KEY POINTS
- NLC calls off nationwide strike threat after Joe Ajaero’s release from DSS custody.
- Labour unions demand an end to government intimidation of union leaders.
- NLC urges the government to focus on peaceful dialogue and workers’ rights.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has also called off its threat to embark on a nationwide strike after its president Joe Ajaero was released by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Ajaero had been arrested when he was on his way to the United Kingdom to speak to the British Trade Union Congress. The NLC National Administrative Council condemned the arrest, describing it as an attack on the right to protest and also as a means of silencing the union.
Labour leaders condemn arrest
According to a report by The Guardian, the arrest of Ajaero was condemned by various labour and civil society organisations. TUC, in conjunction with the NLC, asked for his release without delay. TUC President Festus Osifo termed the arrest of Ajaero as a violation of his fundamental right and cautioned that the arrest might set a barbaric standard for the treatment of future labour leaders in Nigeria.
Human rights lawyer and legal counsel to the NLC, Femi Falana, also condemned the arrest, pointing out that Ajaero and NLC Secretary-General, Emmanuel Ugboaja, were not under investigation for terrorism financing as some sections of the media and political commentators have suggested.
Calls for dialogue and resolution
The arrest of Ajaero came at a time when the relationship between labour and government was already strained due to workers’ going against the escalating cost of living and the recent policy to scrap fuel subsidies. The NLC and its partners argued that the government is using intimidation strategies with the intention of suppressing their right to protest.
The NLC has asked the government to place importance on dialogue over the use of force. “We support peaceful negotiations but this harassment has to cease,” said the NLC Deputy President Adewale Adeyanju.
The Congress fought tooth and nail for the release of its leader and the government had to heed to them. This shows the power of having one voice as a group.
