FG Cripples Organised Labour, Withholds Check-up Dues

The organized Labour in the country has been thrown into a serious financial crisis following the federal government decision to seize check up dues accruing to them from members of the various unions.

The financial crisis has hindered the activities of key unions including the NLC, TUC, as well as affiliated unions such as Amalgated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees , AUPCTRE; Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU; and Nigeria Civil Service Union, NCSU.

Others caught in the web are the Nigeria Union of Public Service Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processors and Allied Workers, NUPSRAW; National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, and Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN.

According to a letter sent to the federal government by the NLC, dated January 31, 2024, the unions warned that the decision to withhold the funds is a direct interference in their activities, which they insist posed a serious threat to industrial peace in the country.

NLC accused the Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, Wale Edun of being behind the problem, which it said contradicts  “Article 2 and 3 of the ILO Convention Number 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, as well as Sections 17 and 18 of Nigeria’s Trade Union Act, LFN, CAP T14.”

It calls on the Accountant- General immediately “ensure the release of all withheld check-off dues accruing to trade unions in Nigeria’s public sector.’

Part of the letter reads : “The Continuing unfortunate deliberate withholding and piecemeal release of Check-off dues accruing to public sector trade unions in the country has been brought to our notice by our affiliates in the sector. These unions have therefore accordingly expressed their grievances regarding this intentional withholding or partial release through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, platform. We understand that this illegal act was at the instance of the Minister of Finance.

“This practice is totally unacceptable and runs counter to the traditions and principles guiding our engagement as social partners within the nation’s Industrial Relations sphere. We have had cause to have written to the Minister of Labour last year on this but report reaching us speaks to its unfortunate persistence. We find it inconceivable that check-off dues, deducted at the source from the salaries of public sector workers, would be subject to withholding or released in a piecemeal fashion when salaries themselves are not owed or disbursed piecemeal.

“We wish to draw your attention to the fact that this worrying development not only deprives our affiliates but also national labour centers of the financial resources necessary for their effective operation as workers’ representative organisations. Such actions represent a fundamental threat to trade unions and trade unionism in Nigeria, given that financial stability is crucial for the functioning of our organisations. We do not want to believe that this may be part of the ongoing onslaught against workers’ and trade union rights in Nigeria.

“It is imperative to remind you that the withholding of check-off dues accruing to trade unions amounts to interference in the activities of these unions. This interference is explicitly condemned by Article 2 and 3 of the ILO Convention Number 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, as well as Sections 17 and 18 of Nigeria’s Trade Union Act, LFN, CAP T14.

“We must also stress that sitting on already deducted check-off dues amounts to impounding or illegal hijack of monies belonging to the trade unions. We may  be forced to begin to see this as an intentional misappropriation of funds that rightly belong to trade unions driven by other motives if nothing is quickly done to put an end to it.

“As the supervising authority over public financial flows in Nigeria, we trust that you will act promptly to rectify this anomaly to avoid creating unsavory workplace outcomes. We have followed as always due process in handling this and have exercised unusual patience but allowing this to continue may put undue strain on our relationship.”