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May Day Speech By TUC President Bobboi Bala Kaigama

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INTRODUCTION

We are here again for our DAY: Fellow workers, I say congratulations. I know we are determined to have a good country and a good country we shall have.

The theme of this year’s May Day celebration is, “Labour Movement in National Development, Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win”. The choice of this theme is informed by the role the organised labour movement has played in shaping and reshaping our narrative as a country.

Suffice to mention some of the roles workers have played alongside politicians in resisting the colonial masters for their repugnant policies, such as poor wages, the general strike over Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), the struggle for independence among others.

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has always been the shield of the oppressed workers in the country and we shall not rest on our oars until we have a responsible and responsive government that is willing to alleviate our pains.

CHALLENGES OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The challenges before the country are many, but not insurmountable.

ECONOMY

Our economy is still prostrate. There is dearth of infrastructure; insecurity is rife, weak naira, less investment on human capital development, economy largely undiversified, monumental frauds and mismanagement. How long can we go on?

POLITICS/CORRUPTION

Politics and Corruption are like Siamese twins in our country. Politics is the highest paying job today and you do not really need all the degrees in the world to earn your millions. It has become a do-or-die affair and a lot of corruption embedded.

Your Excellencies, comrades and friends, according to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, states have shared N1.9tn Paris Club refund which probably excludes the proceeds from NLNG initially released to offset accumulated salaries of workers.

In spite of this, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) declared that some state’s debts have exceeded their revenue by over 480%. Another big challenge.

Truly, we can see some noticeable signs on the fight against corruption; but it needs to be more inclusive and far reaching to avoid suspicion of one sidedness.

The recent invasion of the hallowed chamber of the Senate and carting away of the mace shows the peak of insensitivity on the part of most people in the chamber.  The senate from history is constituted by men and women of character; people who have excelled in their respective chosen careers, and with good oratory and wisdom.

Expectedly, when honourable men and women interrogate issues, ideas and thoughts may differ but should it be to the extent of inviting hoodlums to desecrate the hallowed chamber? We condemn it in its entirety and insist that the culprits must be brought to book to forestall such in the future.

We also do not believe that suspending any National Assembly member is the way out of dealing with divergent views amongst members.

MANUFACTURING SECTOR

The nation’s manufacturing sector is seriously troubled due to the increasing job losses therein with the attendant high rate of crime in the last few years.

Between 2015 -18 more than 3200 senior staff have been sacked in the Food and Beverage sector. The recent alcohol tariff proposed by the minister of finance will further worsen our plight as not less than 1000 (one thousand) workers will lose their jobs. The federal government must wade in now to forestall further threats to our national security.

The textile industry prior to the signing of the World Trade Organisation charter had in its employ over three hundred thousand workforce and millions of indirect jobs. Today, smuggling has stifled the sector and power problem has compounded it.

It is the same story with the Footwear and Leather industry, Pharmaceutical and Chemical, Aviation and iron and Steel sectors. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) blames most accident on fake tyres from China and fairly used ones.

As a country, it is heartrending that we do not have specifications but worse that the institutions that are supposed to check goods brought into the country are not doing enough. Besides, it is unfortunate that Nigerians who escape the murderous acts of Boko Haram, herdsmen, militants and robbers are killed on our roads simply because someone has failed to do the right thing.

In a report, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) declared that no fewer than 1,306 Nigerians died in road accidents in the fourth quarter of 2017. Of these numbers, 106 are children while 1,200 are adults.

When will our Iron and Steel Industry rise again? Remember Aladja, Katsina and Ajaokuta Steel companies. Iron and Steel remains the bed rock of industrialization. Government must wake up to its responsibility.

The Pulp and Paper Industries at Jebba, Iwopin and Oku-Iboku have all long been abandoned and forgotten despite several appeals to the government to revive them with   a view to adding economic value to the country. It is appalling that Nigeria with all its landmass still imports ordinary paper.

If we can get the automobile sector right, it will contribute meaningfully to the economy in terms of job creation, tax, etc.   We urge the Federal Government to fully implement the National Automotive Policy initiative.

FINANCIAL SECTOR

We commend government’s determined effort to curb corrupt practices through the operation of the Single Treasury Account but warehousing the funds and all recovered illegally acquired funds only in CBN continues to have adverse impact on liquidity in the banking sector.

By now, government should begin to channel the funds to commercial banks to stimulate economic growth and employment. The judiciary should also expedite actions on corrupt cases to bring them to early end.

Your Excellencies and comrades, casual employment is now the order of the day for positions that are permanent in nature and indeed core to the business activities of our banks and other financial institutions. This development is a risky one because of the sensitive nature of the sector. A casual worker cannot be loyal to the organisation he or she works.

The Central Bank and the Ministry of Labour should immediately check the menace. While we commend government’s effort for constantly seeking big foreign investors to stimulate the economy, we also urge them to support the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by facilitating access to adequate funding, power and policy consistency because they have huge potentials to create millions of jobs like it is done in other climes.

DIVERSION OF BAILOUT FUNDS BY STATES

The use to which bailout funds have been put is a growing concern to us.

As we speak, many states still owe their workers between five (5) and ten (10) months’ salaries and pensions arrears. We demand immediate probe for state governments that are known to have diverted the funds while culprits should be made to face the full weight of the law.

