The government, private employers, and workers themselves have been called upon to not only be committed in principle to the promotion of decent work but to actively collaborate in creating the right environment and enacting the necessary laws to deepen democracy in Nigeria.
This imperative was stated by the Senior Staff Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI).
Olusoji Oluwole, the National President of ASSBIFI, made this declaration at a seminar organized by the association to mark this year’s World Day for Decent Work, which was held in Lagos.
According to Oluwole, a collaborative spirit among these critical stakeholders—the government, employers, and labour—must be fully embraced as the only path to genuinely deepen democracy and establish lasting peace and decent work for all.
“On this World Day for Decent Work, ASSBIFI stands in solidarity with the millions of Nigerian workers who toil daily under the yoke of exploitation and impunity,” he stated. “We use this occasion to sound a clarion call to the Nigerian state and the ruling elites that the relentless assault on the pillars of Decent Work must end. It is in our collective interests to protect the tenets of Decent work.”
The labour leader elaborated on the global standard for this issue, noting that: “The Decent Work Agenda as championed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), other UN agencies and global organisations is not a mere proposition, but a fundamental framework for a just and egalitarian society. It rests on four pillars: job creation, social protection, rights at work, and social dialogue.”
He then delivered a stark assessment of the situation within Nigeria, asserting that each of these essential pillars is being systematically weakened by the very tripartite partners—specifically, the Government and what he termed “greedy Private Employers”—who have sworn to uphold them.
Oluwole placed this crisis at the center of the nation’s prospects, emphasizing that “Decent work is a critical foundation for sustainable national development. The pursuit of Decent Work is not a peripheral concern but the very bedrock of sustainable national development.”
He further emphasized that a nation which fails to guarantee fair incomes, safe workplaces, and the right for workers to organise is a nation that actively sabotages its own productive capacity and future.
“Compliance with the Decent Work Agenda fuels economic growth by building a healthy, skilled, and motivated workforce, which in turn boosts productivity, stimulates consumer demand, and fosters social cohesion,” Oluwole explained. “Conversely, the suppression of workers’ rights and the proliferation of indecent work create a low-productivity, high-exploitation economy, perpetuating poverty and social unrest, which are antithetical to any meaningful development.”
In his concluding remarks, he issued a powerful final judgment on the matter: “No nation can achieve true economic sovereignty or technological advancement by repressing the very class that produces its wealth. Sustainable development is built on a foundation of social justice, where the fruits of labour are equitably shared, and workers have a genuine stake in the prosperity they create.”
