Construction workers seek review of salaries

Workers under the aegis of National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), on Monday, appealed to the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) to review salaries of workers in order to sustain the prevailing industrial peace.

Amechi Asugwuni, president of the union, made the appealed while speaking with newsmen in Lagos, saying for too long, the welfare of construction workers had been neglected because the FOCI failed to review their salaries in spite of dialogue and negotiations.

”The employers must be in line with industrial proceedings. Salaries should be reviewed based on dialogue. The only way to compensate workers for excess job is to increase their salaries. ‎We will not accept a situation where workers are overworked and paid less,” the union leader said.

He explained that since 2008, the union had been negotiating a review of workers’ salaries in line with the National Joint Industrial Council agreement.

According to Asugwuni, since employers in the industry have been sacking workers because of economic down tune, it is necessary to increase the salaries of the few workers.

”Anybody who wants to drive a business must regard labour. The employers said that government had not paid them for jobs executed and sacked thousands of workers. The employers have continued to sack workers as a result of dwindling fortune. Now, one person does the job of three persons that is why we urge the employers to review their salary,” he, said.

The union has not protested the sack of workers because it wanted the few that are retained to be well remunerated, he said.

He however did not state the number of sacked workers and construction companies involved, but said the union was not comfortable seeing workers being treated unfairly.