The federal government through the ministry of Labour and Employment has approved and registered, a new transport union, the Amalgamated Union of App-based transport workers of Nigeria (AUATWON) as part of efforts to formalize the sector.
The new union comprises all app-based transport workers, online transport services, and e-hailing drivers and operators in Nigeria.
Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, who presented the letter of approval of registration to the trade union on Abuja on Tuesday, said the event marks a historic journey to formalize the informal trade sector in the country, while noting that the app-based transportation is a huge and growing sub-sector.
The minister also noted that the informal sector had been unmanageable due to lack of identifiable structural framework to harmonise and demarcate its diverse sectors.
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“Today, we are breaking new ground with those in the informal sector who are employing themselves and from there, employing others. The promoters of AUTWON applied for registration as a trade union on April 27, 2021 to cater for self-employed persons in the field of IT-based transportation services,” he said.
Ngige further enthused that the registration of AUATWON will speed up the growth of the segment of the informal economy, create jobs, and enable the government to monitor the security component of transportation systems in Nigeria.
President of the union, Adedamola Adeniran thanked the minister for registration. He said union will address the needs and concerns of workers, ensure their safety, protect their economic interest of members, among others. The president that union will work to ensure that government enacts a regulation that meets the needs of the app-based transport workers.
