AGAINST the backdrop of the wave of perennial strikes in some sectors of the economy, Comrade Issa Aremu, the Director General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour (MINILS), Ilorin has commended the National Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria (NUTGWN) and the Chemical and Non-metallic Senior Staff Association (CANMPSSAN) for what he described is “their respective exceptional commitment” to workers’ education, collective bargaining and industrial harmony.
Comrade Aremu gave the commendation at the 2023 education conferences of the two unions held in Ilorin and Kaduna states respectively.
Speaking in Kaduna at the 35th Annual Joint National Education Conference organised by NUTGTWN in collaboration with the Nigerian Textile Garment and Tailoring Employers’ Association (NTGTEA), Comrade Aremu observed that the growth of textile union in a depressed textile sub-sector indicates that continuous members’ education “is the critical success factor for effective trade unionism and workplace harmony. “
He said sustainable welfare of workers depends on active collective bargaining and social dialogue process in the world of work which in turn is premised on the training and retraining of union organisers and rank and file alike.
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Aremu, who was the immediate past General Secretary of the union, commended the leadership of Textile Employers Association and workers’ union for sustaining the collaboration in areas of education and collective bargaining in the past five decades said: “If you think workers’ education is expensive, come to textile union to see that the real benefits of industrial harmony more than compensated for the nominal costs of annual workers’ educational conferences.”
He recalled what he called the ‘near tragedy of 1993’ stating that “on account of simple knowledge gap of the difference between a proposal and a collective agreement,” some textile workers were misled to violently revolt against their union after which they apologised and rebuilt the union.”
Aremu said with its uninterrupted 35th edition of the annual education conference, the textile union has shown that education is the tool to build a stable trade union movement, adding that the union was deserving of “MINILS anniversary institutional fellowship” for promoting decent work through seamless educational service delivery”.
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Over 260 participants drawn from textile, fashion design and tailoring companies attended the Kaduna conference, a record number the DG hailed as the critical benchmark for the NLC to emulate.
In a similar vein, Comrade Aremu, while addressing the 3rd Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of Chemical and Non-metallic Senior Staff Association (CANMPSSAN) held in Ilorin, called on other unions to emulate the union’s approach of dispute resolution through social dialogue.
He added that it was a mark of “strength rather than weakness to resolve problems in the world of work on the table than go to the avoidable trenches”.
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Earlier, the National President of the Textile Union, Comrade John Adaji, had singled out past General Secretaries of the union, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Comrade Aremu, for commendation for laying the foundation for workers’ education.
