aborisade (2012) political strikes and the limit of legitimate industrial action in nigeria

8/19/2019 Aborisade (2012) Political Strikes and the Limit of Legitimate Industrial Action in Nigeria

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POLITICAL STRIKES AND THE LIMIT OF LEGITIMATE INDUSTRIAL

ACTION IN NIGERIA: POLICY ISSUES, EMERGING CHALLENGES AND

WAY FORWARD – November 2!2

By

Femi Aborisade[1]

Labour Consultant and Attorney-At-Law

[email protected]

Introduction

My interretation of the above topic given to me is that there is a concern that labour should

realise the necessity to organise politically for a radical transformation of society in view of

the legal constraints on trade unions to use industrial action for political objectives.

!utline

Assuming that I have correctly interpreted the topic as perceived by the organisers, this paper

is based on the following outline:

1. "efinition of terms# Legitimate$ %tri&e$ 'olitical %tri&e.

(. )*eorising )rade +nion ,oals And et*ods !f !rganising.

. )*e rele/ance of Ant*ony ,ramsci0s egemony and Counter egemony in 2edefining

t*e 'olitical )as& of )rade +nions )oday.

3. Conclusion.

"efinition of terms

4Legitimate0

The Free !nline "ictionary[(] defines ‘legitimate !adj" as:

• Being in comliance wit* t*e law5 Being lawful.

o 67amle# embar#ing on a legitimate business.

• Being in accordance wit* establis*ed or acceted atterns and standards.

o 67amle# engaging in legitimate advertising practices.

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An important conclusion we need to draw immediately from the definition of ‘legitimate is

that while trade unions operate within some legal framewor& today, the *istorical

de/eloment of unionism is rooted in defiance of t*e law. The union thus tends to maintain

a delicate balance between t*e two 4Cs0 8 cooeration and contestation$depending on the

balance of forces and the issues involved.

4%tri&e0

The I$%&'( defines stri#e as any wor# stoppage, however brief and limited.

The Trade )isputes Act !*. +" defines stri#e only in connection

with emloymentrelationship. The legal definition of stri#e under the Trade )isputes Act

contains seven !" elements as follows:

-. essation of wor#

(. /y a body of ersons 9i.e. collecti/e cessation of wor&$ not indi/idual action:

. 0ho are emloyed

3. !and" who act in combination or concerted effort

;. uence of a trade dispute.

?. )*e form of action may include#

a. )eliberate refusal to wor# !wild cat stri#e", or

b. )eliberately wor#ing at less than usual speed or with less than usual effectiveness.

)*us$ for e7amle$ stri&ing against fuel rice increase would not >ualify as a lawful

stri&e under t*e )rade "isutes Act$ strictly sea&ing.

4'olitical stri&e0

2olitical stri#e is one of t*e recognised tyologies of stri&es. The I$% ommittee of

34perts&+( classifies stri#es based on the nature of demands or objectives of stri#ers and

therefore presents the following categori5ation of stri#es 6



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• occupational stri#es !see#ing to guarantee or improve wor#ers wor#ing or living

conditions",

• trade union !see#ing to guarantee or develop the rights of trade union organi5ations and their

leaders",

• sympathy stri#es !where wor#ers come out in support of another stri#e, and

• general and olitical stri&es

7ust as the definition of stri#e under the 8igerian Trade )isputes Act does not accommodate

political stri#es as lawful, so also, the I$% ommittee on 9reedom of

Association&( considers that ‘stri#es of a purely political nature ; do not fall within the

scope of the principles of freedom of association< !I$%, -==> para. +?-".

9rom the standpoint of the ommittee, while the right to stri#e does not cover stri#es of a

purely political nature, it co/ers t*ose w*ic* see& a solution to maor issues in economic

and social olicy. Thus, within the framewor# of this ‘principle, it appears stri#es against

increases in the price of petroleum products would be lawful while the popular stri#es

declared by the labour and trade union movements in support of the annulled 7une -@, -=='

election to enable M% Abiola actuali5e his mandate and to terminate military dictatorship

would be fit for restraint and repression.

Indeed, in Adams !s*iom*ole and igeria Labour Congress . Federal ,o/ernment of

igeria and Attorney-,eneral of t*e Federation[=], the ourt of Appeal declared a stri#e

action against imposition of a 8-.B fuel ta4 !effective from - st 7anuary @BB+" illegal. The

court held that the 8igeria $abour ongress had no right to call out wor#ers on stri#e against

general economic and political decisions of the 9ederal Covernment because such had

nothing to do with breach of individual contracts of employment with various employers as

envisaged in the Trade )isputes Act.

)6!2I%I, )2A"6 +I! ,!AL% A" 6)!"% !F !2,AI%I,

2art of the challenges confronting trade unionism in the @- st century is the need to rethin#

trade union goals and how best to organise to attain them.

The tas# of redefining trade union goals and roles in the political development of 8igeria has

become more pertinent than ever before in view of e4cruciating poverty pervading the land.

Det, we need to appreciate that o/erty is a creation of olitics. )*e roblem of o/erty is

a roduct of olitical c*oices or decisions. Thus, the poor are poor because the rich are rich.

The process of enrichment of the rich is the process for the dispossession of the poor.

34amples:



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• Income Ine>uality: The resources of the country are used first to satisfy t*e greed of t*e

rulers and t*e crumbs t*at remain are used to attend to t*e need of t*e maority. That is

why a typical %enator earns more t*an two times w*at t*e +% 'resident earns while

the official minimum wage is only 1$ DDDE The E* 2resident earns only about =D

million per year compared to a 8igerian *enator who earns at least 1= million per year.

