ULC seeks timely completion of Ajaokuta steel company for employment

Agbakoba tasks workers on strategies for 2019 poll, calls for unity among unions
The United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC) has urged the Federal Government to complete the Ajaokuta Steel Company on time to enhance jobs creation and economic development in the country.

President of ULC, Joe Ajaero, stated this during the 2018 May Day celebration in Lagos, saying: “The real sector of the economy has suffered adversely with its attendant challenges for manufacturing.

“Increasing numbers of manufacturing entities are closing shops because of the harsh operating environment with increasing macro-economic uncertainties.

“It is not surprising that the immediate consequences of this pervasive malaise is the decreasing capacity to create new jobs in order to absorb new entrants into the labour market and increasing difficulty in in retaining old employees.

“These objective realities have foisted on the nation a poverty rate of over 60 per cent according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures, which put the unemployment rate officially at 22.5 per cent and when segmented stands around 70 per cent for youths and 40 per cent for women.”

Ajaero called on policy makers to take bold steps to tackle the crisis in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and stop opening our borders to all manner of imports, especially from Asia with its attendant consequences.

He reassured Nigerian workers of the union’s commitment not to derail from its mission as it concerns giving Nigeria a befitting minimum wage.

Meanwhile, Olise Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has called for a united movement among labour unions across the country to ensure a vibrant democracy.

He criticised the divided unity that exists among labour unions, noting that it is a major setback for a vibrant democracy. He stressed that a vibrant democracy paves the way for workers’ rights to be achieved.

Agbakoba said this during his presentation at the 2018 Pre-May Day lecture, organised by the ULC.

He spoke on ‘Trade Union Movement and the Quest for a Vibrant Democracy – 2019 in Focus’.

For 2019 general elections, the senior advocate advised labour unions to come up with strategies to Nigerians pull together to ensure the right leaders are voted for.

He added that if we want Nigeria to be better next year, everybody should come out and cast a vote. We have to work together and press for the same goal, making Nigeria’s democracy next year vibrant.

On the 2018 May Day celebration, Agbakoba said: “You need a strategy for 2019, the strategy on how to get people to come out to vote. Before now our votes are essentially stolen, we want to be sure that all Nigerians get their permanent voters cards (PVCs), because without it, you can’t do anything.