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… Calls for Equal Pay to Equal Work
By Tina
Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called on the Federal Government to fulfill it promises of making the Port Harcourt refinery come on-stream, in order to mitigate the sufferings of the masses.
Chairman, TUC Rivers State, Comrade Ikechukwu Onyefuru, in his New Year message said the Federal Government had promised Nigerians that the Port Harcourt refinery will be functional by the end of December 2023.
Onyefuru also demand that both public and private sector must put an end to the burden of unequal pay for equal work and all casual mode of engagement to ameliorate the rising cost of living.
He explained that overtime Nigerian workers have been exposed to worsening health, safety situations, poor working conditions with increased cases of occupational deaths and workplace incidents.
“We demand improvement in workers’ welfare. It is a known fact that Nigerian government has always shown un-seriousness to the issues of workers’ welfare, the poor working conditions and insecurity challenges. We are tired of the situation where workers are exposed to worsening health and safety situations with increased cases of occupational deaths and workplace incidents.
“We reject the burden of unequal pay for equal work. We demand an end to an order of casual workers and strongly call for decent and protection of workers.
“Nigerian workers must earn good salaries to ameliorate rising inflation with attendant high cost of living, consequently, we call for minimum wage upward review without further delay.
“Workers need to be comfortable, to be more productive. Every employer, both private and public sector should make their employees happy by providing a conducive environment for them to work in with commensurate pay.
“The Port Harcourt refinery has not come on stream as projected, we demand that the federal government should fulfill their promise to Nigerians concerning the refinery coming on stream by the end of December, 2023. Government must be responsible and work towards alleviating the suffering of the masses by making the refinery functional”.
The TUC state chairman reiterated that the Union is committed to propagate workers’ welfare and general wellbeing of Rivers workers and Nigerian citizenry.
“The union’s ultimate goal is to ensure that the plight of workers is brought to the front burner and through an effective dialogue and engagement with government at all levels and all relevant bodies those challenges can be ameliorated.
“Government should provide more employment opportunities for the youths, build an economic stable nation to reduce inflation and increase in foreign exchange, revive small and medium scale industries, create an enabling environment where businesses can thrive. This is without neglect to the provision of basic infrastructures including roads, electricity, and water.
‘We however, call for the provision of alternative energy source (CNG) to manage high cost of fossil fuel. Compressed natural gas is an alternative fuel that is not only economical but also easily accessible and offers great environmental benefits. Necessary steps must be taken to accelerate the adoption of compressed natural gas that can save Nigerians 58% in energy costs”.
Onyefuru however demand for peace in Rivers State urging warring parties to shield their sword, while calling on Federal Government to as a matter of urgency put an end to the senseless killings.
“We demand for restoration of peace in Rivers State and urge all parties to shield their sword and work towards the betterment of Rivers people and the state.
“Furthermore, Nigeria in recent times has witnessed an unprecedented high level of insecurity across some states of the nation with so many people killed from the banditry attacks. The most recent is the massacre in Plateau state that left hundreds of persons lifeless, where children, women harmless individuals were slaughtered like animals, we totally condemn this inhumane act and demand that urgent steps be immediately taking by government to put an end to this nightmare on Nigerian citizenry”.