That is why the 8ational Assembly has refused to obey a recent court order, which ordered itto publish budgetary allocations it has received.

• 'ri/atiation# The rich 8igerians dispossess society of the common patrimony and enrich

themselves in the name of privati5ation. 2rivatisation is looting !of common inheritance" by

the ruling class.

• %ocial %er/ices# The rulers go abroad for medical care and send t*eir c*ildren abroad

for education$ using public resources, while they refuse to imlement constitutional

ro/isions$ w*ic* mandate t*em to ro/ide cost-free education and *ealt* care for the

masses.

• ousing "emolition# The rich live in mansions and demolis* t*e s*anties w*ere t*e

masses li/e in order to build houses, which only the rich can afford.

• Aiding de/eloers to rob eole of t*eir land : The ruling class helps enrich soFcalled

private developers with land compulsorily acGuired from poor people under the $and Ese

Act. Many of the soFcalled private developers lac# the capacity to provide houses. *o, they

end up selling the land at e4orbitant prices to individuals. Alternatively, they demand initial

mortgage deposits, which only people who have ta#en Guestionable government contracts can

afford.

• Ban& sal/age# 0hile thousands of ban# wor#ers lost their jobs on the basis of ban#

consolidation and reforms, the ban# owners were helped with huge resources to save their

investment and prevent ban# failure. Meanwhile, education, health, housing for the poor, and

so on, remain underfunded. As at @BB= when I religiously trac#ed the /8 injection of funds

into the ban#ing sector to salvage the ban#s from collapse, the /8 had committed not less

than 8-.?@trillion&(.

• 6stablis*ment of AC!# AC! stands for Asset Management orporation of

8igeria. It was established in @B-B following the promulgation of its enabling Act. It is

a %ecial 'urose e*icle 9%': through which nonFperforming loans !loans which the

beneficiaries are no longer repaying" would be absorbed by the /8. In line with thisobjective, according to the /8 Covernor, Mallam *anusi $amido *anusi&?(, the /8 has

recently acGuired the nonFperforming ris# assets of some ban#s worth o/er 1.?

trillion. The AC! is funded mainly by the /8 contributing ;D billion annually into a

sin#ing fund while the ban#s contribute only D. er cent of their total assets. According to

the press,'resident Gonat*an0s 6conomic Ad/isers are among t*e debtors$ owing 1.

trillion of t*e debts absorbed by AC![H]. )*e AC! list of debtors[1D]$ according

to the - *eptember circular issued by the /8 comprised11 comanies and 31H

indi/iduals. )*e comanies included Femi !tedola0s enon 'etroleum and others that

were allegedly involved in the fuel subsidy scam$ estimated at +%J=.;bn[11].

• Corrution: According to the IM9&-@(, over J?DDbn had been reali5ed in oil revenues alone

since -=>B. 6ig*ty fi/e er cent 9;K: of t*is sum accrues to only 1K of the population.

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Also, 1ibadu&-'( asserts that ‘/etween 1H=D and 1HHH, 8igerian officials had stolen or

wasted more than J33Dbillion. That is si4 times the Marshall 2lan; F the total amount that

was used to rebuild the whole of 0estern 3urope after the massive destruction produced by

the @nd 0orld 0ar. In spite of the oil wealth, there is an alarming incidence of poverty, which

has turned the country into host to >H of the core chronically poor in the world &-+(. TheA21M 1eport on 8igeria asserts that the country is host to the third largest concentration of

poor people in the world after hina and India and is among the top @B countries in the world

with the widest gap between the rich and the poor.

istorically$ trade union goals can be concetualised wit*in t*e framewor& of two

e7tremes 8 ure trade unionism and radical or re/olutionary unionism. )*e goal$ w*ic*

c*aracterises a articular trade union$ tends to define its organisational met*odologies$

effecti/eness and social rele/ance.

To this e4tent, trade union goals and methods of organising to attain them may be broadly

classified as follows:

-. Apolitical pure or economistic trade unionism

@. *yndicalist trend

'. *ocial Movement Enionism, which has different variants, including:

a. 2artnership unionism

b. !Traditional" democratic political unionism

c. osmopolitan !broadFbased, alliance see#ing" unionism

d. Moral and ethical unionism

e. 1adicali5ed political unionism

$et us briefly e4amine each of the above.

1. Aolitical ure or 6conomistic )rade +nionism

The economistic theory loo#s at trade unions as purely organisations concerned with the

employment relations. It therefore denies wor#ers or trade unions a political

consciousness. To this theory, wor#ers are and should just be concerned with ‘negotiable

employment issues 6 wage increase, improvement of wor#ing conditions, etc. According to

this theory, trade unions should just be concerned with collective bargaining, lobbying

legislators and government to pass favourable legislation, embar#ing on ‘responsible stri#es

aimed at settling terms and conditions related to problems arising out of the employment

relationship. This #ind of reasoning informed successive governments in 8igeria labelling

stri#es against increases in the prices of petroleum products as ‘political and therefore

outside the scope of ‘trade unionism.

In fact, a court judgment has bac#ed up this economistic perspective of the role of tradeunions. This was the case in the 7une @BB nationwide stri#e action. As recorded in the

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judgment of the ourt of Appeal in Adams !s*iom*ole and igeria Labour Congress .

