By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

LAGOS-TRADE Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, weekend, said global economic recession had hindered the attainment of decent work in the country.

Speaking at the World Decent Day programme organised by the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASBIF, in Lagos, President-General of TUC, Mr. Peter Esele, lamented that developing countries, including Nigeria still face the effects of the crisis, which he observed had disrupted the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, which include decent work for all.

He noted that decent working conditions in the country still remained a mirage for a large number of people, stressing that the crisis had spread across the real sector of the nation’s economy.

According to him, “The consequences of the crisis on the labour had been visible since 2008, and as the crisis continues to spread and job losses mount, worldwide unemployment could increase by an additional 40 million by the end of this 2011.

The crisis is spreading throughout the real economy by means of three mutually-reinforcing transmission channels namely: the limited availability of credit for working capital, trade finance and viable investments in the real economy, credit crunch, cautions spending decisions leading to lower output, employment and prices, in turn affecting confidence among consumers and investors. The nation’s financial sector, construction and automobiles are suffering the most.”

According to him, the money committed for financial rescue measures had been far in excess of fiscal tools deployed to stimulate demand, output and employment and had not succeeded so far.

To avert the risk of systemic collapse, he urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to extend to rescue financial institutions capital injections, credit guarantees and outright assumption of bad loans.