From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The National President of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN,) Comrade Peters Godonu has said that dialogue is an important instrument in the sustainability of good relationships between workers and employers at various levels.
He said this in his address on the occasion of the May Day Celebration held at the Textile Labour House in Kaduna,
The President noted that disputes are bound to happen at any point in time, be it amongst workers, leaders, or even between an employer and a worker but unless dialogue is allowed, the progress of such organization will remain stagnated.
According to him, unions resort to strike which has not proved to be effective, adding that it should be the least instrument considered when making a case or proposal.
Speaking on the theme, he said that putting people first means considering all sides of an issue, especially the goodwill of those involved before giving a verdict, adding that employers who desire progress in their organizations must also consider the view of their workers and stop treating them badly with poor salaries as a happy staff produces a better result at work.
While addressing the issue of minimum wage and salary increment, Comrade Peters expressed his belief in the plans of President Tinubu for the workers and encouraged them not to give up their hope but believe that the President has the goodwill of Nigerians at heart and will do his best to fulfill it.
“Here we are, celebrating because some people fought for the struggle and they won, so it is a cause to celebrate. As we all know, the theme for this year’s workers’ day is People First and what do we mean by people first, in the process of production, labor is number one. So we need to put the people first and that is the message we are trying to convey to the people.
“A lot of things that we are experiencing, people need a lot of relief, but is the government looking in that direction, are we getting any relief? With the situation we are in, the economic crisis, and all that we need to put the people first.
“Whatever the plan of the government is, they should also put a plan for the masses, knowing well that we require relief and that is the message. As for the textile sector, we just finished our delegate conference some days ago, and it calls for celebration because it is a conference where we unite to make decisions.
“One thing to consider is that we have life. We all have challenges to talk about, but one thing to note is that we are still alive. That is why we are talking of libration, comfort, that is why we are reminding the government about what they need to do for us.
“We all know that in any situation we find ourselves in, there’s always a challenge. There’s no situation or time that anybody will say no challenge existed but that is why we are there as leaders, to let you know that if there are issues, we can dialogue with our employers and settle.
‘We are going to make sure that we do things to ensure that nothing is messed up in our constituency. What I mean is that the purpose of being a union should not be amiss, we don’t need to compromise. We should know that yes, the rights of our members are very dear to us.”
“We also need to keep their hope alive. to let them know that anything wrong, we can sit down and discuss to find a way out. So when we create an environment for dialogue, it is just to improve the workers’ condition.”
“The creation of a dialogue is an avenue to say that something greater is about to happen. It is when you talk to your employer and he says, I don’t have time for you, that is when you remain stagnant but in this union, both the employer and employee have the zeal to meet and talk which is what is keeping the union. But once we meet, something new is given birth to. It shows that the workers believe in the leadership that once the leader is approached, hope is restored.
“The main instrument of unionism is dialogue. We can talk of strikes and all, but the main instrument in the process of union is dialogue. When I talk to you and you refuse to listen, then we take strike action but I think a better way is to dialogue.”
“So once we talk, whatever comes from the dialogue will be profitable to the workers and that is what we believe in. I believe that by the time we get to the conclusion, the minimum wage will not remain the same, I have that assurance but the amount is what I don’t know.
“We have proposed our union to say that 650 thousand is the proposal from us but you know in the process of agreement, there’s room for dialogue. The government will also come up with a proposal at the end of the day, we also need to agree but what we know is that, in the issue of salary increase, there’s something for us at the end of the day.
‘A committee has been set up to look into the issue and I’m sure that when they are done, they will come up with a figure which will be announced to the nation and implemented in all organizations and sectors,” he said.
He added: “Yesterday, the governor of Edo State announced a minimum of 70 thousand naira which is labor-friendly and he went on to say that if government comes up with any figure, we’ll do more. Comrade Oshiomole also did it, when the minimum wage was 18,000 naira, he was paying 25,000 naira because they understood the constituency they came from. Ordinarily, being the governor, they know what is good for the people and they do it out of passion.
“So those are the things we are expecting especially from the government in place. Looking at our sector as the textile, we have suffered enough but we are happy because the cardinal point the president has presented is industrialization. If you look at Nigeria as far back as 1870, you will know how many the sector has employed, the direct jobs, the supporting staff, and the rest. So we are talking about millions of jobs to be created if they look into textiles and that is what our hope is about.”
“We believe that if the government means what they say in regards to industrialization and they look into textiles textiles will come back because we know it is labor intensive. Most of our factories are closed, and some have turned to churches and mosques, but we believe that if the president carries out his plan of industrialization, which is more dear to us, and works in it, we believe that the sector will change for good.”