Federal ,o/ernment of igeria and Attorney-,eneral of t*e Federation[1;], the court

declared the stri#e illegal. The major issue in the case was the imposition of a 8-.B fuel ta4

with effect from -st 7anuary @BB+ by the %basanjo regime. $abour and other civil society

organi5ations declared a stri#e against it. The court held that the 8igeria $abour

ongress *ad no rig*t to call out wor&ers on stri&e against general economic andolitical decisions of t*e Federal ,o/ernment because suc* *a/e not*ing to do wit*

breac* of indi/idual contracts of emloyment wit* /arious emloyers as en/isaged in

t*e )rade "isutes Act.

The above decision of the court however runs counter to the principle established by the I$%

ommittee on 9reedom of Association, which stated that the occupational and economic

interests which wor#ers defend through the e4ercise of the right to stri#e do not only concern

better wor#ing conditions or collective claims of an occupational nature, but also the see#ing

of solutions to economic and social policy Guestions&->(. In the same spirit, the ommittee

stated that wor#ers and their organi5ations should be able to e4press their dissatisfaction

regarding economic and social matters affecting wor#ers interests in circumstances thate4tend beyond the industrial disputes that are li#ely to be resolved through the signing of a

collective agreement&-(.

The classical rightFwing definition of trade unions was offered by *idney and /eatrice 0ebb,

almost a century ago and also subscribes to this view of trade unions as economistic

organisations: ‘a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or

improving the conditions of their wor#ing lives.

The 8igerian legal definition of trade unions in The Trade Enions Act also restricts the role

of trade unions to the economic disputesissues at the wor#place. The Act defines a trade

union as ‘any combination of wor#ers or employers ; the purpose of which is to regulate theterms and conditions of employment of wor#ers.

9rom the foregoing, those who restrict unions to economistic roles do so for either of two

reasons as $enin !-=B" pointed out: hypocritical screen for counter revolution or a complete

lac# of class consciousness. This means eit*er a conscious attemt to ideologically ensla/e

t*e wor&ing class to the bourgeoisie, or !ii" unconscious ensla/ement of t*e wor&ing

class to the bourgeoisie. The latter reflects a low level of class consciousness.

Jowever, the wea#ness and ban#ruptcy of the economistic theory is t*at economic decisions

are roducts of olitical decisions. The wage structure and pricing of petroleum products,

prospects for job security, pension and gratuity matters, elongation of retirement age, and soon, are politically determined.


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• *yndicalists would therefore not wor# in the e4isting unions contrary to $enins position

which argued that to withdraw from the official unions because of the reactionary and

counterFrevolutionary character of the trade union leadership would be the greatest service

ommunists could render the bourgeoisie. 1ather than abandoning unions with reformist

leaderships, $enin urged that the ran# and file could be organised to put pressure on theofficial leadership.

. %!CIAL !66) +I!I% 9%+:

*ocial movement unionism is a reflection of the tendency of trade unions to change their

strategies as the environment in which they operate changes. There tends to be arelations*i

between trade union met*ods of struggle and t*e oerating conte7t. As the environment

in which trade unions operate become more hostile, unions tend to de/elo an orientation

towards societal ustice mo/ement in w*ic* trade unions assume t*e role of t*e tribuneof t*e downtrodden against state and cororate inustice. In a *ostile en/ironment, trade

unions often find out that to retain the loyalty of their own immediate members and wage

successful stri#e actions, they need to build some form of alliance or s*ow social rele/ance

or sensiti/ity towards wider socio-economic cum olitical issues affecting the generality of

the society as a whole.


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power. The goal of the partnership is often to restrict trade union action since it is perceived

that government is more or less jointly run with the inputs of labour. This #ind of unionism

tends to lead to ,o/ernment-insired 9or emloyer-insiredOanagement-insired:

unionism.

This method of union organising does not tend to see much need for alliance building withcivil society organisations. The leadership that embraces this #ind of union organisation tends

to rely more on t*e goodwill of go/ernment 9or management: rat*er t*an t*e loyalty of

members to ac*ie/e members0 demands.

A #ey wea#ness of this mode of union organisation is that once the membership #nows that

the concessions they enjoy are borne out of the goodwill of governmentmanagement rather

than the organisational muscle of the union, their loyalty will shift from the union to the

government management. The longFrun implication is a wea#ened union.

9b:. 9)2A"I)I!AL: "6!C2A)IC '!LI)ICAL +I!I%

The traditional democratic political unionism, unli#e economistic unionism, recogni5es

the role of ower in *uman relations*i. It recogni5es that the balance of forces within

individual enterprises and the larger society is largely determined by the political decision at

the level of the larger society. The perspective therefore encourages alliance buildingon the

recognition that unions *a/e a role to lay in e7tending wor&ers0 rig*ts to *a/e a say in

decisions which affect them bot* in t*e micro and macro en/ironments.

Jowever, the political role assigned to labour by the 4"emocratic0 ersecti/e does not gi/e

room for t*e asirations of t*e wor&ers to seie olitical ower and re-organise t*ew*ole society on a new basis. The political role e4pected of labour by this perspective is to

be within the framewor& of e7isting roduction relations and ower structure.

0e can establish e4amples of concern for wider national issues !which have nothing to do

with employment relations" at every stage of labours history in 8igeria. The point is that

while it has a lot of value, the ‘democratic perspective concedes t*e rig*t to go/ern to

some so called rofessional oliticians w*ile labour0s role 9as a grouOclass: is restricted

to ressure grou acti/ity - as&ing go/ernment to rule wit* some *umaneness. owe/er$

t*e class t*at wields olitical ower would usually use it$ mainly$ to ad/ance its own

interests. Therefore, unless the wor#ing class and the poor are politically empowered,

sustaining the welfare of ordinary people, in terms of basic needs cannot be guaranteed.

