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Obasanjo renews bid to outlaw NLCIt�s a vindictive move � Labour
Senan John Murray, Abuja
Barely a week after the recent face-off between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress over increase in fuel prices, President Olusegun Obasanjo has written to the National Assembly proposing an amendment to the Trade Unions Act to outlaw the central labour organisation.
The letter was addressed to the President of the Senate, Chief Adolphus Wabara, and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari. It said the NLC was established in response to the exigencies of the Cold War and military rule in Nigeria and that the body had lost its relevance under the current democratic dispensation.
�One institution that was born under the military and in a situation of the East-West division and where the institution at that time was divided was Labour,� the letter dated 8 June 2004 with reference number PRES/134, argued.
�Even democracy that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has mandated all labour organisations to practice and enjoy was ignored in the case of our present Labour law.�
The President had earlier made the move to proscribe the NLC in February this year but he shelved the idea when he ran into a hailstorm of criticisms.
In his letter to the leadership of the National Assembly, exclusively obtained by our correspondent, Obasanjo argued that the labour movement was born under military regime and had strengthened along undemocratic lines.
While reminding the leadership of the National Assembly that the era that conferred relevance on labour movement was over with the dawn of democracy in Nigeria, the President added that, �Democracy had taken over the patterns of political and other engagements and interactions within the global system.
�Within nations, choice and democracy as well as competition are being discussed and embraced.
�It is in this light that I am sending this �Bill to Amend the Trade Unions Act� in order to promote the democratisation of Labour, further strengthen it, enhance choice for all Nigerian workers in the true spirit of the Constitution, comply with ILO requirements concerning democratisation in the organisation of labour unions and centres, and consolidate the values of accountability and participation.�
Apart from seeking to delete Sections 33-35 under Part III of the Principal Act, the proposed bill also has a new subsection 4 under section 12, which makes membership of any trade union by employees voluntary.
Part III of the principal act, for which amendment is being sought, provides for the formation of the Central Labour Organisation and the registration of the NLC as the only central labour organisation in the country, a proviso the President wants deleted �to remove the monopoly of the NLC as the only central labour organisation in the country.�
In place of the NLC, which becomes illegal if the new bill survives the legislative kiln, Obasanjo is proposing the liberalisation of labour movement in the country.
Section 16 A of the proposed bill allows for the registration of multiple labour unions - in place of the NLC - to which an employee may choose to belong.
The new bill also gives ministers the powers to determine which organisation public servants under them could belong at any given time.
Under the new bill, an amendment is being sought for Section 30 of the principal act by inserting a new subsection 6 which makes it mandatory for any trade union or federation of trade unions wishing to embark on a strike to secure the approval of at least two-thirds majority of the members of the organisation as against the situation where the NLC Central Working Committee makes such decisions for its members.
In the covering letter that accompanied the new bill, Obasanjo requested both chambers of the National Assembly to accord the proposed legislation expeditious parliamentary attention.
Critics believe that the new bill is being proposed by the President to break the NLC, which has proved the strongest opposition to his administration.
Meanwhile, the NLC has reacted to the development, saying that the Federal Government was acting in bad faith with the bill.
Speaking with our correspondent in a telephone interview, the Deputy President of NLC, Mr. Joseph Akinlaja, said that the bill was motivated by the vindictive posture of the Federal Government rather than by any ingenuity or love for the labour movement.
Akinlaja said that the move was an attempt to divide Nigerian workers. He, however, said that no law or any vindictive move by the government would divide the workers.
�It is wrong for the government to pass such a bill to the National Assembly this period in time. We are just coming back from a protest against fuel price increase. It is obvious that this is a vindictive move.
�Drawing from the experience of the protest, you will see that all the labour leaders spoke with one voice. No attempt by the government can divide the labour movement.
�If we want multiple labour centres it is not going to be by any law, it will be the decision of the workers rather than by any law by the Federal Government,� Akinlaja said.
The Punch, Thursday June 17, 2004
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STOCK MARKET
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As at Wed., June 16, 2004
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8,265
8,250
8,235
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