By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Monday, called for greater transparency and accountability in the operations of the National Pension Commission, PENCOM.

President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made the call while speaking at the 20th NLC Harmattan School, 2024, in Abuja, with the theme, “Trade Unions and the Quest for a New Social Contract.”

Ajaero stressed the need for an inclusive approach to governance and criticised the delay in constituting the PENCOM board.

The NLC President questioned the justification for expenditures made in the absence of a properly constituted board, stating that the situation undermined the representation of workers who contribute to PENCOM.

While, linking the PENCOM issue to concerns about the inclusivity of social contracts especially with workers in Nigeria, he criticised the inadequacies in the implementation of the national minimum wage, questioning whether it sufficiently accounted for domestic workers and the dignity of labour.

According to him, ““If the PENCOM contribution is made up of workers’ money, and for two years the board has not been constituted, all the spending today cannot be justified. Any expenditure outside the board where workers are not represented is unacceptable.

“We must evaluate to what extent the minimum wage is inclusive and whether it reflects total social justice in this era of economic adversity.”

Ajaero urged Nigerian workers to demand better governance that prioritises their interests and aligns with principles of social justice.

Reflecting on the challenges of the past year, he noted the resilience of the labour movement in the face of intimidation and adversity.

The NLC President described the ongoing struggles as a necessary sacrifice to ensure the protection of workers’ rights and the advancement of social justice in Nigeria.

The Harmattan School, an annual knowledge-sharing programme, is a platform for trade union leaders to strategize and strengthen their resolve to address emerging challenges.

This year’s theme, emphasised the need for participatory governance, fair income, and environmental sustainability to build a more inclusive and equitable society.

He said: “Every year at this time, we gather in the Harmattan School to empower ourselves through knowledge sharing to build the relevant capacities for us as a trade union movement to deliver greater benefits to our constituents.

“Its efficacy and established impacts have greatly encouraged us to continue despite the mounting challenges faced annually to organize this programme.

“We are guided by the knowledge of the effect our various training programs have had on our movement to continue to mobilise our lean resources towards ensuring that every year, we all can gather to share relevant knowledge and experiences to prepare ourselves for the challenges of the future.

“This school gives us the opportunity to unpack the events of the year, understand them better and find clarity that allows us to craft better strategies to grapple with the inevitable contestations that must confront us the following year. It is one of the ways we prepare for the new year.

“It is on this premise that on behalf of the National Leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), I welcome you all to this year’s Harmattan school. In a year that we have witnessed one of the greatest turbulences in our history as a movement, a period where we have been invaded, ransacked and subjected to the highest level of threats and intimidation, a year that we have been charged with treasonable felony, terrorism financing, Cybercrime and other sundry crimes, a year where our liberties have been forcefully emasculated and a year when we were arrested and detained by the state!

“A year where we have had to negotiate a new national minimum wage in the midst of the worst kind of harrowing hardship ever seen in our clime. A year where workers and other Nigerians go to bed daily fearing what the next day may bring especially in the market places.

“It has truly been a year like no other year in our history thus presented us with unknown quantities that sometimes defy human relations logic thus require new understanding and new explanations.”