What the erring States have done is a form of terrorism against the Nigerian workers. Meanwhile, we have identified the States that owe salaries and pensions and serious mobilization is on-going to vote out such governors in the next election in their States.

NEW NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE

We are delighted to note that the tripartite committee on National Minimum Wage has started its assignment in earnest. It is our hope that given the high expectation of Nigerian workers, the committee will complete its work by August 2018 as planned so that by the last quarter of this year, the hard-pressed Nigerian workers will have a new lease of life. As Institutional members of the Committee, our mandate for you is very clear. It is what we are pursuing.

HEALTH SECTOR

Our healthcare sector has become a ghost of itself. The continued neglect of the healthcare system has opened a floodgate of brain drain, medical tourism, etc.

Nigeria is a signatory to the 2001 Abuja Declaration of African health ministers that pledged to allocate at least 15 per cent of their national budgets towards improving their health systems yet has never done so. The declaration is over a decade now; and Nigeria is not among the few that have achieved that target.

To grow the economy the health system is critical. The people need to be well to be able to work.   As a matter of urgency, the government should take drastic action to equip the health sector. Our pain is a needless one. The diseases that claim the lives of Nigerians are preventable.

Above all, even when those facilities are provided the welfare of the workers should be made paramount. We urge government to implement agreements reached with respective health sector workers.

OIL AND GAS SECTOR

We commend the 8th National Assembly for passing the first part of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) known as the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), but we insist on two separate regulators for the upstream and the downstream sectors of the industry for the benefit of Nigerians.

In particular, we reiterate that Government should ensure that the Oil and Gas Industry operates in line with international best practice in the interest of the nation more particularly on the Technical and Commercial regulations thus, the need for two independent regulators as obtained prior the proposed Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) one for the Upstream and one for the Downstream Sectors be maintained.

Downstream: The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) which has been saddled with the responsibility as commercial regulator since 2003 and has the relevant experience, critical stakeholders on the Governing Board, structure and personnel, to superintend the downstream sector should be strengthened to form the nucleus of the new regulatory body;

Upstream: The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) should be strengthened to oversee the upstream sector.

The ratio of non-executive to executive directors should be increased to provide specific criteria to guarantee the independence of the non-executive directors and the composition on the Board should be reviewed to include all relevant Stakeholders.

We call for a stakeholders’ forum for the purpose of holistically examining the challenges confronting the nation’s oil and gas industry and proffer solutions to the problems. We must make our refineries produce to their installed capacity.

Furthermore, we need to add that we are against the five percent fuel levy hidden in the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB). The question is, why is it coming now that Nigerians are going through excruciating pains from the mismanagement of the economy?

What is the necessity of the marginal levy when Nigeria has not fully broken the shackles  of  fuel scarcity? If the National Assembly cannot lessen our burden they should not make it worse. That levy has to be removed immediately. The excuse that the money would be used to fund Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) is not tenable.

EDUCATION

Education drives the future. China, Malaysia, US, England know this and have taken the advantage of it. We have to take a cue.

The federal government must ensure now that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommended 26% of the nation’s budget is henceforth allocated to the educational sector. The less than eight percent of total budget presently being budgeted cannot bring us out of the wood.

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The country is currently facing huge infrastructure gap and partly attests to why a large quantity of agricultural produce get rotten in the farm. All things being equal, the construction industry is supposed to be one of the highest employers of labour, but that has not been the case.

There is need for government to save the Industry from total collapse by meeting their obligation to the industry.

We also call on Federal Government to revisit the Local Content Bill of the Construction Industry which got to the second reading in the 7th National Assembly. This has become very necessary because the much desired industrial revolution and technology transfer will be a mirage without a sustained policy to develop local skills, resources and materials.

UNEMPLOYMENT/ INSECURITY

The country’s unemployment rate rose to 18.8 percent in Q3 of 2017 from 13.9 percent recorded in Q3 of 2016, making it the highest jobless rate since 2009. This confirms that many businesses have shut down between the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 due to government’s policies and other factors.

2018 NATIONAL BUDGET

Four months into 2018, the national budget has not been passed. This is counterproductive to the economy and makes us a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.

POWER

To address our socio-economic challenges the Federal Government must see the issue of electricity as a priority. The future still looks bleak and gloomy. The investors have failed in most of their undertaking so far and are even arm-twisting the government to cover-up their failure.

We urge government to hold these investors to account and stop treating them with kid gloves. They must comply with the agreement they signed in their contracts with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). Excuses must stop. The contracts should be reviewed immediately. We need REAL investors to take over the power sector. This so-called privatization has failed.

CONCLUSION:

Your Excellencies, comrades and friends, let me end this address by asking government at all levels to rise up to the task of building a united, just and egalitarian society. The task is huge, but we can overcome if we can deal resolutely with the challenges listed above.

The future is bright but the process to attain that bright future is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians. Posterity will not forgive us if we bequeath a failed state to our children.

Happy May Day celebrations! If God wills it, we shall see again in 2019.

Long live the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC)!

Long live the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)!!

Long live the Civil Society of Nigeria!!!

Long live Nigerian workers!!!!

Long live Nigeria!!!!!

Aluta Continua! Victoria Acerta!!

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