TODAY, Nigerian workers will join their counterparts the world over to mark May Day with rallies and speeches in demonstration of labour power. It is for us an auspicious moment to reflect on the shifting fortunes of the Nigerian worker. Todays occasion goes beyond the bloody origin of May Day in 19th century Europe and America. It is partly a symbolic re-enactment of the Haymarket agitation for an eight-hour workday and a re-echoing of the revolutionary slogan: workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains.Indeed, contemporary workers have had to cope with sundry challengespaltry salary hardly enough to enable them eke out a living and match the spiraling inflation in the economy; occupational hazards for which they are almost not insured; labour alienation and the general high-handedness of employers of labour intent on maximizing profit. These realities characterise developing economies and capitalist production relations, and they are the realities that confront Nigerian workers.In the last one year as in previous years, Nigerian workers have had to face the challenges of privatisation and the consequent downsizing in the public sector. They have had to wage an epic battle for wage increase underlined by warning strikes and strikes that made government to cede to them the N18,000 minimum wage. Besides, they work daily amidst affront on their rights to organise as workers and engage in collective bargaining. They face a greater scourge in the casualisation policy of a section of the organized private sector (OPS) in outright violation of our national laws. The workers have had to resort to negotiation, campaigns and picketing in order to curb this phenomenon but it has yet to go away.Also, Nigerian workers are victims of occupational accidents resulting from poor occupational health and safety circumstances in the work place. The resultant disabilities have consigned many of them to a lifetime of misery. Only recently the World Health Organisatioon (WHO) underscored the gravity of occupational accidents when it noted that about 237 million accidents and 2.3 million deaths occur in the workplace annually across the globe.Indeed, workers have been victims of a major element of the crisis of governance in the countrya problematic power sector that has crippled the real sector of the economy on account of relocation by industries to better environments in order to cut costs. The consequence has been massive lay off of workers. Two previous governments, the Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Yaradua administrations, had both injected billions of dollars into this sector with no significant improvement. The Jonathan administration has equally made it a cardinal issue to be tackled and it should take every necessary to break the power supply jinx.Characteristically, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and principal officials of the National Assembly will today join Nigerian workers in solidarity at the Eagle Square in the nations capital, Abuja. In the same way, state governors will join workers in their respective states to mark todays event. Expectedly, there will be promises of good deals for workers. We suggest that government should go beyond rhetoric and initiate policies in favour of workers.Part of Presidents Jonathan campaign slogan was that he would provide jobs for millions of unemployed Nigerians; he must fulfil that electoral promise. However, job creation should not be re-distributive; rather it should be productive with a domino effect such that more employment opportunities can be created. Both public and private sector employers should also pay attention to the importance of a healthy and safe environment for the working people as it will go a long way to enhance the dignity of labour.As we salute and rejoice with Nigerian workers, we note that part of the fundamental problem of our economy is its dependent nature. It is overtly outward-oriented, heavily dependent on imports that deplete our foreign reserves. This reality has the simultaneous effect of dis-empowering workers and reducing productivity. The mending of our economy will require unshackling the national economy from its dependent status. This will lead to the expansion of the working space, increase productivity and expand the domestic market.
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