9c:. C!%!'!LI)A 9B2!A"-BA%6"$ ALLIAC6 %66PI,: +I!I%

osmopolitan unionism encourages full blown alliance building with wor#place and nonF

wor#place, civil society organisations in mobilising support for wor#ers and community

struggles. Jowever, because of the heterogeneity of the goals of the organisations involved in

the alliance, it tends to become depoliticised, lac#ing political agenda. An e4ample in 8igeria

is the $A*% 6 $abour and ivil *ociety oalition.

0hile this #ind of allianceFbuilding may succeed in building groundswell of support for

unions in action, it is doubtful whether a depoliticised movement, lac#ing a political ideology,which is focused on regime and system change, could engender an enduring change. At the


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same time, it is recognised that an ideologically and politically committed organisation that

lac#s the capacity to build social support for popular wor#ers and community struggles can

hardly succeed in winning the confidence of a critical mass of the downtrodden.

9d:. !2AL A" 6)ICAL +I!I%

This perspective of unionism essentially assigns a role to trade unions from a religious and

moral point of view. It is based on the belief in the ‘brotherhood of man and the conseGuent

mutual obligations based on compassion for the unfortunate and the belief that evil in society

emanates from incessant accumulation of riches and interpersonal competition.

From t*e oint of /iew of t*is ersecti/e$ t*e emergence of trade unions$ t*e idea t*at

binds unionists toget*er$ t*e tonic t*at &ees t*e union going and sustains it$ t*e

rationale and ustification for t*e e7istence of t*e union is t*e e7tent to w*ic* it is

committed to u*olding and defending certain societal et*ics and morals$ w*ic* ma&et*e welfare of t*e disad/antaged t*e focus of its acti/ity.

0hat sustains the loyalty of some members to the union could be its commitment in defence

of the poor. The $ate hief Cani 9awehinmi, in an interview with the )ellmaga5ine

e4pressed this religious factor to e4plain his commitment to the peoples cause:

/y all standards I am not a poor man. I am convenient and comfortable and I believe that if I

dont do what I am doing for those who are not as opportune as myself, Cod will punish me.

Apart from that, I am always at home fighting for the deprived, the neglected, the repressed

and the oppressed. If I have no cause to fight for, I am li#e a fish out of water. 0hat sustains

me is the struggle. 0hat gives me blood is my conviction and what propels me is mydedication to that conviction. And so, if I have no genuine cause to fight for, I die&@B(.

Although the influence of religious beliefs has waned in e4plaining the character of trade

unions in our time, it has transformed into concern for ‘justice. 9landers points out that the

capacity of the trade unions to survive the hostility of the *tate and sustain the loyalty of

union membership is hinged on commitment to ustice:

)*e trade union mo/ement deeened its gri on ublic life in its asect as a sword of

ustice.


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abandoned all of t*at and went into community organiing$ *eling eole w*o could

not find meals or *omes or get education. It was t*e benefit of t*at e7erience t*at

*eled *im to craft t*e sectacular /ictory for t*e ages. igerians s*ould learn t*at

money is not e/eryt*ing. !nly lo/e for your fellow *uman can e/en gi/e us t*e success

we want.

)*at is t*e lesson of !bama0s trium*.


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eole in a caitalist society li&e igeria is not t*e ruling class but organied labour 8

bot* t*e waged and unwaged w*en t*ey form oint latforms for struggles.

That is why A#e !-=?=:+'" argues t*at de/eloment is agency-determined: ‘somebody has

to determine that development is desirable, that a particular #ind of development should be

pursued and in a particular #ind of manner. This shows that desirability of development, the#ind of development and the manner of attainment are neither accidental nor objectively

determined. According to A#e !-=?=", since the capitalist state is a specific modality of

capitalist domination, t*e ability to maintain t*e caitalist *egemony on society and t*e

caacity of t*e dominated and oressed classes to deloy effecti/e counter force in

reaction to t*eir domination goes a long way to condition t*e ossibility of de/eloment.

The degree of resistance put up by the dominated tends to determine the e4tent to which the

state uses scarce resources, which should have been invested in developmental programs into

maintaining opulence for the bourgeoisie and building the arsenal of terror and a militari5ed

state.

)*e eed for "eclaration on 'olitical 'arty

8igeria has witnessed governance by bourgeois politicians, both at the centre and state levels.

All they can afford to give 8igeria is unprecedented poverty and insecurity. There is a need

to build a %ocialist Labour 'arty or parties, based on the mass of the wor#ing class and its

allies. It is not sufficient to have a labour party. It is imperative to have a labour party !or

parties" that would openly and unapologetically:

• /e the voice of wor#ers and the poor in the legislature

• )eclare support for the dayFtoFday industrial struggles of wor#ers and wider issues being

fought in the communities and nationally, and

• )eclare socialism as its ideology. The unprecedented degree of social conflicts and

insecurity in 8igeria today means nothing but the inability of the capitalist system to ta#e

society forward. The pervasive and e4cruciating poverty in 8igeria today shows there is a

vacuum which only a socialist party can fill, based on a programme of eliminating economic

ineGuality and ma#ing majority of human beings in the society F the poor F the ultimate

beneficiaries of any government policy. *uch a party will not be enslaved to maintaining the

e4isting social order it will campaign for the need to carry out a system change based on the

masses stamping their feet on the sand of history and demanding change.

