Nigeria Labour Congress: Necessity or Nonsensical Strike Action?
By Taiye Olaniyi
The moment the word Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC is mentioned to an average Nigerian, what readily comes to mind is either street protests, strike action or what have you.
Even amongst workers that they represent, or claim to help fight for their rights, acceleration in wages and general atmosphere of welfare packages, deduction of their salaries as check-offs are never borne out of any kind of democratic process.
Checkoffs are usually deducted from the source of one's salary and one never has the option of stopping it if one so wishes.
It would have been most heartening if one day the average Nigerian worker could come out to give testimonies of how their productivity was enhanced due to a fallout from a labor union under whose auspices they operate.
Unionization in public service would have been very beneficial to the average Nigerian workers if at what level they belong, their recruitment, promotion, discipline, and retirement are better anchored on the ideal public service practices.
Adherence to regulations, rules, and policies against the present-day political inclinations and politicians' rigmaroles in everything public service in Nigeria.
Respect for labor unions under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress would be enhanced if the National Assembly and allied political enclaves could be engaged to make open a national question and debate on why the politicians earn the unrealistic jumbo pay they are paid at the peril of the continuity of Nigeria and the economic despondency debilitating millions of Nigerians today. Would the Nigeria Labor Congress feel challenged and have the guts to call politicians to order on the miseries and woes their unending acquisitions mete out to us all?
How reasonable is it for the Nigeria Labour Congress to call for protests, strikes, sit at home, and, what have you at the time that average Nigerians no longer feel safe amongst themselves and at a time when patriotism is at its lowest ebb?
Sudan is burning, Niger and a couple of ECOWAS member nations are on the verge of collapse, should Nigerians and Nigeria need not learn from this "madness in the air" and be sane amidst the mad nations?
By the way, what would NLC gain if the unexpected becomes an insanity upload and downplays what was planned as maybe a peaceful protest? Think about it.
Taiye Olaniyi, a retired Postman of the Nigeria Postal Service, is based in Lagos