May Day, International Labour Day or Workers’ Day is celebrated across the globe today with great enthusiasm. The day is to commemorate the May 4, 1886 Haymarket affair or Haymarket Massacre. On that day, a bomb was thrown by an unidentified person on a crowd of workers who were protesting against their eight-hours-a day work schedule at Haymarket Square, Chicago, Illinois, USA resulting in panic and firing from the police on the workers. Four workers were killed in the chaos.
Later it was decided that May 1 should be celebrated on an annual basis as May Day. The decision was made in a meeting in Paris in 1889. So, in the year 1891, May Day was officially recognized to be celebrated as an international annual event. The theme for this year’s celebration is: “Workers’ Rights and Socio Economic Justice”.
Workers’ rights are legal human rights relating to labour relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in the National and International labour and Employment Laws. The rights are like oil that lubricate the relationship between workers and employers.
Suffice it to say that in Anambra State, one year down the line, Mr. Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has so far shown himself as a worker-friendly Governor. The NLC is, no doubt, impressed with the standard and the rate of work going on at the Government House permanent site, Awka and the quality of roads being built by the present administration in the state. Governor Soludo’s achievements in the areas of security and peace cannot be over emphasized.
Also, the Governor recruited over five thousand primary and secondary school teachers and healthcare providers in the bid to fill the vacancies created by the retirement and death of workers.
The NLC is eternally grateful to Mr. Governor for the ten percent increase in salaries and the Christmas bonus he approved for workers in Anambra State. Your magnanimity, Mr Governor, speaks volume of how you feel for the workers and showcases your sincere determination to ensure that workers are happy.
The Solution Governor, your achievements are a legion but like Oliver Twist, we shall ever ask for more. Congress desires that the state government revisits the new minimum wage of N30,000 and its consequential adjustment. Again, the organized labour requests for stoppage of further deductions of pension scheme from workers’ salaries.
We appreciate you, Mr Governor, for the efforts made so far in the gradual settlement of arrears of gratuities and pensions in the state as you promised during the 2022 May Day celebration. We, however, appeal that you graciously increase the fund meant for the settlement of these gratuities. This will enable the retirees to start off something that will help them take care of their old age and families.
The Nigerian Labour Congress, Anambra State Council also asks for a review of the deductions made from workers’ salaries between March 2021 and May 2021 for the recapitalization of Ndiolu Microfinance Bank and that the bank be investigated following the deduction.
We, earnestly, appeal to Mr Governor to look into the condition of service of the staff of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) as regards their retirement benefits and pension. In the same vein, Congress requests our indefatigable Governor to approve a parcel of land for the Congress to construct a Labour House in the State. We are seriously in need of a secretariat and event centre that will House the services and needs of our affiliate unions.
We wish to commend the efforts of the Anambra state government under the leadership of Prof Soludo towards making Anambra a smart, green and livable megacity We wish you and all the workers in the state the best.
Happy Workers’ Day!
Written by COMRADE HUMPHREY NWAFOR
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