CSOs, Academics Urge Labour Unions to Strengthen Workers’ Advocacy amid Global Economic Crisis

Sunday Ehigiator

International civil society organisations and members of the academic community have called on labour unions in Nigeria to amplify the voices of workers amid growing global conflicts and economic uncertainties affecting livelihoods across the world.

The stakeholders made the call recently in Lagos, during a workshop event organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation (FES) in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), themed, ‘Rising Global Conflict, Severe Economic Shocks, Impact on Decent Work Agenda, Labour and Civil Society Responses’.

Speaking at the event, the Resident Representative of FES in Nigeria, Leonard Ostad, said workers across the world were bearing the brunt of rising geopolitical tensions, artificial intelligence disruptions, climate change and global economic instability.

According to him, labour unions have not been sufficiently vocal in global economic and policy debates affecting workers.

“Something is going on in the world, and we don’t think the organised labour is ready for it. They are not yet inside these debates.

“We have a global shift in the economy, oil price shocks, trade wars, things that we believed are taken for granted are now under question, and we were asking ourselves where are the trade unions and where is the voice of labour in all these debates. We agreed the voice is not loud enough,” he added.

Ostad also described labour unions as critical pro-democracy actors that must engage more actively in conversations around economic reforms and social protection policies.

“Trade unions are also pro-democracy actors, and that’s the theme and the topic that we as FES are now promoting in about 100 countries around the world,” he noted.

Also speaking, the Director General of NIIA, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, represented by Prof. Femi Okubajo, stressed the need for labour unions to intensify advocacy for workers’ welfare and influence policies that would shield workers from economic shocks.

“The Labour union is supposed to protect jobs and wages, advocate government intervention in conflicts, promote peace and conflict resolution and support displaced and vulnerable workers while encouraging economic recovery and international solidarity.

“This is a big agenda for labour unions, and it is important that, for the first time, we are beginning to discuss this agenda, which has likely been ignored,” Okubajo added.

On his part, the Director General of MINILS, Comrade Issa Aremu, urged participants to see conflicts in different parts of the world as issues with far-reaching consequences for all societies.

Aremu emphasised the importance of promoting education and awareness in the world of work, noting that labour leaders must adapt to emerging global realities.

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, represented by the Director, South West Zone, Mrs. Mingye Badejo, assured participants that the ministry would support the implementation of policy recommendations arising from the workshop.

The workshop brought together labour leaders, academics, civil society organisations and policymakers to examine the effects of global economic disruptions on workers and strategies for strengthening labour responses in Nigeria.