*Osifo: You Cannot Negotiate For TUC
*NLC Can Negotiate Alone, Ajaero Insists
THERE is a brewing crisis between Nigeria’s two umbrella trade unions, as President of the Trade Union of Nigeria (TUC), Fetus Osifo, and his Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) counterpart, Joe Ajaero, have differed on whose authority it is to negotiate wages and allowances on behalf of Nigerian workers with the Federal Government.
This followed last week’s approval of N70,000 transport allowance by the Federal Government for it’s workers across all levels for six months.
While Ajero argued that NLC has the power to negotiate alone on labour matters based on the principle of most workers representatives of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Osifo thought otherwise, saying NLC alone cannot negotiate with the Federal Government on labour matters, especially as it concerns entire workers.
Speaking on a Channels Television programme on Monday, November 2, Ajaero said: “TUC can negotiate along with NLC, but NLC can negotiate alone based on the principle of most workers representatives of the ILO.”
But Osifo, also on a television programme, described the N70,000 agreement by the NLC as an aberration, saying TUC was not carried along in the negotiations.
He challenged Ajaero to produce the ILO regulation document that said either of the labour unions could negotiate on behalf of the other.
Osifo stated: “He should show me in the ILO Regulations where it says one party is going to negotiate without the other one being there or consulted. He should show me! He should show Nigerians.
“As I listened to Ajaero, I was wondering if it is the same NLC that produced the likes of Adams Oshiomole, Hassan Sumonu, Ayuba Wabba and so on.
“There is nowhere in ILO regulations that says a trade centre cannot negotiate for its members. It is not there! It is just that if you are going to the ILO, it is tripartite- the labour, government and the employers.”
Ajaero, responding to Osifo’s assertion of having over 300,000 members in the federal civil service, said: “The 2005 Trade Union Amendment Act made membership of trade unions voluntary. It is the worker that determines the union he belongs to.
“Section 40 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution (as amended) was clear that every Nigerian worker has the right to belong to any trade union, political or religious institution of his choice, which gives every worker the latitude to belong to any union of their choice.”
Ajaero argued that Osifo saying he has a good number of workers in his union does not add up, given that only one member union of TUC belongs to the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), which consists of eight union bodies, seven of which are in NLC.
He further argued that one union from TUC, which is a member of JNPSNC, has subjected its power to the joint body.
Osifo countered: “In that case, the two bodies must come together. We are not contesting the fact that NLC has more affiliates.
“But what we are saying is that you have about 60 affiliates, while we have about 40. You cannot negotiate for a body that is represented, for a body that has a trade union. You cannot negotiate on their behalf! It is not there anywhere.
“Yes, if we go to negotiations, I sit down, you sit down, and we agree.”
He challenged Ajaero to produce the ILO regulation document that said either of the labour unions could negotiate on behalf of the other.
The TUC president stressed: “He should show me in the ILO Regulations where it says one party is going to negotiate without the other one being there or consulted. He should show me. He should show Nigerians.
“ILO doctrine is that when you have more affiliates, and you are going for one of their events, it is not correct that the most represented will go and negotiate on behalf of the other one when the unions have their own umbrella.”
He said the meeting where the N70,000 transport allowance was agreed upon was not attended by JNPSNC members and does not represent majority consensus.
“But that meeting that took place was not the Council meeting. The minister is not a member of the Council. Ajaero is not a member of the Council.
“The Council even has a quorum and the number of persons that must be seated to form a quorum. But at the end of the day, that meeting was not a JNC meeting. The members of JNC were not there.
“Again, if you see the release that was sent out by those three bodies, you will discover that after the last minimum wage, we got about a 33 per cent increment, and how does that work? Because from N30,000, we got N70,000.
“What you are supposed to do is that JNC will have to sit down and apply consequential adjustments.”
Ajaero, however, explained: “We gave the government an ultimatum; we were supposed to start an action. The government asked for four days to meet with us, and we met, and they resumed sitting after four days.
“After the meeting, the N70,000 allowance came up”
He asserted that minimum wage demands could not be presented when the government had not set up a negotiation committee, noting that it required wider consultation among labour leaders, government officials, and employers before any wage increase can be agreed upon.
