Port Harcourt,  – The Rivers council of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has called on politicians in the country to not to see the 2015 elections as a do or die affair.
The state TUC Chairman, Mr Chika Onuegbu, made the call in his New Year message in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Onuegbu urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a level playing field for all candidates and political parties in the electoral process.
He said Nigerian workers and their families usually bear the greater portion of the consequences of any political miscalculation.
“It is important that we express our deep worries at recent events in our polity as the general elections draw nearer and nearer,íí he said.
The chairman urged Nigerians to shun acts of violence because “it diminishes our democratic culture and whittles down the remaining collective respect we have as a people and as a nationíí.
According to him, security agencies should be alert at all times to ensure that adequate security is provided for all irrespective of their positions, to guarantee safe environment for the elections to take place peacefully.
On workers welfare, Onuegbu urged all stakeholders in the industrial relations sector to give more time to social dialogue.
He said such dialogue should be guided by the principles of natural justice, equity and respect for human dignity, extant labour laws in their approach to labour and industrial relations.
He said the congress would improve on its relationship with its national body, sister councils in the Niger Delta and the Nigeria Labour Congress in 2015.