By TEMITOPE EJIMOKUN/JOAN NWAGWU

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Monday picketed Abuja Continental Hotel over alleged violation of workers’ rights, and denial of unionisation and collective bargaining.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the entrance to the hotel was barricaded for about two hours, preventing vehicles from going in and out of the premises.

The workers carried placards with inscriptions including, “Union membership is by force to belong to union” and “TUC does not speak for us. We do not authorise TUC representatives’’.

TUC Secretary-General Nuhu Toro, while addressing newsmen during the picketing, said the union had exhausted efforts to resolve the dispute through dialogue after writing the management on Aug. 4.

“The issue is very clear. Workers are being treated as slaves at Abuja Continental Hotel. Their rights are being violated,” Toro said.

He said the management responded that ongoing renovation would prevent discussions until the end of November, describing the response as unacceptable, given the urgency of the workers’ concerns.

“How does that make sense? We are talking about workers’ rights being violated, yet the matter is being postponed until the renovation is completed,” he said.

Toro said TUC was demanding workers’ rights to unionisation and collective bargaining, as guaranteed under Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution.

“We are here to exercise our fundamental right and press our demand that they do have a right to unionisation and collective bargaining,” he said.

He said TUC had shared relevant correspondence with the police and Department of State Services (DSS), adding that the union remained ready for dialogue.

“The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, under the leadership of Comrade Engineer Osifo, is ready to dialogue. If they want to dialogue now, we are ready,” Toro said.

Toro said the picketing would continue until Friday, when the union would review the situation, adding that it remained committed to a peaceful resolution.

Also, Mr William Adegbe, National President, Hotel and Personal Services Senior Staff Association (HAFSA), alleged that similar unionisation disputes had occurred at Continental Hotel in Lagos.

“Continental Hotel has a history. The same thing happening here in Abuja is happening at the Continental Hotel in Lagos,” Adegbe said.

He alleged that workers were denied unionisation and access to conditions of service after new investors took over the hotel following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They have established this place like a slave camp. Their members do not have access to any form of condition of service and do not have the right to associate,” he said.

Adegbe said HAFSA and the National Union of Professional Service Industries (NUPSI) had written several letters seeking dialogue before escalating the matter to TUC.

“Our letters and pleas for a meeting with the management have been ignored. That was why we escalated the matter to the labour centre, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria,” he said.

He alleged that some workers were intimidated during the picketing, stressing that HAFSA and NUPSI were jointly handling the dispute.

“Our mandate is to defend workers anywhere in Nigeria. That is why the Trade Union Congress has come here to demonstrate that the workers’ concerns are genuine,” Adegbe said.

Meanwhile, Mr Samuel Esiakpoyere, spokesman for the workers’ representatives at Abuja Continental Hotel, said employees were not aware of the alleged correspondence between the unions and hotel management.

“To the best of our knowledge, this matter affects us. If there are correspondences, how many are there? We have not seen anything,” Esiakpoyere said.

He said workers were not carried along in the alleged engagements and maintained that management was making efforts to improve their welfare.

“The management is doing its best, and we know that whatever we are going through is going to get a lot better. We do not want the union to kill us while trying to help us,” he said.

Esiakpoyere urged the union to pursue its demands without disrupting the hotel’s operations or jeopardising workers’ livelihoods.

“We are saying no to unionisation,” he said. (NAN)

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