By ESENVOSA IZAH

Organised labour and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have urged the labour movement in Nigeria to rededicate itself to the cause of workers, to ensure they achieve better living standards.

The members made the call at a Pre-May Day Symposium organised by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Lagos Chapter, on Friday in Lagos.

The symposium had as its theme, “Labour Politics and the Quest for Good Governance and Development in Nigeria”.

According to them, it will require labour to get involved in and change the narrative of the country’s political sphere to achieve better living standards.

A women’s rights activist, Dr Abiola Afolabi, said that it had become imperative for labour to have conversations surrounding politics and good governance.

Afolabi said that the country was in a situation that desired everybody’s attention and it had become necessary to be in alliance with governments to be able to address the challenges facing the country.

“The 2023 election is there, amidst insecurity and other kinds of violence that we see on daily basis.

“So, the discussion is on what role can labour play in this kind of situation? Labour has a huge network, which is national.

“So, in terms of population, labour can have what we call the critical mass; one will expect that labour can take leadership in terms of restructuring Nigeria into a structure that is acceptable to the Nigerian people.

“Therefore, it is important for us to talk about the need to have empowered citizens: citizens, who must be ready to also take action,” she said.

Also, a Deputy Chairman of a CSO, Joint Action Front, Mr Achike Chude, said it was time for labour to be more proactive on issues of politics and mobilise its members to push for a better country.

Chude said that the symposium was part of spreading consciousness among the Nigerian workers, not only at the level of leadership, but also followership.

“Of course, this comes from the worry of labour in general over the situation of our country; the economic, political crisis and other issues including insecurity that have gone on in this country.

“Also, because it is a synergy between civil society and labour, there is a thinking that it is time for them to get involved.

“It is time for them to begin to make serious forays into political terrain with a view to looking at how to assess political power for the benefit of the workers specifically, and the country in general,” Chude said.

In his remarks, the Lagos State Chairman, TUC, Mr Gbenga Ekundayo, said that May Day was worth celebrating, as “the wheel of progress of the nation depends on the workers”.

Ekundayo said: “We keep on working, whether there is security; whatever, whether we are doing good or not, workers will work; for whatever it is, people have toiled.

“We need to celebrate those workers everybody; our galant soldiers; policemen guarding us and making sure that we can sleep with eyes closed.

“We need to celebrate our nurses and doctors working in hospitals; also those in the factories, construction industries, to celebrate everybody; people on the oil rigs producing the money that is the mainstay of the economy.

“We are thankful for what we have. It is not what we desire or where we are going, however, we are thankful and we can make it better.” (NAN)

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