By Our Reporter
THE CAMPAIGN for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) has accused the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of failing to adequately defend Nigerian workers against worsening economic hardship, casualisation and anti-worker government policies, insisting that the labour movement must be transformed into a democratic and fighting force.
CDWR’s accusation comes against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the October 27, 2026 agreement between the NLC and the Federal Government, which reportedly granted federal public sector workers a N70,000 wage award for six months.
The agreement triggered a public disagreement between NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo, with the latter describing the arrangement as inadequate and arguing that workers need a permanent salary increase rather than a temporary palliative.
In a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Chinedu Bosah, the CDWR said it agreed with Osifo that Nigerian workers deserved a sustainable wage increase capable of guaranteeing a decent standard of living.
CDWR, however, accused both labour centres of lacking the determination and political will to mobilise workers for better conditions.
The organisation described Osifo’s condemnation of the agreement as hypocritical, arguing that he had not demonstrated a willingness to lead a serious struggle for improved wages.
It nevertheless welcomed the wage award, given the prevailing weakness of the labour movement, while urging the two labour centres to simultaneously fight for a permanent and substantially improved wage structure.
According to the CDWR, the controversy between the two labour leaders represents a distraction from the deeper economic and workplace challenges confronting Nigerian workers, particularly the erosion of purchasing power, rising living costs, poor working conditions and widespread insecurity of employment.
The organisation maintained that wage increases alone cannot guarantee a decent life unless accompanied by economic policies that improve workers’ purchasing power and address the structural weaknesses of the Nigerian economy.
CDWR blamed the country’s economic crisis on what it described as a neo-colonial and underdeveloped economic structure, the absence of a coherent industrialisation programme, inadequate infrastructure and capitalist policies that prioritise the profits of a privileged few over the welfare of the working population.
It particularly criticised the NLC and TUC for their alleged failure to organise effective resistance against the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, including the removal of petrol subsidy, the floating and devaluation of the naira, electricity tariff increases and other measures that have significantly increased the cost of living.
It recalled that petrol prices rose from N198 per litre to over N1,400 per litre under the present administration, arguing that the development contributed to the erosion of workers’ wages, increased production costs and intensified economic hardship.
The organisation accused Ajaero of distancing the NLC from the struggle against the petrol price hike by asking Nigerians to fight for themselves, while Osifo was criticised for supporting the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.
It also condemned the labour centres for failing to mobilise against the government’s foreign exchange policy, which it said had further weakened the naira and increased the prices of goods in an import-dependent economy.
The CDWR further accused the NLC and TUC of remaining silent over electricity tariff increases imposed on many communities under the Band A electricity classification, noting that tariffs were increased by 226 per cent.
It also faulted the labour leadership for failing to mount effective resistance against rising school fees in secondary and tertiary institutions and the 50 per cent increase in telecommunications tariffs in 2025.
Beyond the broader economic crisis, the organisation raised alarm over the growing prevalence of casualisation and other unfair labour practices across Nigerian workplaces, describing the situation as a form of modern-day slavery.
It alleged that at least 75 per cent of Nigerian workers are casualised, leaving millions without job security, adequate remuneration, retirement benefits or medical insurance, while many are exposed to dangerous working environments.
The CDWR recalled that shortly after Ajaero emerged as NLC President on February 8, 2023, he met with factory-based unions, including the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) and the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), and pledged to tackle casualisation and unfair labour practices.
However, the organisation accused the NLC, TUC and their affiliate unions of failing to translate those promises into meaningful action, alleging that employers have continued to casualise workers with little or no resistance from the trade union leadership.
The statement also highlighted the experience of Comrade Abbey Trotsky, Oyo State Coordinator of the CDWR, who it said has faced repeated arrests, harassment and both criminal and civil court cases following his solidarity activities with casual workers at Sumal Company in Ibadan in 2018.
According to the organisation, Ajaero and Osifo failed to intervene or demonstrate solidarity with Trotsky despite the circumstances surrounding his victimisation. The CDWR cited the case as an example of what it described as the growing disconnect between labour leaders and ordinary workers facing exploitation and repression.
On the political front, the organisation accused the NLC and TUC of squandering the opportunity to build the Labour Party into a mass political platform for workers and the poor.
It noted that the party, formed and registered in 2003, was originally expected to provide a democratic political alternative through which workers and the poor could challenge anti-worker policies and the dominant political establishment. Instead, the CDWR argued, the Labour Party has become indistinguishable from parties such as the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in its failure to represent the interests of the working masses.
The organisation therefore called for the formation of a mass working people’s political party founded on socialist programmes, arguing that Nigerian workers and the poor urgently need an independent political platform capable of challenging corruption, inequality and anti-poor economic policies.
The CDWR also called on workers, trade union activists, socialists and pro-labour organisations to intensify efforts towards reclaiming the labour movement from what it described as right-wing and reactionary trade union leadership.
It urged the NLC and TUC leaderships to abandon public exchanges of accusations and concentrate on addressing the worsening conditions of workers and the wider population.
More importantly, the organisation called for the democratisation of trade unions and their repositioning as fighting organisations that consistently defend workers’ interests.
It urged workers and activists to use the next delegate conferences of both the NLC and TUC to elect leaders committed to genuine workers’ struggles and the transformation of the labour movement.
The CDWR stressed that Nigerian workers must take an active role in rebuilding their unions, insisting that the fight for decent wages, secure employment, affordable public services and improved living conditions cannot be separated from the struggle for democratic and militant trade unionism.
It maintained that the future of the Nigerian labour movement depends not on verbal exchanges between its leaders but on organised collective action capable of confronting government policies and employers’ exploitation.
