The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has raised concerns over the vulnerability of workers in largely unorganised sectors of the economy, calling for deliberate efforts to bring private-school employees, domestic workers and others into the fold of organised labour.
The congress said the growing number of workers trapped in precarious employment made it increasingly urgent for trade unions to expand beyond traditional areas of organisation and extend protection to workers in emerging and poorly organised sectors.
NLC Head of Education, Dr Muttaqa Yusha’u Abdulra’uf, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, specifically identified private education, domestic work, private security, hospitality, retail, the creative industry and parts of the financial sector as areas with significant organising opportunities.
Abdulra’uf expressed particular concern about young graduates employed by private schools, saying some earn below the national minimum wage.
‘Many young graduates working in private schools, for example, earn below the national minimum wage. Domestic workers also deserve greater protection,’ he said.
He urged the relevant unions to deliberately organise such workers and defend their interests, stressing that leaving growing sections of the workforce outside organised labour would continue to expose them to vulnerability and precarious employment.
‘Education and organising go together. If we fail to organise, unions will continue losing membership while increasing numbers of workers remain trapped in vulnerable and precarious employment,’ he said.
According to him, the changing structure of the Nigerian economy has created new challenges for organised labour, particularly as outsourcing, subcontracting, informal employment and other forms of precarious work become more widespread.
He said trade unions could no longer depend solely on traditional union strongholds if they were to remain relevant to the changing workforce.
Abdulra’uf also called for greater attention to young workers and women, describing them as critical to the future of employment and the survival of the labour movement.
‘Trade unions must also become more attractive to young people and women because they represent the future of employment in Nigeria. If young workers do not see hope in the labour movement, succession within unions will become increasingly difficult,’ he warned.
The NLC education chief linked part of the challenge facing organised labour to the decline of large manufacturing industries, which he said had reduced union density and, consequently, the financial capacity of some unions to invest in education and organising.
He, however, said the situation could be reversed if unions deliberately identified and organised workers in sectors that had remained largely outside their reach.
‘Our priority should be to build strong organisations that can effectively engage employers within established industrial relations processes while organising more workers into the labour movement,’ he said.
Abdulra’uf further stressed that organising could not be separated from workers’ education, arguing that workers needed adequate knowledge of their rights and the industrial relations system to participate effectively in unions.
He said the NLC was also looking towards a broader approach to workers’ education and capacity building, including practical skills that could help workers navigate the rapidly changing world of work.
According to him, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, climate change and labour migration are already transforming employment, making it necessary for workers and their unions to acquire new knowledge and skills.
He maintained that the labour movement would remain relevant only if it could simultaneously organise the unorganised, educate its members and adapt to emerging realities in the workplace.
‘If we deliberately invest in educating our members, organise workers in emerging sectors and prepare them for the changing world of work, the labour movement will remain relevant and continue to defend the interests of working people,’ Abdulra’uf said.