A Call For Unions Positive Change

By: Aigbokhaleode K. Asimiafele, a retired Deputy Director of the Nigeria Council of Arts and Culture. He has authored several books, which includes a book entitled “The Nigeria Book of Names and Meanings.”

Let me begin by thanking our constantly courageous men and women of Nigeria, for their determination of living and surviving in the sun or rain over the years during tough military regimes and civilian administrations till date.

Our honest call for change should start from our trade unions because Nigeria Trade Unions and their leaders have failed workers. I love the spirit of comradeship, but not as it is currently being handled in our country. I support Leo Trasiky’s philosophy of socialism, which this article anchors on. Many Nigerian comrades never study anything but wear the garments of comrades just to bamboozle others and exploit the message of defending workers.

All Nigerian Trade Unions have failed themselves and their workers in the struggle for their rights. The principle of workers union and comradeship is brotherhood in joy and sorrows as it were and should be, but no longer exist in reality for years.  When a worker saves part of his salary, he is saving for the rainy days. In our situation, this is not the case. Why should a worker not be paid salary for three months or more, with no hope, and their unions close eyes to the pains and sorrows of their members?

A Nigerian worker who starts work and becomes a union member pays his check off dues for thirty five years. What happens to the check off dues at his exit from service? One can see the injustices the so called trade unions impose on their members. If ten thousand workers pay check off dues of one naira monthly, how many millions will it amount to? Seventy per cent of such money is supposed to be saved while about twenty per cent will be used for the running cost of the union.

This is the ideal thing to do; but in Nigeria, trade unions are the most ignorant about trade union matter as Nigerians remain the most under paid workers on earth. According to Thomas Payn, “a poorly paid job is a poorly performed job”. European nations pay living wage as opposed to what obtains in Nigeria.

Check off dues is not money that unions’ leaders should be sitting in the comfort of their offices and expend on Annual General Meetings, annual executive elections, buy cars, build big houses and keep fat banks accounts for themselves.  There is a slogan that says “change starts or begins with me,” but as a matter of fact and urgency, change should start with the executive members of trade unions in Nigeria; otherwise, they are fooling themselves.

As check off dues are savings for rainy day, it is essential to go down memory lane and audit the accounts of all trade unions from 1980 till date, and bring all the guilty executive members to book, to save our nation from such mass exploiters acting as union officials. Inspite of the International Labour Organisation act of “no work no pay,” the union still hold on to the rule of strike and come back to demand for salaries of members from employers, yet they have not been held accountable for members check off dues for decades.

Perhaps, many labour leaders have forgotten the tenet of their philosophy of comradeship that forbids a fellow comrade to be in pains, or suffer injustice or penury while you are quiet. Many labour union officials now act like many Nigerian politicians who sell their souls and minds to injustice, by compromising the interests of their members to the management of many organizations, by allow their member to be sacked or dismissed from service most times, without taking any drastic action.

A painful phenomenon now is the unpaid salaries of workers for months and years, while unions’ officials do nothing meaningful to make the employers pay. They eat, pay for medication, their children go to school, afford medication and so on and so forth.

However, check off dues enables union officials to immediately place workers on half salary to take care of their families. If it is not in the mandate of the trade union act, it is sinful to allow it to continue as it is harmful to justice and fairness.

In Britain, in the days of Prime Minister Margret Thatcher, when coal miners were on strike, their union placed them on half salary. Please, do not get me wrong, because, if Nigerian trade/labour unions leaders are not corrupt, they should have invested the billons that accrues from workers annual dues and ensure that when workers retire and exit from the union, they should be given not only a hand shake but cheque from their check off dues. This brings about some salient questions such as; who owns the check off dues? Where is the investment? Where is the profit for the owners of the check off dues? Who is fooling who?

It would be nice if all the labour unions could cross check their usefulness to Nigerian workers. They should start paying the unpaid workers for months to enable their children feed, go to school, pay children’s school fees and medical bills, etc. I think it is honourable to do this to alleviate the suffering of workers and their children. Of course, if they fail to do so henceforth, it is necessary to start auditing the various books of trade unions from 1980 till date, if we must seriously uphold the slogan, “change begins with me.” It is time for our unions to lead with good example. The Nigerian government should make an announcement by deregistering them to make all trade unions subject their books and accounts for proper auditing. If not, workers should ignore the check off dues until they are told what benefit accrues to them as part of their age long savings.

In conclusion, all Nigerian trade unions should start taking care of their members, and stop the constant calling of the common man and woman for strike, instead of playing to the gallery by marching with them on the street with stress. We must start telling ourselves the truth and do the right things to enable us to template our change positively, by living a life of good comrades.