NLC Meaning, Function, Website, Affiliates, ASUU, Major Strikes & Contact Details

Around the world, trade unions have assimilated into numerous professional groups. In Nigeria, there are a number of unions that act as the representatives of their members in the workplace. The protection of members’ rights is one of these unions’ primary goals.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), a broader coalition of two unions, represent a large number of trade unions in Nigeria. However, The NLC is the subject of this article, and we’ll be looking at it’s significance, function, website, and affiliates. We’ll quickly touch on ASUU, one of their biggest affiliates, as well as their major strikes & contact information.

The NLC

 

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) serves as a hub for all Nigerian unions. The Nigerian Workers’ Council (NWC), the United Labour Congress (ULC), the Labour Unity Front (LUF), and the Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC) were all merged into the Nigerian Labour Congress in December 1978.

Nigerian Journalist and labor activist Joe Ajaero, the current national president of the Nigerian Labour Congress. According to its own statistics, the organisation has four million members overall, making it one of the biggest trade unions in Africa.

Functions/Roles

The core, official functions and objectives of the NLC are as follows;

1. To promote, defend and advance the economic, political and social rights and wellbeing of Nigerian workers and pensioners.

2. To continually enhance the quality of life and improve the income and other working conditions of workers.

3. To promote and sustain the unity of Nigerian Trade Unions, ensure total unionization of all workers irrespective of their creed, state of origin, gender and political beliefs.

4. To promote the existence of one trade union and/ or one federation of trade unions in every industry; including the emergence of one central labour organization in Nigeria.

5. To continually strive towards the attainment of gender equity and improvements in the status and conditions of women in the world of work and society;

6. To work for the industrialization and prosperity of the Nigerian nation and ensure protection of jobs, full employment and a humane working environment;

7. To continually struggle to influence public and corporate policies and legislation on all issues at all levels, in the interest of workers, disadvantaged social groups and trade unions;

8. To establish relationship and cooperation with Labour Movements the world over; and in particular the African region, and play cardinal roles in the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), and Organization of Trade Unions in West Africa (OTUWA);

9. To promote and sustain positive industrial relations practice in Nigeria by strengthening collective bargaining in all sectors of the economy and internalizing appropriate work culture among workers;

10. To cooperate with other organizations with whom the trade unions share common and/or specific interests for the attainment of these objectives.

11. To ensure a viable financial base for the Congress by engaging in profitable business ventures, wholly or jointly owned with other establishments; including the right to own property, mortgage and disposal of same for the purpose of the attainment of Congress’ aims and objectives.

12. To print and publish literature for the purpose of enhancing and achieving the aims and objectives of Congress and its affiliates.

The Major NLC Strikes

The surge in fuel costs and attempts to deregulate the petroleum industry in the 2000s meant that the labor union was continually at odds with the Obasanjo administration. Several general strikes were called by the NLC to protest the government’s fuel price policies.

The NLC staged a big strike in September 2004, giving the Federal Government an ultimatum to rescind the decision to restore the contentious fuel tax. Following the government’s decision to carry on with its decision, the labor union chose to continue with its industrial action (strike). Despite a Federal High Court finding that Congress lacked the legal authority to order a nationwide strike over government policy, the strike took place.

Another big strike called by the NLC was in January 2012, when the Jonathan administration raised fuel prices in order to de-regulate the petroleum industry. The administration claimed that gasoline subsidy payments bled the economy of trillions of Naira and chose to discontinue payments to petroleum marketers. The NLC responded by mobilizing a significant number of workers across Nigeria to organize a mass demonstration.

The Official Website Of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)

The Official Website of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Link : http://www.nlcng.org/

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Contact:

Nigeria Labour Congress Headquarters

Plot 829/821, Labour House,

Central Business District,

Abuja – Nigeria.

Telephone:

+ 234-9-6276042, Fax: +234-9-6274342

 

LAGOS OFFICE:

29, Olajuwon Street, off Ojulegba Road.

P.O. Box 620, Yaba, Lagos – Nigeria.

Telephone:

234-1-7743988, +234-1-5840288

Fax: 234-1-5840288

NLC Affiliates

All the unions affiliated with Nigerian Labour Congress, across the nation, include the following;

1. Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)

2. Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP)

3. Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions

4. Agriculture and Allied Employees of Nigeria (AAEUN)

5. Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Insititions (ASSBIFI)

6. Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE)

7. Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU)

8. Iron & Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria

7. Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN)

8. Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN)

9. Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN)

10. Metal Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (MEPROSSAN)

12. National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT)

13. National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM)

14. National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE)

15. National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution Employees

16. National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Employees (NUCFLANMPE)

17. National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW)

18. National Union of Electricity Employees of Nigeria (NUEEN)

19. National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees of Nigeria (NUFBTEN)

20. National Union of Hotels and Personal Services Workers (NUHPSWN)

22. National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG)

23. National Union of Posts and Telecommunication Employees (NUPTE)

24. National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW)

25. National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers

26. National Union of Lottery Agents and Employees

27. National Union of Shop and Distributive Employees (NUSDE)

28. National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN)

29. Nigeria Civil Service Union

30. Nigeria Union of Civil Service Secretariat Stenographic Workers

31. Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)

32. Nigeria Union of Local Government employees (NULGE)

33. Nigeria Union of Mine Workers (NUMW)

34. Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP)

35. Nigeria Union of Railwaymen

36. Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT)

37. Nigeria Welders and Fitters Association (NIWELFA)

38. Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions

39. Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria

40. Radio, Television and Theatre Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU)

41. Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP)

42. Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)

43. Steel & Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria (SEWUN)

ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is one of the 42 affiliated unions that make up the NLC. ASUU has continued to go on strike over the years in opposition to the perceived inability of governments to keep their word about the public university sector of the nation’s educational system.

Since 2009, ASUU has gone on strike roughly five times, always with the full support of the NLC. The most recent demonstration of NLC support for ASUU was in July 2022 when it organized a national protest to express its anger over the Federal Government’s failure to grant the latter’s request promptly, which led the lecturers to go on strike.