The Trade Union
Congress (TUC), Rivers State Chapter, has expressed its readiness to partner with professional groups, such as the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISFON) and others in its quest to sensitise and enlighten both the employers and the employees on the welfare and rights of workers.
The Chairman, TUC, Rivers State Chapter, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, emphasised that most employers and employees were not aware of the rights of workers.
He recalled the efforts of labour leaders to push for the employee compensation bill passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President in 2010, to underscore the importance of the dignity of labour and accruing benefits to workers.
Onuegbu said there was need for partnership with other groups to make more impact on the continuous advocacy and proper sensitisation on the rights of workers. According to him: “If such partnership is sustained, it will go a long way to further promote advocacy in schools and ensure that teachers are sensitised on their rights and those things that translate to good welfare.”
He frowned at the high level of ignorance among junior cadre workers on their rights as workers, while expressing satisfaction over the high level of awareness created among the senior cadre in the workplace.
The TUC leader, regretted that workers, to some extent, were constrained to taking some actions, despite their awareness that their rights were being trampled upon, and attributed this to the present economic challenges faced in the country.
Onuegbu, however, maintained that the labour leaders would continue to do their best to ensure that workers’ rights and welfare are protected in spite of the economic challenges.

Corlins Walter