President Muhammadu Buhari has advised the incoming administration led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to make sure workers’ rights were respected and a sound industrial relations system was maintained to drive the nation’s socioeconomic development.

Buhari who is marking the last workers day celebration with the theme ‘Workers Rights and Socio-Economic Justice’ as Nigeria’s President, gave the advice while setting the agenda in the labour sector for the next President at the 2023 May Day celebration, held at the Eagles Square in Abuja.

Represented by Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, he stressed the need for Nigerians to have access to decent work, socio-economic justice, a fair economic structure

He said: “The government affirms the need for the enthronement of decent work which sums up the aspiration that all people have for their working lives; for work that is productive, delivers a fair income with security and social protection, safeguards basic rights, offers equality of opportunity and treatment, prospects for personal development and the chance for recognition and to have your voice heard.

“These elements of decent work concur with our commitment to reduce poverty and forge a path to achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development, and ultimately peace and security in communities.

“Workers’ rights coupled with socio-economic justice make a happy workplace. We, therefore, agree that a fair economic structure targeted at creating opportunities for all to succeed irrespective of sex, race/ethnicity, age, disability, creed, religion, etc. is the sine qua non for progress and development.

“I encourage the incoming Administration to continue to respect workers’ rights imbued with socio-economic development and driven by the four pillars of the decent work agent to promote jobs and enterprises, guaranteeing rights at work, extending social protection, and promoting social dialogue for consensus building and maintain a Sound National Industrial Relations System.”

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, noted that workers whether in the public or private sector, remain the backbone of Nigeria’s economy and were crucial to building and sustaining the economy of any nation through their hard work, productivity and dedication to service.

According to him, the government recognises the importance of Nigerian workers, and was committed to creating the right environment for them to thrive, as was evident in the number of measures taken in the last few years to support workers in the country such as increasing the national minimum wage, institutionalising automatic review of national minimum wage every five years in the Act, ]providing better working conditions, and environment as well as investing in training and re-training of workers.

Ngige who however revealed that many workers in Nigeria were still struggling with low take-home pay, lack of job security, and poor working conditions, said the challenges have been bequeathed to the incoming administration to address.

He said: “We recognize that there is a lot more work to be done to improve the lives of Nigerian workers. We acknowledge the fact that many Nigerian workers continue to face significant challenges, including low take-home pay, lack of job security, and unsatisfactory working conditions.

“We are committed to addressing these issues and creating a more favourable environment for Nigerian workers to thrive. The solution to these challenges will not come overnight but is a work in progress. These have been top priorities on the agenda of the outgoing Administration and are also being bequeathed to the incoming Administration with a work plan for addressing them as Government is a Continuum.”

Clarifying why certain categories of workers were not captured in the recent 40%
40% peculiar allowance increase introduced into the remuneration and emoluments of core Federal Civil Servants and other public servants on the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS)
to help cushion the effects of inflation, he said the category of beneficiaries was not on any special allowance.

“Other workers in the other different wage structures like CONHESS, CONMESS CONUAS, CONTISS that started their Collective Bargaining with their Employer even with Industrial action are wounding up their CBAs fo9.the National Salaries Incomes and wages to transmit same for final treatment as provisions were made in the 2023 Appropriations for them with effect from 1st January 2023.”
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Ngige who was commemorating his last workers day celebration as the minister of Labour and Employment urged the leadership of organised labour to “consolidate on the mileage already covered by the Federal Government in the last eight (8) years, eschew acrimony, factionalism, selfishness, and develop a spirit of cooperation rather than confrontation and engage in social dialogue rather than aggression and unnecessary industrial actions with employers.

“Social Dialogue as an elixir would engender mutual trust and understanding; strengthen and consolidate unity needed to build the prosperous and egalitarian Nation of our dream.”

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