govt and private employers to prioritise the welfare of their workers

Members of the Investors Club of Nigeria during a protest on Independence Day, at Magboro, Ogun State...on Tuesday

As Nigeria marked its 53rd independence anniversary on Tuesday, workers both in the public and private sectors have asked for a better welfare package for the country’s workforce.

A cross-section of workers interviewed by our correspondent on Tuesday, in a unanimous voice, called on the various levels of government and private employers to prioritise the welfare of their workers.

Some of the expectations of the people interviewed include: increase in wages, introduction of policies that are aimed at improving the standard of living of workers and deemphasising of perceived anti-people policies that are deemed to be ‘servitude’ in nature.

A government worker, who identified himself as Bello Adewale, said there was no need for celebration, adding that there seemed to be an endless exploitation of the country’s natural resources by
the ruling class.

He said, “I don’t see any reason for this celebration. A lot of people are really suffering in this country because of the evils our politicians are doing at the helms of affairs. When you look at the country, all you see is one union or another going on strike.

“The remuneration of government workers is so poor, we deserve a better treatment. The Nigerian workers’ situation is pitiful; many of them have died of hunger, diseases and out of frustration. In fact, the system has turned many of them into beggars.

“Many of those who worked all their lives for the government could not boast of a house of their own to retire into. It’s very sad.”

Mrs. Amaka Isiakpona, a teacher in a public school, said the working conditions in virtually all the public schools were terrible.

She said, “Teachers deserve a better treatment considering the place of education in national development and the role teachers play in nurturing the minds and hearts of the youth.

“In organised and humane societies, teachers are paid regularly like every other civil servant. For instance, in advanced countries, teachers do not beg for their salaries and retirement benefits because they have bills to pay and to meet other family obligations.

“Any person who is employed, and who performs his or her duties satisfactorily, deserves to be paid on time. Delay in payment and non-payment of salaries make life difficult for teachers in Nigeria. And many of them have been forced to engage in some form of bad practices to make ends meet.”

A pensioner, who gave his name as Alhaji Dapo Popoola, said the restructuring and stabilisation process in the polity should begin with the government fulfilling its obligations to workers by paying their basic salaries and benefits promptly and providing them with basic necessities of life.

He said, “The cruel and unusual punishment of not paying them their basic salaries negatively affects the economy. The health of the nation is, in many ways, a function of the social, political and economic conditions of the citizens. Poverty, disease and death are intricately intertwined with social conditions.

“When people are immersed in harsh social conditions, they get sick, stay sick and die younger. More than 70 per cent of pensioners in the country who spent a greater part of their lives in the service of the nation have been abandoned to their fate by the government.

“Government should provide free medical services for all pensioners and elderly citizens across the country to cushion the legion of woes confronting them.”

Also speaking to our correspondent, a banker, who identified himself simply as Mark, said a lot of injustices were going on in the private sector, especially the banks.

He said, “There are a lot of issues concerning workers’ welfare to be tackled in the private sector. First of them is the issue of contract staff. “For instance, the banking sector can be externally compared to what Jesus once called a whitewashed tomb, which looks beautiful on the outside, but internally is full of the rottenness, bones and maggots of injustice, tears and sorrow.”