By Michael Oche
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has threatened industrial action against hotels and other establishments that prevent workers from exercising their right to unionise, warning that organised labour would not allow employers to undermine workers’ fundamental rights.
The TUC President-General, Comrade Festus Osifo, specifically accused the management of Abuja Continental Hotel of frustrating efforts by workers to organise under a trade union, warning that the hotel could face picketing and other industrial actions if it continued to deny workers the right to unionise.
Osifo, who spoke in Abuja, said the TUC would continue to defend the rights of workers to freely associate and organise, stressing that employers must comply with Nigeria’s labour laws and respect workers’ freedom of association.
He said the Congress was backing the agitations of the Hotel and Personal Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (HPSSSAN) over the alleged denial of workers’ right to unionise at the hotel.
The TUC leader warned that organised labour would take decisive action against establishments that continued to violate workers’ rights.
He said: “We will not allow employers to deny workers their right to unionise. Where there is a violation of workers’ rights, organised labour will not sit back and watch.”
Osifo also expressed the TUC’s support for aviation workers in their ongoing industrial dispute, saying the Congress would continue to stand with workers whose rights and welfare were being threatened.
On the country’s refineries, the TUC president-general opposed outright privatisation, but advocated a model that would reduce government ownership while giving controlling equity to competent private investors.
He cited the Nigeria LNG model, where government holds a minority stake while private-sector partners have controlling interest.
Osifo said the government should reduce its equity in the refineries to a maximum of 49 per cent, while allowing credible private investors with proven technical and financial capacity in the petroleum and petrochemical industry to hold 51 per cent.
According to him, such an arrangement would reduce political interference and ensure that commercial considerations drive decisions concerning refinery operations.
Osifo, however, warned against repeating what he described as the mistakes associated with the privatisation of the power sector, arguing that some investors who acquired distribution companies lacked the technical and financial capacity required to effectively manage the sector.
He therefore endorsed the current efforts involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and prospective strategic investors to reposition the refineries.
The labour centre also commended the Department of State Services (DSS), under its Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, for recent arrests of suspected terrorists and bandits.
Osifo urged security agencies to ensure that arrested suspects were prosecuted in accordance with the law, arguing that successful prosecution and conviction would send a strong deterrent message to criminal elements.
“When government does some things that are wrong, we condemn. And when they do things that we see some positive in it, we also commend,” he said.
The TUC also commended the Federal Government for increasing the salaries of military personnel by between 50 and 80 per cent.
Osifo described the move as a step in the right direction but called for similar salary adjustments for other Nigerian workers, particularly public-sector employees.
He appealed to state and local governments to emulate the Federal Government by improving the remuneration of their workers.
The TUC President-General also commended the Minister of Health, Professor Ali Pate, for intervening in a dispute involving members of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB).
Osifo said some factories where members of the union worked had been shut down over government policy issues, while some workers were arrested.
He said the intervention of the minister resulted in the release of the affected workers and the reopening of the factories.
The TUC leader urged other ministries, departments and agencies of government to emulate the minister’s prompt intervention in labour-related disputes.
Osifo said the Congress would continue to support government policies that positively affect Nigerians while resisting policies and actions that undermine workers’ welfare and the wellbeing of the wider population.
He reaffirmed the TUC’s commitment to defending workers’ rights and advocating policies capable of improving living standards, economic stability and national security.