Three #ey tendencies have emerged in the attempts and e4periences of organised labour to be

involved in electoral politics, as follows:

• In the -=Bs, during the antiFcolonial struggle, the central labour organisation, the Trade

Enion ongress, TE, merely affiliated to t*e CC$ instead of underta#ing the formation

of an independent wor#ers party. Though hief 9agbenro /eyio#u, spea#ing for the

conservatives who opposed wor#ers involvement in politics, raised the option of the TE

forming an independent wor#ers party, it was widely perceived that the goal was just to get

the TE to brea# from 88, as nothing was done by the conservatives to initiate theformation of a wor#ers party&@@(.

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• In -=?', labours attitude, as symbolised in the May )ay Address of the 8$ 2resident, was

a call on wor#ers ‘to vote for only proFlabour politicians in all the political parties &@'(.

• *ince the -=>Bs, socialist intellectuals and labour bureaucrats have laboured to form socialist

and labour parties. 34amples included The *ocialist 0or#ers and 9armers 2arty !*0A92",

the 8igerian $abour 2arty, the 0or#ing 2eoples 2arty, etc. The common bane of those

efforts and sacrifices was that the parties lac&ed mass base of suort among ran& and file

wor&ers.

o As 2rof. %lorode observes, the current $abour 2arty today serves mainly as the platform for

all manners of politicians who lac# a labour bac#ground to contest after they have lost out in

the nomination process in the main bourgeois parties. 2olitics of e4clusion and lac# of commitment to wor#ing class programme tend to be the bane of parties formed mainly by

union leaders&@+(.

The objective we see# to achieve by giving the above historical outline of organised labours

attempts at ‘partisan political party involvement is not to lament or bemoan the past. 1ather,

it is to allow us to note that any current efforts are not strange. 0hat we need to do is to draw

lessons from past e4periences.

9irst, the successes of the $abour 2arty in winning some seats in the -=>+ elections, the

victory of the former 2resident of the 8$, Adams %shiomhole, as Covernor of 3do *tate,

the fact that )r. Mimi#o won the Covernorship position in %ndo *tate on the platform of thee4isting $abour 2arty, no matter its wea#nesses, all show the potentials that e4ist for a 2arty

built on:

• the mass of the ran# and file wor#ers and the other poor strata, and

• a program of defending the interests of the poor and the wor#ing class.

*econd, there is always a need to build an indeendent wor&ers arty or arties$ which

could enter into electoral alliances or form joint action committees with other radical or proF

labour parties or organisations. $abour deserves to have an independent political party to

politically support struggles on industrial and other wider issues, rather than having to lobby

‘friendly politicians !whose primary loyalty is to their bourgeois parties" at critical moments.

The e4perience of encouraging wor#ers to vote for ‘proFlabour candidates in all parties also

tends to strengt*en et*nicOregional consciousness and divide wor#ers along the ethnicallyF

based bourgeois parties&@(.

Third, trade unions and labour leaders have 4ready-made0 national structures and mass

base of social suort, based on traditions of labour struggles, which the ordinary politician

lac#s. $abour candidates therefore stand a better chance of success in elections than other

politicians, ro/ided t*e arty can demonstrate ractical commitment to t*e cause of all

t*e oor strata$ including students, traders, unemployed, farmers, and so on.

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14/22

9ourth, in order to avoid domination of the party by top union leaders, efforts should be made

to win t*e suort of t*e ran& and file union members*i for t*e formation of wor&ers

arty$ t*roug* referendum and adotion of a resolution to t*at effect at unions0 secial

congresses. *uch an approach will ensure a steady source of funding for the parties, through

direct union-funding, apart from contributions by individual wor#ers.

9ifth, the trade union movement has a duty to embar# on a campaign for law reform for the

abrogation of all antiFlabour provisions and laws. To this effect, the following provisions pose

daunting challenges to developing the political muscle of the wor#ing class on militant

tradition:

• %. 1; of the Trade Enions Act, w*ic* ro*ibits trade unions from alying its funds$

directly or indirectly$ for olitical obecti/es.

• %. D9=: of the Trade Enions Act, w*ic* ro*ibits stri&es or loc& outs in any essential

ser/ice. The definition of 4essential ser/ices0 in %. H of t*e )rade "isutes Act is so broad

that it embraces almost all sectors of the economy 6 persons employed in civil capacity in thearmed forces of the 9ederation persons employed in any enterprise engaged in the

production of any materials for use in the armed forces of the 9ederation any enterprise in

the private or public sector connected with the supply of water, electricity, power, fuel, sound

broadcasting, postal, telegraphic, cable, wireless or telephonic communications ports,

harbours, doc#s, aerodromes transportation of goods, persons, or livestoc#, by road, rail, sea,

river or air hospitals, burial of the dead, sanitation, cleaning, disposal of nightFsoil and

rubbish outbrea# of fire, teaching, ban#ing, 8igeria *ecurity 2rinting and Minting, entral

/an# of 8igeria, and so on. In contradistinction to the 8igerian Trade )isputes Act, the I$%

ommittee on 9reedom of Association&@>( has stated that in a general sense, the following

sectors do not constitute essential services, in the strict sense of the term: radio and television

the petroleum sector ports !loading and unloading" ban#ing computer services for the

collection of e4cise duties and ta4es department stores pleasure par#s the metal sector the

mining sector transport generally refrigeration enterprises hotel services construction

automobile manufacturing aircraft repairs agricultural activities the supply and distribution

of foodstuffs !I$%, -==>a, para +".

