ABUJA – The Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) has urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to improve on the education and capacity of Nigerian workers.
Dr John Olanrewaju, the Director-General of the Institute, made the call at the ongoing 11th National Delegates Conference of the NLC in Abuja.
Olanrewaju said that building the capacity and education of workers would improve workers’ skill and thereby impact positively on service delivery as well as mobility in service and livelihood.
He said that workers education would guarantee worker’s rights and welfare, as well as the general development of the trade union system.
“Let me add that workers’ education will be increasingly decisive in the emerging scenario.
“Education will be a fault line, a functional necessity for workers’ effective participation in the competitive global economy and basis for confronting the growing vulnerability.
“We, at the institute, are already strategising around these issues and will be glad to share our experiences.’’
Olanrewaju said that the congress would need to lead a process aimed at more clearly defining the boundaries of trade unions, social and political intervention, in addition to setting standards for responsible unionism.
The director-general pledged the institute’s support and partnership with NLC in sharing of the institute’s experiences, facilities and competencies in workers’ education.
He commended the outgoing NLC president and the entire leadership of the congress for the achievements recorded during their tenure.
In his goodwill message, Mr. Williams Awinador-Kanyirige, the Ghana’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, commended the NLC for its fraternal support to labour in Ghana.
Awinador-Kanyirige urged the NLC to deepen its strategy with its Ghananian counterpart in order to help reposition labour unions in West Africa Labour Unions.
“This way, we shall be promoting an “ECOWAS of people’’ in line with the vision of our leaders and aspiration of our people,” he said.