Organized labour and women in informal sector have been assured of improved wage income, empowerment and jobs security under the leadership of the President Elect Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed and Vice President Shettima Khashim.
The Director General Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin, Comrade Issa Aremu gave this assurance on Wednesday while declaring open activities to mark 2023 International Women Day (IWD) organized by the women commission of the Institute.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Aremu who is also the Director of the 75-person Labour Directorate of Ashiwaju/ Shetima presidential campaign Council (PCC) said the record of labour administration of the President elect as former two term governor of Lagos from 1999 to 2007 and campaign program of APC positioned him “as the possible best labour friendly President” in waiting. According to him, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the first Presidential Candidate to engage both NLC and TUC members on critical labour market issues with promises of social dialogue as means for resolving inevitable disputes in the world of work.
He described the President elect and his Vice President as “ tested and trusted democratic state and non-state icons” who would consolidate on some of the pro- labour legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari and engage organized labour on all outstanding issues of living wage, gender equity, pension, labour motivation, productivity, social protection and dispute resolutions. He recalled that the President elect “had been a frequent visiting friend of labour who often intervened between organized labour and government on contentious policy issues at the time it was not fashionable to do so”.
“Lagos State under Bola Ahmed and subsequent Governors” he said “has been known to be at the vanguard of improving workers welfare, not only implemented all the minimum wages passed in the last 20 years but has not been known to have defaulted in salary payment to its workers, despite the withheld Local Government Fund, the State still prioritized payment of salary for its workers including local government employees, Lagos has successfully implemented the contributory pension scheme to ensure health retirement and guarantee regular payment of pension to workers in future”.
Comrade Aremu said while many states are yet to sign on to compulsory Contributory Pension Scheme ( CPS), Lagos since 2004 has paid as much as N 150 billion to almost 30, 000 retirees, adding that President elect Ashiwaju remains “ the best labour- friendly in waiting that would guaranteed decent work”.
The Director General who commended Nigerians for keeping faith with Democratic process in the past 24 years despite the challenges of “rising inflation and wage income poverty” also hailed the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress for the successful conclusion of the 13th National Delegates’ conference in which Comrades Joseph Ajaero and Comrade Prince Adeyanju Adewale emerged as the National President and -Deputy President respective. He however decried sharp drop of number of women as candidates in 2023 elections compared to 2019 elections. “Democracy is only sustainable with inclusive participation of women as candidates as much as voters”
