As Nigerian Workers
joined their counterpart’s all over the world to mark this year’s International Workers’ Day with the theme “The Working Class and the Quest for Socio-Economic Revival”, Labour in the state has lamented the casualisation of workers in both public and private sectors of the economy.
In their separate interviews with The Tide at the venue of this year’s Workers’ Day celebration held at Yakubu Gowon Stadium Elekahia, Port Harcourt, yesterday the state chairperson, Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Comrade Beatrice Itubo said that the organized labour in the state has observed with a great concern the use of new management techniques by employers of labour especially in the private sector to subject workers to minimum working conditions.
Itubo said such techniques are antithetical to the collective struggle of labour and the extant labours laws of the country, stressing that labour can no longer tolerate such deviant attitude and behaviour of employers to the law of the country.
She said the absurd situation has given rise to situation where employers of labour have abscond an unchecked powers to sack workers through unconventional means, adding that such ultimate power would henceforth be checked by labour for employers to adhere to labour laws.
The NLC Chairperson stressed that after workers are sacked upon demand for their terminal benefits, employers usually resorted to hiring armed security operatives to intimidate, harass and beat up their erstwhile employees which is manifest to violation of the provision of the labour laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
She bemoaned a situation where employers have no specified terms and conditions of service for their employees, assuring the workers found in such precarious condition of the swift action and support of the organized labour  towards correcting the abnormalities where necessary.
She called upon His Excellency to caution such defaulting employers to give priority attention to issues about  workers in both public and private sectors of the nation’s economy.
Also speaking to The Tide, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Rivers State Chapter, Comrade Chika Onuegbu said that the joint leadership of the organized labour in the country had proposed and presented a new minimum wage of N56,000.00 (Fifty-six thousand naira) to the Federal Government.
Onuegbu informed the state government that the amount translates to just $164 dollars per month which is less than a day and half minimum wage pay in the United States of America.
The Tide Chairman said that Labour expects that in line with the principles of social dialogue and tripartism the government through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment would immediately convene a meeting of the tripartite parties to commence negotiations that will ultimately usher ina new minimum wage for the Nigerian workers.

Philip Okparaji