Speech to the Nigeria Labour Congress

9^th national delegates' conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress

Sororal speech by Alison Shepherd, TUC President

Abuja, Nigeria, 16-17 February 2007

I feel honoured and privileged to be invited to address your 9th National Delegates' Conference. On this important occasion, and on behalf of the trade union movement in Britain, I bring you warm congratulations and fraternal greetings from Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary, and from the entire TUC General Council. It is indeed a great pleasure to be here with you today, and Bandula and I are very grateful for the wonderful hospitality we have received and for the excellent arrangements you have made for our stay here.

The TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress have enjoyed close and comradely relations for many years. The TUC and its affiliates value your contribution and have always held your organisation in high esteem. We have a great deal to learn from you, and we hope there are things you can learn from us, too.

We in the UK are deeply conscious of the trials and tribulations that you had to undergo in recent years. We recall that, on no less than two occasions - in 1988 and in 1994 - your organisation was dissolved by military regimes for your steadfast refusal to do what you were told and become an appendage of the state. Not only did you stand firm to your principles on both occasions, but you also led the progressive forces in the country in the struggle to defend democracy, the rule of law and to promote economic and social justice for all citizens. You had our solidarity and our support throughout those struggles.

We salute your courage in adversity and unwavering commitment to democracy, and very much appreciate the pivotal role you played in its restoration. And we know that you continue to make a crucial contribution to the consolidation of democratic institutions and processes in your country.

The TUC and its affiliates will continue to support your valiant efforts to protect the interests of working people, their families and communities. In recent years, we have collaborated closely with you in a number of initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting the workers' rights and entitlements and their economic and social wellbeing.

In August last year, we successfully completed an initiative designed to address the concerns of women trade unionists and to improve their working conditions. We are indeed very pleased with the outcomes of the Project. I am particularly happy to learn that the Project has resulted in increased awareness and understanding of women's rights, entitlements and concerns. I am delighted to hear that there are more and more women in leadership positions in unions in your country. We look forward to continued collaboration with you in the future.

We are very much aware of your continuing efforts to improve the economic and social welfare of the people in Nigeria through dialogue and negotiations with the Government and other relevant institutions. We are acutely conscious of the challenges ahead. We know that your timely and effective interventions on many issues, especially, on price rises of essential items, have been successful in safeguarding the interests of vulnerable sections of society and we know that you will play a key role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria.

As partners in the new International Trade Union Confederation, the NLC and the TUC have a duty as trade unionists to make the elites who run our countries, our economies and the global economy take notice of the views of ordinary working people. We need a seat at the table when important decisions about trade, development and investment are being made. We need to re-balance the global economy not just so that workers get a fair share, but so that developing economies share in the wealth that globalisation is producing. We need to make it clear that democracies need to meet the interests of the people, not just business.

You are more than a leading part of Nigeria's civil society. The NLC has proved to be a valuable partner within the international trade union family. We have been working very closely with you and many of your leaders in the International Trade Union Confederation and also in the ILO on many issues of critical importance to trade unionists. You are a leading voice for working people not just in Africa, but at a global level, and your leaders are world trade union leaders as well as leaders in Nigeria.

It is of course difficult in a collective organisation like the trade union movement to single out one person for praise, and I hope that our other friends in the leadership of the NLC will forgive me if I say a few words about Brother Adams Oshiomhole, since he is leaving his position as President at this Conference. Adams has been a powerful leader of the NLC, and I want to pay tribute to his skill and vision over the years. He was with the TUC when we took the global trade union movement's leaders to see our Prime Minister Tony Blair before the G8 summit a couple of years ago, arguing the case for honesty and against corruption, and we have been with him, in solidarity, whenever he has borne the brunt of your Government's anger at the NLC's defence of working people in Nigeria. Adams, we will be sorry to see you go, but we know that you will always share our principles and our struggles as readily as you share a joke!

Conference, we strongly believe that the NLC has a key role to play in promoting human rights and economic and social justice, not only in your country, but also in Africa and beyond.

In our discussions with the British Government, with the Department for International Development in particular, we have often stressed the need for dialogue with the Nigeria Labour Congress. In the Commonwealth and in the global trade union movement, you have earned the right to be consulted, to be listened to and to be respected.

We admire the tenacity, fortitude and determination, which have characterised your struggle. Sisters and Brothers, I am sure, under the wise, dynamic and inspiring, leadership of the NLC, you will continue to defend, protect and promote the interests of working people and economic and social justice not only in Nigeria, but also in the entire Continent.

Have a good conference!