• %. 3(91:9A:R9B: of t*e )rade +nions Act$ w*ic* *as t*e effect of deri/ing stri&ing

wor&ers of t*e rig*t to ic&et. )*e abrogation of t*e rig*t to ic&et is contained in t*e

)rade +nions 9Amendment: Act of (DD;$ w*ic* ro/ides as follows#

o %. 3(91:9A: o erson s*all subect any ot*er erson to any &ind of constraint or

restriction of *is ersonal freedom in t*e course of ersuasion5

o %. 3(91:9B: o trade union or registered Federation of )rade +nions or any member

t*ereof s*all in t*e course of any stri&e action comel any erson w*o is not a member

of its union to oin any stri&e or in any manner w*atsoe/er$ re/ent aircrafts from flying

or obstruct ublic *ig*ways$ institutions or remises of any &ind for t*e uroses of

gi/ing effect to t*e stri&e.

o The provisions of *. +@!-"!A" and !/" of the Trade Enions Act have the same effect as the

judgment of the judicial bench of the Jouse of $ords in the case of )aff ale 2ailway /.

Amalgamated %ociety of 2ailway %er/ants !-=B-" wherein the court held union fundsliable for damages arising from stri#e actions.



15/22

• %s. 1? and 1($ CF2$ 1HHH# The trade union movement has a responsibility to canvass

for constitutional amendment and law reform such that public sector wor#ers who see# to

contest elective offices only need to apply for 4lea/e of absence0 rat*er t*an t*eConstitutional and statutory re>uirement of *a/ing to resign D days before the date of

election&@(.

%i7t*$ t*e igerian labour mo/ement s*ould learn from t*e rocess leading to t*e

formation of t*e Britis* Labour 'arty. The agitation for a distinct labour voice in

parliament, in recognition of the ‘class war was initiated, not only by a few individuals

within the society as a whole but also within the trade union movement. The decision of the

TE to establish a labour 1epresentation ommittee !$1" followed a motion sponsored by

only two unions. The motion called on the $eadership of the TE ‘to devise ways and means

for securing the return of an increased number of labour members to the ne4t 2arliament.

Mortimer &@?( however notes that the decisive factor in strengthening the trend towardssupport for indeendent labour reresentation was not a product of ideological debate but

a product of the judgment of the judicial bench of the Jouse of $ords !the highest court in the

E", which made unions and their funds liable for damages arising out of stri#e actions. That

judgment immediately raised concern that labour ought to be represented in 2arliament so as

to change the law and restore trade union immunity against claims for damages arising from

stri#e actions. The particular case in point was the case between )aff ale 2ailway /.

Amalgamated %ociety of 2ailway %er/ants. The 1ailway wor#ers went on stri#e in -=BB.

The Jouse of $ords gave its judgment in 7uly -=B-. The $abour 2arty emerged in -=B> by

virtue of the name adopted by the M2s elected under the platform of the $1. The e4istence

of multiple draconian provisions in labour laws in 8igeria ma#es it imperative for a labour

party that is committed to the cause of the wor#ers to emerge to change the law, as part of the

first steps.

%e/ent*$ t*e igerian labour mo/ement s*ould also learn from t*e *istory of %olidarity

in 'oland$ w*ic* effecti/ely combined economicOindustrial and olitical struggles$ in

site of t*reats of clamdown.

In -=?B, 2oland was engulfed in nonFviolent stri#e waves, which paralysed the entire country.

The stri#e started over economic issues, including rises in meat prices and demand for wage

increases. The *talinist regime tried divide and rule tactics by granting concessions to only

strategic industries. /ut this only encouraged more wor#ers to join the stri#e.

Jowever, a Gualitative twist occurred in the stri#e at the Cdans# *hipyard, where the wor#ers

made a list of @- economic and political demands, including release of political prisoners,

reinstatement of sac#ed wor#ers, erection of a monument in memory of wor#ers who had

been #illed in -=B, acceptance of free trade unions, the right to stri#e, freedom of speech and

access to the media for people of all faiths, and wage increases.

The stri#e was organised under the platform of InterF9actory *tri#e ommittee, called, M*,

similar to the 1ussian *oviets or 0or#ers ouncils, made up of democratically elected

wor#place delegates, who in turn elected a 2residium.

In site of t*e t*reat of clamdown by the *talinist 2olish authorities, the stri#e, which

involved factory occupations and street protests, spread to over B sites around the country



16/22

and involved over a million wor#ers. Tal#s between the M* and government representatives

were occasionally broadcast live to the shipyard wor#ers.

The regime attempted to isolate the Cdans# wor#ers. oncessions were made to some

segments of wor#ers in order to discourage them from stri#ing. /ut the stri#e movement

spread li#e wildfire.

The stri&e snowballed into a general stri&e and a dual-ower situation de/eloed . The

stri#ers too# control of public transport, health service, food distribution, among others. 9or

the duration of the stri#e, sale of alcohol was banned, including consumption of alcohol by

the stri#ers.

+nder t*e ressure of t*e stri&es and international concentration of attention on

'oland$ t*e regime was isolated and wea&ened to t*e e7tent t*at it was unable to use t*e

armed forces to suress t*e stri&e as it was not sure on w*ose side t*eir loyalty

lied. Indeed, segments of the ran# and file members of the ruling ommunist 2arty !2olish

Enited 0or#ers 2arty, 2E02"were part of the stri#e and came in opposition to the topleadership of the 2arty. It was estimated that about a third of the M* members were 2E02

members.

%n '- August -=?B, the regime caved in to all the @- demands of the stri#ers and signed an

agreement, the Cdans# Agreement. The Agreement included acceptance of free trade unions

and the independent *elfFCoverning Trade Enion, #nown as ‘*olidarity was formally born.

After the formal signing of the Agreement, it too# the leadership of the stri#e as well as the

atholic hurch, to urge the stri#ers in various parts to end the stri#e. Meanwhile, the stri#e

had forced hundreds of party secretaries and factory managers to resign their positions.

