28 February, 2014Building unity amongst Nigerian unions was the focus of an IndustriALL workshop for affliates on 18 and 19 February.
At an organising workshop held with Nigerian affiliates and unions interested in affiliating to IndustriALL, participants found synergy between the action plan of IndustriALL and their goals. They identified industrialisation as the key development policy agenda to champion so that the country can benefit from its vast natural resources. They articulated the need to build their power to confront multinational companies (MNCs) operating in Nigeria and defend worker rights. They also established the need for labour market reform to address the various forms and high levels of precarious work.
During the two day organising workshop on 18 and 19 February, Nigerian affiliates were joined by representatives from the Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria (SEWUN) and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE). Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL’s Sub Sahara Africa regional representative stressed the need to focus on organising and said, “Nigeria is poised to overtake South Africa as the biggest economy in the continent so Nigerian unions must position themselves to play a leading role in the continent.”
Participants mapped the industries that they organise in to determine the potential membership in each sector. Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association (CANMPSSA) and National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE) have a combined membership of about 25,000 and a potential membership of over 450,000.
SEWUN has membership in steel and engineering sector of about 10,000, with the potential of about 225,000. If the textile sector organised informal workers they have the potential of over 200,000 members. The petroleum sector has the potential of about 65,000 members. Whilst it was difficult to estimate the potential membership base of the electricity sector, this was also considered to be substantial and with the potential to grow even further.
Organising presents a significant challenge as unions are struggling to build a culture of recruitment and organising after changes in the labour law eight years ago that meant union membership is no longer automatic when a worker is employed. Unions still lack significant organising capacity, skills and strategy, in particular strategies to target different types of workers. Participants identified the need for efforts to develop women organisers and young organisers who can easily relate to these sections of the workforce.
“Building a strong organised base in Nigeria is an important strategy for the Sub Sahara African Region of IndustriALL,” says Nkomo. “Our success in Nigeria will be a stepping stone for good work in the West Africa sub region.”