…..As Emir of Ilorin commends DG
By Is’haq Babatunde
The Director General of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Isa Aremu mni, Governing Council, top management staff and the entire staff of the institute on Thursday joined global mobilization for the celebration of the 2021 World Decent Day Work (WDDW).
October 7th of every year is set aside for the World Decent Work Day, as it was declared by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to promote global awareness against Precarious Work and the need for the attainment of Decent work.
In his speech during the celebration, the MINILS Director General, Comrade Aremu said “ILO is the oldest UN agency established in 1919 which brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member states, “to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men”.
Aremu who led the team of the institute workers on an advocacy visit to the Palace of the Emir of Ilorin, explained that Decent work means productive, rewarding and protected work.
According to him, Decent work must be at the centre of government actions to bring back economic growth and build a new global economy that puts people first.
He called on Governments to, in the spirit of WDDW, heed the call from working women and men for decent wages, safe and secure jobs, and an end to greedy corporations setting the rules of the economy.
This, according to him , means ensuring that minimum wage-floors must be enough to ensure a decent standard of living, and that all workers must have the right to join a union and bargain collectively.
Aremu maintained that Decent work is employment that “respects the fundamental rights of the human person as well as the rights of workers in terms of conditions of work safety and remuneration, respect for the physical and mental integrity of the worker in the exercise of his/her employment.”
“The struggle for Decent Work led to the emergence of Comrade Michael Imoudu, NO 1 labour leader of the Nigeria Union of Railwaymen ( NUR). Imoudu waged series of struggles against precarious work. He led 45 days strike over cost of Living Allowance (COLA) which in turn set the agenda for struggle for independence.
“It is clear therefore that observance of WDDW is invariably an observance of independence from British colonial oppression. Indeed it was the independence constitution of 1960 that proclaimed trade union and human rights in Nigeria” he explained.
Comrade Aremu disclosed that this year edition marked the 13th anniversary of the World Day for Decent Work (WDDW), saying that the celebration started in 2008, pointing out that the MINILS had in 2008 organized a dialogue on the decent work agenda and the decent work country programme for Nigeria with the theme “Furthering National Development Through Decent Work Strategies: Appraising the Role of the Social Partners”.
Speaking on the efforts of MINILS to overcome crisis of compensation, Comrade Aremu revealed that both MINILS and National Salaries and Wages Commission had concluded arrangement to hold zonal workshop on the wages and wage related issues with a view of promoting knowledge on wage determination process.
While pledging the prompt payment of entitlements of workers, retired and active staff of the institute, Comrade Aremu assured that all MINILS outsourced workers will hence forth earn minimum wage.
Receiving the team of MINILS led by the DG in his Palace, the Emir of Ilorin, Dr Ibrahim Sulu Gambari commended the management of MINILS under the leadership of Comrade Isa Aremu for the exhibition of various brilliant initiatives that are result oriented.
The Emir, who is the Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Traditional Rulers, lauded the good leadership style of Comrade Aremu, describing him as a visionary leader with much interest in the progress and advancement of Nigeria and Africa in general.
The monarch attributed the observance of WDDW by MINILS as a further manifestation of Comrade Aremu’s deep-seated interest in the welfares of Nigerian workers and the promotion of good values for positive economic recovery in the country.
End