Two wee#s after the stri#e, membership of *olidarity reached '.million and within a shorttime, it rose to -Bmillion. *olidarity then became the most powerful organisation in 2oland.

Enfortunately, however, nine years later, in -=?=, in the first open and free election &@=(since

-=+>, *olidarity won all but one of the seats contested into the 2arliament !*ejm" and

subseGuently entered into a coalition government, which restored capitalism through mar#et

reforms.

The restoration of capitalism was not however the original programme of the stri#ers.Craffiti

on the walls in Cdans# showed that the wor#ers were consciously or unconsciously aiming at

political revolution against state capitalism: 4%ocialism yesE But wit*out distortionsE0 /ut

the leaderships of ommittee for 0or#ers )efense !%1", M* and *olidarity, $ech 0alesaand others, had limited perspectives.

The collapse of the economy caused by the absence of democracy and the privileges of the

ruling bureaucracy prepared the ground for the appeal of capitalist restoration through mar#et

reforms. Jowever, this only compounded the economic problems as mass unemployment of

over @B per cent resulted within the following two years.

,eneral Lessons from t*e e7eriences of %olidarity 9'oland: and Britis* Labour 'arty

The lessons of %olidarity in 2oland and the Labour 'arty in /ritain are that trade unions

need representation in parliament. Jowever, t*e olitical and economic wings of labours*ould wor& toget*er to gain strengt* from eac* ot*er . )*ey s*ould not restrict t*e



17/22

acti/ities of t*e ot*er wing. The trade union wing needs to be deely olitical and t*e

olitical wing needs to rely on t*e collecti/e strengt* of t*e trade unions. %tri&es s*ould

continue until wor&ing class demands are met or fa/ourable legislation successfully

assed in t*e arliament. 2arties and politicians should support stri#es and street protests

of trade unions and the poor.

26L6AC6 !F A)!S ,2A%CI0%[D] 6,6!S A" C!+)62

6,6!S I 26"6FII, )6 '!LI)ICAL )A%P !F )2A"6 +I!%

)!"AS

The tas# of redefining trade union roles in transforming society could also benefit immensely

from an understanding of Anthony Cramscis ‘hegemony and ‘counterFhegemony.

Cramsci e4plains that the dominant groups maintain their domination of society through

imposition of their 4*egemony0 and that it would be necessary for the subordinate groups to

develop a 4counter-*egemony0.

egemony

Cramsci postulated that the hegemony or power of the ruling class over society is not just

maintained through sheer force or coercion&'-( but through a mi7 of 4s*eer force0 and

4consent to domination0. Indeed, the state or the dominant group only resorts to coercion as

a means of disciplining those who refuse to consent.

Cramsci maintains that consent to domination is manufactured in the sphere of civil society,

through various social institutions, the church, the educational system, the press, cultural

activities and several other forms of social interaction, which shape behaviour, thought

process and perceptions consistent with accepting e4isting hegemonic social order.

Counter-*egemony

Cramsci e4plains that developing the counterFhegemony involves two methods:

• A 4war of maneu/erO mo/ement0$ and

• A 4war of osition0.

4


18/22

4


19/22

• trade unionism as a career, or

• trade unionism as a mission

)epending on the mindset of individual unionists, the import of the above theories is thatadopting appropriate organisational and political strategy might indeed be a necessary

weapon in unions arsenal if they are to strengthen their power and influence in the

@-stcentury.

The alternatives open to trade unions may be displayed on two dimensions, which have been

developed by Epchurch and Mathers&'>(

-. %n the first dimension, trade unions may either choose an integrative aroac*, which

involves coalitions and social pacts with governments and employers

or anoppositional aroac*, involving alliance building with wor#ers and communities,

creating industrial and political organisations for combative mechanisms of rotests andelectoral contestations.

2. The second dimension involves either the continuance of a national orientationto problemF

solving, which relies on the maintenance or creation or recreation of sympathetic

Covernmentemployer support for the aims and objectives of organised labour, or

an international orientation, which supplements national initiatives to organi5ing with

establishing solidarity with wor#ing class organi5ations internationally and learning from

them.

)*e two oerational dimensions are resented in t*e diagram below#

AL)62A)I6 )2A"6 +I! F+)+26%

91eliance on the maintenance or !re"creation of sympathetic Covernment support for the aims and

objectives of organised labour"

A)I!AL

I II

2roductivity coalitions with employers )eveloping combative and militant

and social pacts with governments mechanisms of protest and dissent

I)6,2A)I6 !''!%I)I!AL



20/22

2roductivity coalitions with employers )eveloping combative and militant

and social pacts with governments mechanisms of protest and

dissent

III IN

I)62A)I!AL

!*upplementing national initiatives with adoption of better forms of struggle from the international

arena and establishing international solidarity with wor#ing class organisations"

I recommend a reliance on an oppositional approach combined with an internationalist orientation.

0ithin the recommended framewor#, it will not be difficult to freely find the way to the appropriate

political direction to move.

In the final analysis, the choice is for the unionswor#ers to ma#e.

2hilosophers have interpreted the world, the tas# is to change it.

&-( /eing 2aper delivered at the wor#shop on 4%6))I, A,6"A F!2 LAB!+2 I A "6!C2A)IC"I%'6%A)I!# 662,I, I%%+6%.0 !rganised by t*e Food$ Be/erage and )obacco %enior %taff

Association 9F!B)!B: in conunction wit* t*e Friedric* 6bert %tiftung on H 8 1D o/ember (D1( at

,rand Inn and %uites$ %tadium 2oad$ ,2A$ Iebu-!de$ !gun %tate.

