Labour movements in Nigeria should rise up and save the working masses from exploitation, a unionist, Rufus Olusesan, has urged.
The newly elected national president of Precision Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association, PERESSA, an affiliate of Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Rufus Olusesan, made this call on Tuesday during his inauguration.
He said except the labour movements in the country made governments adopt a system that would be favourable to all, the situation in Nigeria would continue to go bad.
He argued that the nation could not afford to be run on the basis of exploitative capitalist system and expect a better situation for all, especially, the Nigerian workers.
His words: “There is an urgency in the situation in Nigeria today. Things are already bad but I assure you that they will get worse if workers do not rise up. We cannot continue to run Nigeria on the basis of an exploitative capitalist system and expect a different result. Only a socialist programme wherein resources are collectively owned, democratically and transparently managed by the working people can guarantee the needs of all and rescue Nigeria and humanity at large from this crisis and barbarism.”
His speech reads further in part: “Comrades, the labour movement must wake up from its age-long sleep and take the centre stage to rescue the working masses from the shackles of exploitation occasioned by the anti-poor policies of the capitalist class. We are suffering in the midst of plenty both natural and human resources God freely gave our country Nigeria; yet, the working masses are forced into excruciating suffering on a daily basis under the rotten capitalist system driven by profit for a few at the expense of workers and the vast majority.
“As a Socialist, I am of the firm belief that employers of labour must be made to guarantee decent working conditions; workers create wealth and must benefit from the wealth they created. This can only happen when we organise, mobilise and are ready at all times to fight to uncompromisingly defend the interest of our members. I vow before you today that I shall lead you from the front and not the rear to ensure that every interest of members of PERESSA is defended and fought for. Remember that if we fight we may win and if we don’t, we have already lost.
“The state of our Association (PERESSA) needs our collective sacrifice geared towards rebuilding; we recognize that factory closures, retrenchment and casualization remain a serious threat to our existence and we must ensure our struggle for concessions from employers of labour must not be compromised or allowed to undermine our members’ interest. We shall engage in unionization drive, organising training, Secretariat staff welfare, implementation of Pension Reform Act, Employees Compensation Act, Labour Law and other Extant Laws will be our priority while we wish to assure you of our robust representation.
“Comrades, as things stand today, the labour movement must acknowledge that the cause of poor wages, unemployment, insecurity etc., is the implementation of anti-poor policies (privatization, deregulation, trade liberalization, commercialization, underfunding of social services, casualization etc). The resultant effects are the twelve million (12 million) children that are out of school and the underfunding of the education sector that has led to strikes by ASUU, NASU and SSANU Unions. The cost of living and inflation is skyrocketing and more Nigerians are forced into poverty making Nigeria the poverty headquarters of the world. Budgetary allocation to social services like education, and healthcare is nothing to write home about. All of these are a product of a government that rests on capitalism and its exploitative policies.”
