Comrade Ayuba Wabba: says labour will picket banks and other employers of casual workers

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), will soon commence picketing of companies and establishments that indulge in outsourcing and casualisation of workers across the country, NLC President Mr Ayuba Wabba, has said.

Wabba made the announcement on Thursday in Abuja in his address at the 2015 Africa Industrialisation Day Policy Roundtable Conference with the theme: “Eradicating Smuggling, Meeting the Financial and Energy Needs of Local Industries.’’

He said that NLC in 2002, entered into agreement with Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) to ensure that casualisation and out sourcing of services was abolished in Nigeria.

He added that NLC and NECA were strategising on the dates to picket the companies and establishments.

He said that NLC and its affiliates unions in the private sector would take a critical look into the challenges of casaulisation and outsourcing of services.

Wabba said: “this is a new dispensation; it is time to act fast, workers cannot continue to suffer under such conditions of service.

“Infact in most of the companies in Nigeria, you will find out that it is only 10 per cent of the workers that are regular staff; the other 90 per cent are irregular staff. The irregular staff are casual workers and these companies take advantage of them by making them work as slaves.

“Despite the fact they are working, they are poorly paid and cannot determine their conditions of service and the amount they are paid cannot take care of them.

“Because of the unemployment situation in our country, a lot of these expatriates, a lot of these companies, take advantage of them. We need to provide cover for them, they must be able to work in dignity.’’

The NLC President observed that poverty and youth unemployment would be a thing of the past if the government would fix the industries.

“For us to get out of poverty we must be able to engage our teeming youths; we must be able to create employment opportunities for them and the key to this is industrialisation. The multinationals have taken advantage of the unemployment situation by abusing expatiate quota system.

“So I want to call on the Federal Government, Federal Ministry of Labour, Investment Promotion Council, and Immigration Department to do a census of all expatiates resident in Nigeria.

Wabba announced that NLC plans to organise employment summit to look at the issues of unemployment and tangible recommendation that could be brought to the table to address some of the issues.

He commended the organisers of the conference for their initiative and stressed the need for commitment from all parties.

“When we work in unity and bring our ideas to the table, we will be able to solve our common challenges, ‘’he said.

Africa Industrialisation Day is celebrated on Nov. 20 of every year since 1990, to examine various ways of stimulating industrialisation process in Africa. (