on board to work together to actually see to the affairs of the nation and workers in general.
“We urge both parties as stakeholders to work for the benefit of average Nigerians; what we have lacked over the years, especially from the political leaders, is the high sense of sincerity of purpose.
“It is high time that we put this behind us; there are lots of challenges facing the nation and even globally including economic crisis, insecurity and we have a lot to contend with; it is a year for serious assignment for both labour and political leaders, “ Hassan said.
Earlier, the state Chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Lagos Chapter, Mr Gbenga Ekundayo, said workers’ salaries and wages had improved over the years.
Ekundayo said, however, that workers had fared rather poorly over the years at the same time.
“The reason is, the level of increase we have in salaries and wages is not commensurate with the level of inflation that we have in the country.
“Workers have not fared well enough over time and we need that to change, going forward.
“Also, this year, we will only continue to encourage workers to continue to speak out, bind together, so that we can struggle and have the gains together to emancipate ourselves from the claws of those bad employers.
“This is so that we can gain more for ourselves and improve our lives and lives of our families.’’ (NAN)
