Oghenetejiri Nyerhovwo
Comr. Ovuozourie Macaulay has berated Labour over her inability to agitate for workers’ welfare on general infrastructure decay and lack of development.
Comr. Macaulay, former Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG) said that labour leaders have been incapacitated by selfish penchants and the quest to use labour movement as platform to liberate themselves economically.
Comr. Macaulay, pioneer Chairman of the Delta State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists(NUJ) disclosed this in a statement to mark the 31st anniversary of the creation of Delta State, he argued that the present day labour movement was characterized mainly by armpit file-carrying leaders.
The former Secretary to the Delta State Government said that the current labour leaders go cap in hand with files in their armpit, from one government office to another begging for assistance.
According to Comr. Macaulay, “today whether we like it or not labour has become a parastatal of government and that is why it is difficult to go out on a true agitation,because morally and in true conscience you cannot face a man that has just given you a car or money to bury your mother or father and want to condemn his government. It is not possible.”
He added, “in our time the agitation was about the workers and that was why it was easy because you can threaten the government and say this is what we want for the workers; if it says no, whatever it sees, it takes. So, it is easy to manage the workers themselves; when you tell them tomorrow don’t come to work, labour has spoken, they will obey because they know it’s in their interest.”
Comr. Macaulay spoke further, “the only thing I can tell people is that, if you know you have not liberated yourself from the shackles of poverty, don’t go into the labour movement to liberate your family.”
Macaulay who was also a former chairman of the State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) positedt that the ability to agitate for workers rights has gone down to the extent that It seemed like it was now every man for himself.
He was of the opinion of better work emoluments for workers to stem the tide of corruption, adding, “if you do not want your workers to be corrupt, pay them well and motivate the workers with other auxiliaries that go with the salary.”
The former SSG noted, “a worker in Guinness or Shell would not want to steal because he is looking forward to a robust retirement benefit. He is looking forward to what his children get every year, what he gets for his annual vacation, what he gets for medical. So he has no reason to be corrupt because if his child or wife is sick there is a hospital where he pays no bill. He has an annual leave that can take him and his family on vacation.”
Comr. Macaulay further noted, “then you have a worker that is confined to only his salary, he is bound to be tempted to accept gratification from somebody. The situation we are in today; you may blame the labour leaders but you also blame the system. It’s on both sides and this is not peculiar to Delta State.”
He was of the opinion that lack of development in the country has been responsible, and it is one of the root causes of the high level of corruption in the civil service.
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