A cross-section of activists and politicians on Wednesday in commemoration of the 2013 Workers’ Day called on government and labour to adequately address different issues affecting workers nationwide.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, they spoke on issues of pension fund, poor workers’ remuneration and workers’ commitment.
Human rights lawyer, Mohammed Fawehinmi, urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to ensure that all embezzled workers’ pension fund was recovered.
Fawehinmi, son of late Gani Fawehinmi, said the NLC must live up to expectations by ensuring that government paid all pension arrears.
“The NLC, in addition, must ensure that the Federal Government retrieves the N200 billion police pension fund allegedly embezzled by the chairman and directors of the Nigerian Police Pension Task Force”, he said.
Fawehinmi said the workers’ union must leave no stone unturned in the continued protection of the interest of workers.
On its part, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) said the poor earnings and sufferings of Nigerian workers had made some of them agents of corruption.
Austin Nnorom, the South-West secretary of CNPP, said Nigerian workers ranked among the least paid in the world.
“Nigerian workers are suffering. They are under bondage. They rank among the least paid in the whole world, with some earning less than 100 dollars as salary a month.
“This poor remuneration is responsible for the role of some workers in helping corruption to grow in Nigeria”, Nnorom said.
The secretary, however, said there was the need to increase the salaries of Nigerian workers.
“Prices of goods and services in Nigeria have continued to go up while the salaries of workers have remained the same.
“This has brought untold hardship to many civil servants’ homes”, Nnorom said.
He emphasised the need for both federal and state governments to urgently review the payment of salaries to workers, to bring it at par with the other sectors of the economy.
