NLC Decries Plot to Weaken Labour Unions, Advocates Gender-sensitive Public Service

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed concerns over the splitting of industrial unions by the federal government, alleging that it was meant to polarise or weaken organised labour.

The labour movement also said despite policy measures aimed at addressing gender inequity, including the signing of the Convention 190 by some member countries of the United Nations, a lot still needed to be done, especially in the private and informal work space which constituted about 80 per cent of the entire work space.

While speaking at the Africa and Arab Regional Women’s Conference in Abuja, yesterday, President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, said it seemed there was deliberate effort to weaken unions by splitting them.

“We would use this opportunity to speak out against forces that seek to polarise or weaken the organised labour by needlessly splitting unions or pitting them against one another at a time Capital is consolidating its hold on Labour through mergers, acquisitions and overwhelming national governments,” he said.

Ajaero, also spoke against what he described as inordinate ambitions of members who seek titles instead of service, advising them to put their ambitions in check for the sake of the movement and the workers.

In his speech titled: “Let Your Voice Be Representative of Our Values,” said the world was still battling with issues around women inequality and employment; occupational discrimination; ethnic minorities and workplace profiling; equal work and unequal pay including sports; working full-time after motherhood; work-life conflicts, careers and social class; the unpaid work, household division of labour; the new family formation outside the family.

Ajaero, said challenges have assumed a more complex dimension due to a combination of highly evolving diverse cultural, social, economic, political experiences.

“Women have faced challenges unique to them. Quite often, these challenges were neither ordained by God nor imposed by Him. These problems sometimes were conspiratorial, devious and hatched by men to keep their indispensable social partners, women in perpetual subjugation.”

In Africa and Arab countries, Ajaero said women’s rights were abridged or completely trampled underfoot and taken as normal.

According to Ajaero, the society was organised against women in five major ways: laws, religions, organisations, institutions and political power sharing.

“It is a complete siege without an escape route from the male predators and their female collaborators.

The other related issues and concerns in Africa and Arab countries are well articulated in your concept note and include but not limited to gender-based discrimination and violence, harassment at work place, unequal pay for work of equal value, unequal access to education, professional and occupational training, poor representation and weak voice at work place.

“We also acknowledge that gender discrimination is deeply embedded in our politico-socio-economic structures with consequences not only for the women folk but the entire society as it signifies a race to the bottom,” he said.