4 weeks ago
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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has taken a swipe astatine Vice President Kashim Shettima for his caller comments defending the Dangote Refinery amid its concern quality with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
In a powerfully worded connection issued connected Tuesday to people the World Day for Decent Work, NLC President Joe Ajaero accused the Vice President of siding with capitalists against the moving people and warned that the government’s presumption was “a nationalist tragedy” that could deepen societal unrest successful the country.
“We condemn successful the strongest presumption this profoundly troubling connection by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, that the Dangote Group is simply a ‘national asset’ and insinuating, therefore, that it should beryllium exempt from obeying the nation’s labour laws,” Ajaero said.
“This connection is not lone an affront to the regularisation of instrumentality but a nationalist tragedy. It is simply a nationalist declaration that capital, erstwhile sufficiently concentrated, is supra the instrumentality — that wealth is sovereign and tin undermine decent enactment principles.”
The labour person accused the authorities of promoting impunity and lawlessness by protecting large corporations portion ignoring the plight of mean Nigerian workers.
“By encouraging this lawlessness, the authorities is promoting a disdain for our nation’s institutions and emboldening the forces of impunity that person held our federation captive,” Ajaero said.
“This deliberate abdication of work to support Nigerian workers and the susceptible is simply a declaration of warfare connected the long-suffering citizens of Nigeria.”
Ajaero insisted that the NLC would defy immoderate effort to erode the rights of workers nether the pretext of protecting nationalist assets.
“We volition not surrender the rights of Nigerian workers connected the altar of profit. We volition mobilize, we volition organize, and we volition combat back. We importune that determination are nary ineffable cows,” helium declared.
The NLC accused the Dangote Group of “brazenly violating” the rights of its workers to state of relation and described the refinery’s labour practices arsenic a “national tragedy.”
“This unsafe pronouncement serves to green-light the mindless and greedy actions of the Dangote Group, which has brazenly violated the rights of its workers to state of relation and the close to articulation the commercialized national of their choice,” Ajaero said.
“Dangote, with its amerciable actions, is not a nationalist plus but a nationalist tragedy.”
The labour assemblage besides linked the refinery’s alleged labour violations to a broader signifier of impunity spreading crossed Nigeria’s concern sector, citing caller wide layoffs astatine the NLNG Train 7 task successful Bonny, Rivers State.
“As we speak, the contractors constructing NLNG Train 7 successful Bonny look to person borrowed a leafage from Dangote and person sacked thousands of workers, replacing them with Asians,” the NLC said. “Their offence: demanding that the taxes they person paid to the Government beryllium remitted according to law.”
Ajaero cautioned that nary corporation, nary substance however almighty oregon connected, should beryllium allowed to run extracurricular the boundaries of Nigerian law.
“No company, nary substance however big, strategic, oregon well-connected, tin run extracurricular the instrumentality oregon beryllium bigger than Nigeria,” helium stated. “If the Dangote Refinery is to beryllium granted rights and privileges implicit and supra the law, past the authorities indispensable beryllium prepared for the storms that specified an injustice volition inevitably unleash. There tin beryllium nary bid without justice.”
The NLC reiterated its request for stronger enforcement mechanisms to guarantee compliance with Nigeria’s labour laws and called for the extremity of what it described arsenic the government’s “sacred cattle syndrome.”
“The authorities indispensable demonstrate, done decisive action, that the instrumentality is nary respecter of persons. The State’s work is to support the anemic and susceptible idiosyncratic from the paws of greedy capitalists, not to connection them arsenic sacrificial lambs,” Ajaero said.
“We telephone for the strengthening of our labour medication institutions to guarantee ruthless enforcement of compliance with each laws governing concern relations. The epoch of impunity indispensable end.”
Ajaero urged Nigerian workers to stay agreed successful defence of their rights and warned that the NLC would not hesitate to mobilize against immoderate signifier of exploitation oregon suppression of workers’ freedoms.
“The moving people and the mediocre masses of Nigeria are the existent creators of the nation’s wealth, and we volition not basal idly by portion our rights are auctioned to the highest bidder,” he added.
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