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Union seeks reduced man-hour to boost employment

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
27 July 2017   |   2:00 am
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) has called for the reduction in work hours to create jobs for the unemployed.Its Secretary General, George Mavrikos, during the third pan-African conference in Abuja.....

George Mavrikos

The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) has called for the reduction in work hours to create jobs for the unemployed.Its Secretary General, George Mavrikos, during the third pan-African conference in Abuja, explained that WFTU had made recommendations to the United Nations on how to tackle the worsening unemployment ravaging most parts of the world.

He said: “We made suggestions to the United Nations on how to mitigate job losses across the world. The problem of unemployment has become a contemporary challenge to the world.

“The WFTU believes there is the need to reduce the working hours to enable more people enter the employment population. There is also the need for governments as well as organisations to make huge investments to create jobs massively.”

Mavrikos posited that the age requirement for pension beneficiaries should be reduced, saying: “Today in majority of countries, workers have to attain the age of 60 and 70 to be in pension. We think that there is an urgent need to reduce this age bracket. At the same time, we need to support workers to belong to associations that can work for their wellbeing.”

He hinted that his organisation was working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to put in place policies that would improve the lot of workers globally.

In his intervention, the vice president of the union, Leke Success, blamed globalisation, glut in unemployment market and greedy capitalists for the absence of decent job in Africa.

He submitted that WFTU must work with labour centres across the world to set the minimum standards for wage especially for public sector workers whose rights to collective bargaining are limited.

Leke insisted that agitations for self-determination were direct result of political succession crisis owing to compromised national elections, determination of elected political leaders to remain in office even after their rejection at the polls. He decried lack of food security of most African countries largely caused by the non-implementation of policies that causes siphoning of the people’s commonwealth by the political leadership.

Leke went on: “It is, therefore, expedient for international labour organisations, including the WFTU, to beam their searchlight on investments and property of national leaders continentally to make them accountable to their people. This, to some extent, will limit their insatiable lust to embezzle money.”

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