NLC urges workers to see wage negotiation as collective struggle

TNigeria Labour Congress ( NLC) has urged that as Nigeria prepares to negotiate the national minimum wage this year, workers should not see it as a struggle only for the NLC or the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria ( TUC) but as a collective struggle for all. The NLC requested that all Nigerian workers join hands together from the beginning of the negotiation exercise till the end, saying doing this would pave the way for an ultimate implementation that would overcome those who have already made up their minds to pay Nigerians a starvation wage.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said this in an address, at the Lenin Centenary conference, in Abuja, stating that Nigerian workers seek a living wage and “it is only when we work together as comrades that we can achieve this. Comrades remember, when we stand alone, our chances are slim but when we stand together, we can achieve our collective interests.”

He said the centenary celebration of Leninism was with its profound implications on workers’ understanding of global socio- economic issues, particularly in the context of the products of neoliberalism, such as globalisation and its profound impact on the trade union movement especially the world of work. He described Leninism as an ideological framework derived from the teachings of Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, who made significant contributions to the growth of trade unionism and the understanding of class analysis in the realm of workplace relations.

According to him, Leninism, as a political and economic theory, addresses the power dynamics between employers and employees, providing insights that have shaped the trajectory of trade union movements worldwide.

Ajaero stressed that one of the central tenets of Leninism was the emphasis on the role of the working class in revolutionary change, where Lenin argued that workers, organised through trade unions, could play a crucial role in challenging capitalist exploitation and creating a more equitable society. Trade unions, under the influence of Leninist principles, Ajaero said, became vehicles for collective bargaining, mobilisation and resistance against oppressive labour conditions.

Citing instances, the NLC chief said in the world of work, class analysis according to Leninism sheds light on the exploitative nature of capitalist systems. He said employers, as representatives of the bourgeoisie, seek to maximise profits by extracting surplus value from the labour of the working class.

However, he maintained that it is only when workers are vigilant that they would remain united and “purge ourselves thus become resistant to the forces seeking to keep us divided to deny us of the ability to build collective power which is capable of changing our societies.