The Unity of Industrial Unions affiliated to Nigeria’s Labour Congress (NLC) is Necessary

The Unity of Industrial Unions affiliated to Nigeria’s Labour Congress (NLC) is Necessary




In December 1989, the Nigeria’s Labour Congress gave the Government an ultimatum to negotiate the Union’s minimum wage demands or face a General Strike. Before the ultimatum, 17 of the 42 Industrial Unions affiliated to NLC met in Ibadan and disassociated themselves from the ultimatum given by the Central Labour Organization.

We are struck by this development, at this time of the terrible experience of Nigeria’s working population. We remember the fractionalizations and the divisions in the history of Nigeria’s Labour Movement. This is the time our proletariat must match in solid ranks to make its future secured.

The necessity of the Unity of the Industrial Unions is dictated by the present exceptional circumstances in the history of Nigeria’s working population and working-class movement. The implementation of IMF/World Bank inspired Structural Adjustment Programme has brought unimaginable hardship to the working people of this country. And the government is assaulting the working-class organizations and the individuals against the programme.

Furthermore, we must not allow the consolidation of SAP. We must find an alternative to SAP. So, we must unite. The Industrial Unions affiliated to NLC must unite, if are representing the interests of workers. We are convinced that the genuine unification of the Industrial Unions can only be achieved on the basis of the following principles:

1. The involvement and politicization of ranks and files workers in Union activities is a guarantee of unity of the Industrial Unions. So, all trade union activities should be democratized, to give the mass of the workers a chance to participate.
2. Babangida Administration is a corporatist one. All the Unions must learn how not to become “flexible” while demanding something from the state. Any Union that becomes “flexible” may be bought and incorporated, and used against other unions.
3. In anything which affects the working-class, the Labour Movement should convene a summit with active participation of the workers themselves to discuss the implications on the workers and what defensive action to take to counter the action of the government.
4. There are strike threats by many industrial unions over the refusal of some state governments and some government establishments to pay SAP relief to the workers. The strike threats should go with a living wage campaign; to mobilize the mass of the workers themselves in carrying the strike threats.
5. All Unions should reject the government saying that workers can negotiate increase of wages with their employers. Workers need a review of the minimum wage, not an increase by employers which can also be withdrawn. This is calculated to divide workers.
6. The Trade Union Movement is to attract to its side other oppressed people of the society, by articulating their specific problems and defending their interests.
7. Many workers belonging to different Industrial Unions are members of community based Development Associations. In order to create a solid relationship between workers unions and community based associations and between workers of different indisutrial unions, it is good of workers unions to establish working relationship with such community-based associations.
8. The government has launched wonderful propaganda in Radio, Television, Newspapers, Posters, Pamphlets, drama and other theatre performances, etc. projecting SAP as good for the people. Yet we know SAP has only brought hardship. Workers organization should counter that by launching campaign against the present suffering of the people. This is a very sure way of uniting workers.
9. Industrial Unions are to strengthen their unions at plant levels, to fight the slightest assault by employers on the workers.

When the Unions become united, there is nothing workers will demand from government and/or employers, they cannot get. We therefore present this for the discussion of all workers’ organizations of our country.

M. M. Yusif
4th January, 1990