&@( www.thefreedictionary.comlegitimate !retrieved on @' %ctober @B-@".&'( I$% ommittee of 34perts. -==+. ited in Aborisade, 9. @BB?. ‘The 1ight to stri#e in 8igeria and I$%2rinciples on the 1ight to stri#e, in 9. Adewumi O *. 9ajana. @BB?. ". The loans were advanced from the /8s 34panded )iscount0indow !3)0". The 3)0 was created by the /8 to prevent ban# failures under the weight of the globaleconomic recession. Ender the 3)0, ban#s can borrow for up to '>B days. /efore the crisis, they could only borrow over night. 2reviously, overnight borrowing by the ban#s attracted -+. percent. Ender the 3)0,interest rate dropped to - percent per annum. 3arlier in the year, the igerian Comass !> 7anuary @BB=:-O", had reported that the /8 had salvaged the ban#s from going under by not less than DDbillion, ‘without

following due process in order not to send the wrong signal to the troubled financial services system. The thirdreported injection was the pumping of 3(D billion into five of the ban#s 6 Intercontinental /an#, Afri/an#,9inban#, %ceanic /an# and Enion /an# !)*e ,uardian, - August @BB=: - O +=", to sal/age them fromcollapse. According to the Covernor of the /8, this facility would be for a period of between five and seven

years. !)*e ,uardian, @= August @BB=: - OB". The /8 Covernor later clarified that ‘much of that moneywill never come bac# because the bul# of the money is in the stoc# mar#et !)*e ation, @ *eptember @BB=: -".

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21/22

There was also the fourth injection of about (DDbn into the ban#s, after the August 8+@Bbn. Altogether, as atthe fourt* inection, the /8 pumped over 1.( trillion into the ban#s to sal/age their collapse. The sumof 1.( trillion injected to save the ban#s as at @BB= amounts to ;3K of t*e .3 trillion (DDH FederalBudget. If the 9ederal Covernment had committed the 8-.?@ trillion pumped into the ban#s as a salvagemeasure into any social service for the welfare of the poor, radical changes of revolutionary proportions wouldhave been recorded in such sector.

&?( www.bis.orgreviewr-@B'@Bd.pdf !retrieved on -' %ctober @B-@".&=( *aharareporters internet post of @- *eptember @B-@.&-B( Allafrica.comstories@B-@-BBB@'>.html !retrieved on -' %ctober @B-@".

&--( *ahara 1eporters internet post of @- *eptember @B-@.&-@( ited in M. 0atts !@BB=". ‘Crude 'olitics# Life and "eat* on t*e igerian oil Fields$ !0or#ing 2aper 8o. @". 0ashington ): Institute of International *tudies, Eniversity of alifornia, /er#eley, E*A, availableonline at Poldweb.geog.ber#eley.edu2rojects1esources8)[email protected] accessed on @@ May @B-@. &-'( ‘apital $oss and orruption: The 34ample of 8igeria: Testimony before the Jouse 9inancial *ervices

ommittee, -= May @BB=, available onlineat www.house.govappslisthearingfinancialsvcs...ribaduRtestimony.pdf accessed on @@ May @B-@.&-+( African 2eer 1eview Mechanism !A21M", @BB?, paragraph +@ p.-+@.&-( 9(DD?: ( International $abour %rganisation !I$%". !-==>a". Freedom of association# "igest of decisions andrinciles of t*e Freedom of Association Committee of t*e ,o/erning Body of t*e IL!. 9ourth !revised"edition. Ceneva: I$%.&@( *s. -' O -?@, 918, -=== for disGualification factors for 2residential and Covernorship candidates

respectively *. -B, 3lectoral Act, @B-B !as amended" for disGualification grounds for contesting an Areaouncil election.&@?( 7. Motimer !@BBB". ‘The 9ormation of the $abour 2arty: $essons for Today. Available onlineathttp:www.socialisthistorysociety.co.u#M%1TIM31.JTM . Accessed on -= May @B-@.&@=( The election held on 7une -=?=. %nly ' per cent of the seats were by election while the rest were filled by 2E02 and its allies.

&'B( A. Cramsci. @BB'. %elections from t*e rison noteboo&s. Joare, ., 8owell, *. C., eds. 8ew Dor#:International 2ublishers.&'-( According to *imon !-==-", the use of force or coercion is the domain of what Cramsci calls ‘politicalsociety, meaning ‘the armed forces, police, law courts, and prisons, together with all theadministrative departments concerning ta4ation, finance, trade, industry, social security, etc. !1. *imon. -==B.

Cramscis 2olitical Thought: An Introduction. @nd 3d. $awrence O 0ishart". *ee alsowww.warofposition.comL pageRidS=+ accessed on @' %ctober @B-@".&'@( www.warofposition.comLpageRidS=+ !retrieved on @' %ctober @B-@".&''( ited in 7. A. /uttigieg. @BB. KThe contemporary discourse on civil society: A CramsciancritiGue< Boundary @, '@!-", ''F@. !accessed in www.warofposition.comLpageRidS=+ retrieved on @' %ctober @B-@".

&'+( ited in *imon, -==B,op. it. !accessed in J. 7auch. ‘8amibias labour movement: 34ploring the potential

for radical change 2aper presented at a conference for *ocialist Action, 0indhoe#, @@ *eptember @B-@.&'( Ibid.

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&'>( Epchurch, M. O Mathers, A. !8)". %ocial o/ement )*eory and )rade +nion !rganising!Availableonline at www.md4.ac.u#Assets*MT!rganisingAM.doc, accessed on30 July 2012"
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