Campaign for Democratic Workers’ Rights, CDWR, has called on leaders of NLC and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, to wake up to their responsibilities of defending and fighting for workers’ rights.

In a May Day message Kola Ibrahim and Chinedu Bosah on behalf of the group, CDWR noted that since last May Day, “fierce battle between public sector workers and the capitalist ruling class of different shades and disguises have erupted. These battles range from continuous struggle for a minimum wage to the unprecedented general strike/mass movements against hike of petrol pump price in January.

The working people and youths, through heroic actions have shown that they are prepared to defend their right to decent living. More than this, they have expressed their readiness to struggle for fundamental change, and chase away the current set of bankrupt capitalist class, if given clear-headed and revolutionary leadership.year’s May Day should be used by the labour movement and worker activists to review the struggle of the past year and draw out a programme of action to continue to defend the living and working conditions of workers.”

“At the last delegate conference of NLC held in March 2011 where a new leadership emerged, one of the resolutions, arising from the secretariat report, mandated the leadership to come up with a comprehensive programme of action to defend workers’ rights, against privatization and all anti-poor policies.

For over a year now, there is no evidence of anything being done in that respect. Except in the last strike against fuel price hike, the current labour leadership has not led any other serious national campaign in the last one year against many of the workplace attacks and neo-liberal policies confronting workers in the public and private sector. The last attempt to hold a national strike on minimum wage last year was called off in the midnight.

At the present moment, most workers are subjected to casualisation, particularly, private companies. Many of these companies violate labour laws, including refusing to pay the N18,000 minimum wage.

“As a case study, management of Dangote Pasta attacked and sacked 250 workers in August 2010 for joining a union. Also, out of about 1400 workforce in LAGBUS, about 1000 are contract employees with no right to join a union or struggle for better welfare. In LAGBUS, contract staff like bus washers earn N10,000 while depot sweepers earn N10,000 and yet, this is a private company set up by the Lagos State government under Public Private Partnership, PPP. Besides, the trade unions and the two labour centers (NLC and TUC) have failed to defend workers’ interest and this has given the management and government the leeway to consolidate their attacks on workers.”

“CDWR calls on labour leaders in the NLC and TUC to wake up to their responsibilities. The shoving aside of labour leaders in Oyo and Enugu State by workers during the minimum wage struggle this year and last year indicates the temper and resolve among the rank and file. must come up with a comprehensive programme of action to fight against the various attacks and anti-poor policies of the government in all sectors of the economy. This includes minimum wage, casualisation, workplaces rights, underfunding of education and health, unemployment etc.”