Season Of Strikes

This is definitely not a period for anybody to envy the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.  With the endless strike actions embarked upon by different workers’ unions in the country in the past two months, one cannot help but imagine what a daunting  task it has been for  the minister whose core responsibility  is to interface with the labour unions,  especially as all the unions seem to have agreed to take turns to down tools.
For instance, barely few hours after the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) called off its ten days old strike,  which affected the health sector in no small way, a faction of the Nigeria workers union, the United Labour Congress(ULC),  started an indefinite nationwide strike due to the failure of the Federal Government to meet their demands. Part of the demands, according to the union president, Mr Joe Ajaero, include that; “the Federal Government bans the stationing of the Army and Police in our workplaces and our factory premises.
“The government should demand that the Federal Ministry of Labour sets up a task force immediately to carry out factory  inspections as most of our factories are death traps.
“The immediate payment of all the arrears of salaries owed Nigerian workers at all levels of Government without exception.
“The withholding of registration certificate of the ULC be stopped and the certificate released forthwith so that the nation’s industrial relations clime will be made more inclusive and robust.
“The roads leading to all the Petroleum refineries and depots nation-wide be repaired by the Government to avoid the present carnage of lives, wastage of products and properties on these roads”, among other demands.
Meanwhile, at the commencement of ULC’s strike, the members of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) had lasted over one month outside the classrooms because of numerous demands which majorly centered on the development of the education sector and welfare of the staff.
Eventually,  ASUU suspended the five weeks strike conditionally last Monday and students were asked to return to school for the continuation of their studies. Surprisingly, the following day, health workers unions announced the commencement of a   nationwide strike.
Like the other protesting unions, the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) are demanding better welfare, improved working condition for their members and that the government should accede to all their lingering demands dated back to 2012. The highpoint of that demand  is payment of arrears of specialist allowances and upgrade of their members due for promotion.
In all these, some questions being asked by some well-meaning Nigerians are:  why have all the unions chosen to  go on strike almost at the same time? Is strike  the only option of seeking government’s attention? In view of the economic problem the country has been facing for sometime, is this the right period to pin government down to  yield to the demands of all the workers in the country? Knowing the adverse effect of the series of strikes on the poor masses, couldn’t the labour union leaders devise other ways of pressing home their demands other than making the people to suffer?
Holding onto these queries, some people have cast aspersions on the workers’ unions for embarking on the incessant strike  by arguing that in addition to the wrong timing of the industrial actions, they are politically motivated. They argue that the polity is gradually being heated preparatory to 2019 general elections by political forces which prod the unions to cause tension and disquiet in the land.
And for the government these queries are being raised:  Should the government always wait for the workers to down tools before doing the needful? Why enter into agreement with the unions without keeping to it?
One of the reasons ASUU went on strike, for instance, was government’s repeated failure to honour a memorandum of understanding it signed on January 24, 2012 and in 2013 to comprehensively implement the 2009 Agreement  endorsed by both parties. The story is not different  with NARD, NLC, JOHESU and other unions. What does such  action say about the integrity of those in authority?  What premium do our leaders place on the welfare of workers and the development of all the sectors of our economy particularly the health and  education sectors?
So whilst we give knocks to the unions for the unending industrial action which many say is already moribund, while we castigate the unions for the strike actions which are sometimes uncalled for and cause us much pain, discomfort and loss of resources, we should not forget to advise those in authority to  honour their  promises to the citizens as that is the hallmark of a responsible government.
Living flambouyant lifestyle while the workers die of hunger does not speak well of any leader.  While one acknowledges that  it is not possible to completely solve the problems of workers, government should engage the unions in periodic, sincere dialogue with the aim of laying the cards on the table, asking for the understanding of the unions and rescheduling the indebtedness amicably when that is inevitable. That way workers’ confidence in the leaders will increase  and the frequency of strike actions might reduce.

Calista Ezeaku