· Calls For A Fighting Leadership
THE Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) has welcomed the merger of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC) which was announced last Thursday, July 16, 2020 in Abuja following a reconciliation meeting between the leadership of both organisations.
In a press statement signed by its Acting National Chairperson, Bamigboye Abiodun, and National Secretary, Chinedu Bosah, dated July 18, 2020 and sighted by National Record, the SPN expressed optimism that the reconciliation would translate to a strengthened labour movement that will serve as a platform for the defence of class interests of the Nigerian working people.
The SPN said a strong and united labour is desirable at this point against the backdrop of the fact that several interests of Nigeria’s working people are being trampled upon. The SPN said one of such interests in need of a common front for struggle is the new N30,000 national minimum wage which has remained unimplemented in a number of states over a year after it became law.
The SPN noted that despite the current severe economic dislocation the Nigeria working people are going through, the federal government continues to pile more burdens on them by the recent increase in the pump price of petrol from N125 to N143 just as it attempted to hike electricity tariff but only stopped by public outcry. “This is in addition to the growing cases of job losses, wage cuts and attacks on working conditions as a result of the economic crisis compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic,” SPN said.
“Under this kind of severe economic attacks the Nigeria working people are subjected to at this present time, we of the SPN strongly hold that the only way the new reconciliation can make sense to an average Nigerian worker, youths and mass of the poor is if it translates into a fighting leadership which defends the interests of workers and the poor all the time,” SPN said.
It called on NLC to synergise with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) to declare a 24-hour nationwide strike to be combined with street protests “to demand a full and unconditional implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage for all categories of Nigeria workers and reject the recent hike in the price of petrol and that of electricity tariff which is temporarily suspended.”
While adding that the strike should also be used to oppose job losses, wage cuts and payment of fractional salaries and other attacks on workers’ pay and conditions and also to give solidarity to the struggle of health workers across the country, the SPN also urged the reunited NLC to collaborate with the TUC to immediately initiate a process to commence serious discussions that will involve trade unions, socialists and pro-masses organisations on the imperative for a working peoples’ political alternative given the failure and incapacity of all sections of the capitalist elite to develop Nigeria.
“We of the SPN urge that the ultimate goal of such discussion must be the formation of a pan-Nigeria mass working people political party on a socialist program through which the working people can rescue political power from the hands of the parasitic pro-capitalist elites presiding over the affairs of the country and begin to use the enormous human and natural resources at the disposal of the country to reconstruct the country in the interest of workers and the poor.”
Below is the full statement:
18th July, 2020
Press Statement
NLC AND ULC RECONCILIATION: SPN Welcomes the development and calls for a fighting leadership
The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) welcomes the reconciliation of both the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and United Labour Congress, ULC announced on Thursday, 16th July, 2020. This is after over four years a group of trade unions which later metamorphosed to ULC broke away from the NLC following a dispute that erupted over the election of the President of the NLC between Comrade Ayuba Wabba of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and Comrade Joe Ajaero of Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) at the national delegate conference of the labour centre in 2015.
Just like we are not opposed to emergence of any trade union centre created by labour leaders and workers, it is always our desire and aspiration that the emergence of a trade union centre or re-emergence of two or more labour centres translates to a strengthened labour movement that will be able to unite all the Nigeria working people across the diverse ethnic and religious divides on the basis of defence of its class interest.
Unfortunately, it is evident today that several interest of the Nigeria working people are being trampled upon. For instance, for over five months the President Buhari-led government was compelled to approve and sign into law a N30,000 national minimum wage no fewer than 11 states are yet to commence the implementation while 5 states including Federal Capital territory are implementing partially. Even states like Kaduna and Kano which are among those that claimed to have commenced the implementation are now taking measure that suggests an attempt to reverse continuous implementation of the new minimum wage.
Again, despite the current severe economic dislocation the Nigeria working people are going through the Buhari-led government has not only stopped at increasing the pump price of petrol from N125 to N143, it also attempted to commence the implementation of about 68% hike in the electricity tariff until the public outcry forced the implementation to be suspended till 2021. This is in addition to the growing cases of job losses, wage cuts and attacks on working conditions as a result of the economic crisis compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. Under this kind of severe economic attacks the Nigeria working people are subjected to at this present time, we of the SPN strongly hold that the only way the new reconciliation can make sense to an average Nigerian worker, youths and mass of the poor is if it translates into a fighting leadership which defends the interests of workers and the poor all the time.
Therefore, we call on the reunited NLC together with the TUC to declare a 24 hours nationwide strike with street protests to demand a full and unconditional implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage for all categories of Nigeria workers and reject the recent hike in the price of petrol and that of electricity tariff which is temporarily suspended. Such a strike should also be used to oppose job losses, wage cuts and payment of fractional salaries and other attacks on workers’ pay and conditions and also to give solidarity to the struggle of health workers across the country.
Most importantly, the reunited NLC and TUC should immediately initiate a process to commence serious discussions that will involve trade unions, socialist and pro-masses organisations on the imperative of a working people political alternative given the failure and incapacity of all sections of the capitalist elite to develop Nigeria. We of the SPN urge that the ultimate goal of such discussion must be the formation of a pan-Nigeria mass working people political party on a socialist program through which the working people can rescue political power from the hands of the parasitic pro-capitalist elites presiding over the affair of the country and begin to use the enormous human and natural resources at the disposal of the country to reconstruct the country in the interest of workers and the poor.
Signed:
Bamigboye Abiodun Chinedu Bosah
Acting National Chairperson National Secretary
