From the struggle to make the Federal and state governments comply with the constitution-backed new minimum wage, to unending casualisation and unfair work place practices, signs that workers should not trust Nigerian labour leaders continue to emerge, writes MESHACK IDEHEN.
The recently concluded 9th Triennial National Delegate's Conference of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the intrigues that surrounded the election of a new president general has again shown why workers in the country should not put complete faith in labour leaders.
Before the elections that produced Mr. Bobboi Kaigaima as the president of the TUC,workers in the country were already grappling with several leadership induced challenges, most of which were traced to the double standards with which labour leaders is said to have been representing workers interests.
Some of the issues, according to observers, include allegations of labour leaders going behind workers to negotiate and collect huge sums of money from government and some private sector players in order to shelve plans for strikes, and the inability by union leaders to put up a solid defence for unjustly retrenched workers has lingered for a long time.
Moreso, it was also widely speculated not too long ago, that the reason why calls for a new national labour centre was mooted by some affiliate unions, was due to almost irreparable divisions within the leadership of both the Nigeria Labour Congress,(NLC) and the TUC all happening at the expense of the workers.
Be that as it may, the final straw that is likely to break organised labour, alongside why the workers trust may be completely lost by the leadership of organised labour, is in the way and manner that the national labour centres picks its leaders, irrespective of the opinion of the vast majority of members.
Making reference to the recently held TUC elections that produced a new president, labour activist and President of the Progressive Leadership Organisation International, Mr. Emmanuel Ezueme, said the TUC, like the NLC have no right to consistently criticise the government, when putting its own house in order is a big challenge.
Ezueme said the manipulations and shenanigans that delegates to the TUC elections at the international conference centre witnessed is enough to erase whatever trust or loyalty that previously existed between union leaders and members, adding trust and loyalty lost is difficult to regain.
According to him, "There is no reason why member's views should be relegated to the background because of the desperation of some people to ensure that their favourites emerge as winners in the election. The omen spells doom for the future of organised labour unions in the country".
Alleging behind the scene moves, including subtle threats of blackmail and expulsion, he said the events that led to the stepping down of the President of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions,(ASSIBIFI) Mr. Olusoji Salako for the President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association, (PENGASSAN), Mr. Babatunde Ogun was more than meet the eyes, adding it was the untidy manner Salako was forced to step down for Ogun that made him (Ogun) to lose the election to Kaigama.
He also accused out gone president general, Mr. Peter Esele, of orchestrating moves that led to the defeat of Ogun, saying all along that Esele has been running TUC more like a personal estate.
Speaking in the same vein, while making reference to the strike that oil workers have called for this week, Industrial Relations Expert, Dr. Peter Okhiria, said in the not distant future that workers will no longer respond to calls for strikes and protest by their leaders.
Okhiria explained it is an open secret amongst Nigerian workers that whenever the government calls labour leaders for a meeting, it is best to assume that any strike or protest being planned or ongoing has come to an end.
He added many workers though not having the power and means to challenge their leaders are aware of all that usually goes on in such meetings with government, its officials or private sector employers, saying workers including those in the private sector are fed up with these inconsistencies.
Inconsistencies in union leadership; poor election process and inability to put up a good defence for workers aside, others said the finances of organised labour which has witnessed massive rise in recent years, and which many workers don't see being utilised for their benefits is another reason why the nation's workers do no longer trust their leaders.
An employee of a national union, who insisted on speaking with National Mirror only on the condition of annonimity, explained career development initiatives have been relegated to the background and that productivity also have dropped all because labour is not spending money to develop workers or compelling employers to do so.
On his part, the President, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, (NUTGTWN), Mr. Oladele Hunsu, bemoaned employers disregarding minimum safety standard, saying there are worsening safety concerns at workplaces in Nigeria.
He said this is an area that union leaders need to focus.
