By Victor AhiumaYoung

THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, is disturbed by the increasing cases of intra-union crisis plaguing some of its affiliates and the consequences of such crisis on its strength, cohesion and solidarity.

As at the last count,  four unions Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria, AuATON, Mottorcycle Operators Union of Nigeria, MOUN, Agriculture and Allied Workers Union, AAWUN, and National Union of Shop Distributive Employees, NUSDE.  

The leadership of NLC is not taking this ugly trend lightly and has taken steps to address the challenge has mandated its Organizing and Industrial Relations Committee headed by its National Trustee and President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Prince Williams Akporeha.

Giving insight into the issue, a labour leader privy to the setting up of the committee told Vanguard that it is from the background that NLC needs to make it stronger to be able to confront the challenges that confront Nigerian workers and the Nigerian nation. It is a continuous effort to make its affiliates stronger and one of the things Congress is doing to make its affiliates stronger is to resolve issues or challenges that some of the affiliates are having.

The committee is to look into some of these unions and investigate, hold meetings with the relevant parties and report to the relevant organs for necessary action to be taken towards resolving the issues that are affecting the unions.  It is believed that this would help to make the affiliate unions strong. If the affiliates are strong NLC will be strong, if the affiliates are strong they will protect their unions well and they will also make greater contributions to NLC, both in terms of mobilizing their members for collective action and also mobilizing necessary resources.

There is the issue of financial resources.  Mobilising necessary resources from the affiliates with which they will use to fight collective battle for fair workplaces and for better society. 

The Prince Akporeha led-committee has swung into action. It has started dealing with issues around the motorcycle Union.

Unfortunately, one of the parties to the issue in the motorcycle Union, after had an accident on his way to Abuja, where his vehicle was a write-off, but eventually died recently.  

Then that’s for the motorcycle Union. Then there are issues in the AUATON, that is the app-based union, it also has some crises that Congress feels is it proper that once any party in the union, petitions or complaints, it is going to look into it. So, the app-based workers also have two issues and the committee is also looking into it.

The Agric Union whose problem has lingered for a long time. The leadership has also intervened and will resolve the issues within the mechanisms that are available in the Congress to ensure that these unions are contained. 

Do not forget that where you have people interacting, you have conflict. These conflicts depend on how you mediate them.  So, Congress uses these mechanisms to mediate in these crises to produce more cohesive unions, stronger unions that would also help Congress itself to resolve its various challenges.

Also, the report of the committee will be submitted to the leadership, who would now convene the organs to look into the issues and take final decision on such unions. That is what is ongoing around those ones for now.

NUSDE

There was also the protracted issue in the National Union of Shop and Distributive Employees, NUSDE.  The issue was reported to the Congress and the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The Ministry of Labour has also handed it over to NLC. NLC wadded into it. 

But I think the workers themselves have resolved the matter and a well acceptable leadership by members have been put in place by the workers. As at today, the leadership has been settling the salary arrears own workers and debts to creditors among others.  

Vanguard News