The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has defended his union’s authority to negotiate labour matters independently, rejecting the position of his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Festus Osifo, that both labour centres must participate in such negotiations.
Ajaero maintained that while the TUC could participate in negotiations alongside the NLC, it could not independently negotiate with labour authorities, citing what he described as the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) principle of representation based on the number of workers affiliated with each labour centre.
He made the remarks on Monday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, amid the disagreement between the two labour organisations over the ₦70,000 transport allowance approved by the Federal Government for workers across all levels for six months.
“TUC can negotiate along with NLC but NLC can negotiate alone based on the principle of most workers representatives of the ILO,” the NLC president said.
Ajaero argued that the TUC was required to submit its proposals through the NLC for onward transmission when engaging with the ILO.
“TUC sent their negotiation alone ahead of the ILO conference but they returned it back and I had to minuted on it.
“They have to send their list here for me to forward it; that is the position of the ILO. NLC determines how TUC participates,” he said.
He further maintained that the TUC could not independently negotiate workers’ welfare matters with the Ministry of Labour or other relevant labour authorities.
“TUC can’t negotiate alone; if they are saying and it is implied, it does not happen. I don’t think the Ministry of Labour or the Labour Authority will allow that to happen,” he added.
Ajaero cites labour laws, union membership rights
Responding to Osifo’s argument that the TUC represents a significant number of workers in the federal civil service, Ajaero cited the Trade Union Amendment Act 2005 and the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to support his position on workers’ freedom to choose their unions.
He argued that trade union membership was voluntary and that workers had the constitutional right to belong to organisations of their choice.
“The 2005 Trade Union Amendment Act made membership of trade unions voluntary.
“Section 40 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution as amended was clear that every Nigerian worker has the right to belong to any trade union, political or religious institution of his choice, which gives every worker the latitude to belong to any union of their choice,” he said.
Ajaero also disputed Osifo’s position on the number of workers represented by the TUC, arguing that the composition of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council did not support his counterpart’s claim.
According to him, only one of the eight union bodies represented on the joint council is affiliated with the TUC, while the remaining seven belong to the NLC.
He further argued that the TUC-affiliated union had subjected its negotiating powers to the collective authority of the council.
Ajaero explains ₦70,000 allowance agreement
Explaining how the ₦70,000 transport allowance agreement was reached, the NLC president said the union had issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government over workers’ demands before the government requested additional time for discussions.
“We gave government an ultimatum; we were supposed to start an action. The government asked for four days and to meet with us, and we met, and they resumed sitting after four days.
“After the meeting, the 70k allowance came up,” he said.
Ajaero also maintained that demands for a new minimum wage could not be negotiated without the government first establishing a formal negotiation committee.
He explained that any proposed wage adjustment required consultations involving organised labour, government representatives and employers.
His comments come amid an ongoing disagreement between the NLC and TUC over the authority of the two labour centres to negotiate separately or jointly on issues affecting Nigerian workers.
