The NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, made the call in the 2022
Easter message to workers and Nigerians with the theme, “Hope That Never Dies,”
on Monday in Abuja.
According to him, millions of Nigerian university students,
especially those attending public citadels of higher learning, are celebrating
Easter outside the precincts of their campuses.
“This is not by reason of choice but because our country cut
short their hopes.
“The inability of the government to deliver on commitments
it reached with our university workers, both academic and non-academic, has
ensured that the streak of instability battering and buffeting our tertiary
education system remains unresolved.
“It is even most tragic that majority of the affected
students are children from poor homes whose parents cannot afford to pay the
outrageous fees charged by private universities.
“Tragically, while students from poor homes are held back by
frustrating cycles of strike actions, the children of the rich and powerful are
in private campuses learning.
“There is no sadder premiere of the Social Apartheid in our
society than the intermittent and protracted strike actions in our public
universities,’’ he said.
He, therefore, added “we demand respect for Collective
Bargaining Agreements signed with unions in our tertiary institutions and other
sectors.”
Wabba also noted that many workers in Nigeria are yet to
enjoy the national minimum wage almost four years after it was signed into law,
noting that Cross River, Taraba and Zamfara are the states yet to implement the
national minimum wage.
The NLC president also said that Nigerian pensioners are not
spared as many of them are denied their gratuity and pension arrears.
He said, tragically, while wages remain the same and
sometimes are unpaid, the cost of living keeps skyrocketing. Inflation has
eroded the purchasing power of workers as the Naira continued to lose its
value.
According to him, the congress salutes the indefatigable
spirit of Nigerian workers, while urging them to keep believing that a new
Nigeria that is workers- and people-friendly is possible in our life time.
“This Easter, we ask government and private sector employers
to meet workers halfway and put a glow to our hopes.
“States yet to fully implement the national minimum wage
should do so immediately. We demand immediate clearing of pension arrears owed
our retirees.
“Employers should deliver on prompt salary payment, periodic
salary increment, promotion, regular training, access to social housing,
affordable healthcare, paid vacation cum sick leave and compensation for injury
at work.
“Congress pledges to continue to deploy labour standards to
fight for and defend the rights and interests of Nigerian workers.
“Workers should also be conscious that we all have a
collective duty in this regards,’’ he said.
Wabba also said the mass killings in Plateau State,
Abuja-Kaduna train bomb attack, among others, are an awakening to the reality
of the expansion of the wings of evil on the shores of the country.
He said the congress demands that government must ensure the
swift and safe return of all abductees.
He added “we also demand compensation for all those killed and
injured in the attack.
“As Christ rose from the dead, Nigeria will arise from the
current ashes of despondency and chaos and take its rightful position in the
comity of great nations.
“This hope of a great country enabled by its working people
shall never die,” he said.
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