WRITTEN BY COMRADE JERRY NNUBIA

Today is International Labour Day. It is known as Workers’ Day or May Day. The day is for the celebration of labourers and the working class, and occurs every year on May first. The date was chosen for workers to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago in May 1886.

The theme of this year’s May Day is: “Another 100 Years of Struggle for Jobs, Dignity and Social Justice in Nigeria’’. The choice of this theme is in solidarity with the centenary celebration of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The day has its origin in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation and eight hours for rest.

Workers’ Day is earmarked for remembrance of a group of aggrieved factory workers who were brutally killed by government security operatives in Chicago, United States of America on May 1, 1886 while agitating for their rights and reduction in the number of working hours, which they perceived as excruciating, obnoxious and exploitative.

That fateful gory day marked a turning point in the history of labour as it later turned to be a rallying point for the promotion and advancement of the dignity and indispensability of workers as well as a solid fulcrum for the appraisal of the constraints militating against labour, particularly in developing countries.   

Today, it is common to hear that workers salaries and other legitimate entitlements are either not paid or embezzled by some unscrupulous officers in both public and private sectors.  There is also no gainsaying the fact that some establishments owe their employees arrears of emoluments, promotions and gratuities. A few mindless employers resort to other deadly means of frustrating and stifling the creativity and advancement of their workers.

In Anambra state, workers are however glad to have a hardworking worker-friendly governor. Apart from his numerous verifiable achievements, Governor Willie Obiano has shown a lot of goodwill and favourable disposition towards the welfare of workers. Since the inception of his administration, salaries, pensions and leave allowances are regularly paid as and when due, which has earned him the nick name, the alert governor because workers receive the bank alert of the payment of their salaries on or before the end of every month.

Governor Obiano’s kind disposition and goodwill towards workers are equally manifested in his yearly Christmas largesse of a bag of rice to every worker in the state. The provision of buses by the governor that ply strategic routes has helped in reducing transportation problem of many workers.

In terms of security, Anambra is currently the safest state in Nigeria. We are equally witnessing infrastructural revolution in the state; excellent records in the education sector; diversification of the state’s economy through mechanized agriculture, attraction of direct and indirect foreign investments worth billions of dollars to the state. These investments have also provided thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

While other states are going, cap in hand, borrowing from the federal government, Anambra has not only introduced stimulus packages to cushion the biting effect of economic hardship on the masses, Governor Obiano introduced community-choose-your-project initiative.

To cap it all, the Alert Governor has, for the umpteenth time announced that Anambra would be the first state in Nigeria to implement the new thirty thousand naira minimum wage. Indeed, this is awesome and marvelous in our eyes. It is the fervent prayer of the workers of Anambra state that God will continue to strengthen him to do more for the betterment of our dear state.

As we celebrate the Workers’ Day today however, let us realize that every worker deserves his or her entitlements and we are bound to break new grounds, if we give priority attention to the wellbeing of the Nigerian workers, since they have sufficiently paid their dues towards national transformation.

Thus, Ndi Olu Anambra will be happier if the government puts machinery in motion towards the implementation of the new wage. Labour calls for immediate release of government circular to that effect. Also, workers are at the mercy of landlords. Hence, government should expedite action on the workers housing scheme. The problems in the parastatals should be looked into too to make the workers there happier for enhanced productivity.

Promotion should be given as and when due, especially to the parastatals and Post Primary Schools Service Commission workers as some of them are owned up to ten years arrears of promotion, which has led to stagnation and low morale of workers. Government should equally abolish contract appointments to retired workers and outsiders. Congress in the state also appeals to the state government to construct a Labour House which will accommodate state secretariats of all labour unions. Happy Workers’ Day. Aluta continua

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