As workers converged across the country to commemorate 2025 May Day festivities, Nigerian labor unions employed the occasion to urge the nation to take immediate action to end the tide of violence, poverty, and hardship afflicting citizens.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) collectively lamented what they referred to as “bloodletting” in the country. The union leaders said that uncontrolled killings, kidnappings, and general insecurity have turned life into hell for workers and their families.
In Abuja, placard-waving unionists marched demanding citizens are better protected and workers fairly paid. They branded the current minimum wage inhumane and demanded negotiations for a new living wage that keeps pace with the rising cost of living.
Flashback to May Day 2023, when union leaders issued a comparable warning of mounting hardship and rising insecurity. They urged the government to address inflation and criminal targeting of schools, highways, and croplands. But today they say too little has changed.
The NLC president warned that unless the government acts quickly, industrial actions would be unavoidable. He also demanded that decent work conditions and medical benefits be given to public and private sector workers.
The TUC president also added that Nigeria’s economy cannot grow if the workers are underpaid, over-taxed, and surviving on scraps. He claimed that the high rate of unemployment and shrinking purchasing power are propelling crime, migration, and civil unrest.
Across the country, workers also called for more accountability in the use of public funds. They requested the government to reduce the cost of governance and divert resources to education, health, and infrastructure that are directly addressed to the masses.
As May Day ended, the labour unions warned the federal and state governments that their patience is wearing thin. They say Nigerian workers will no longer tolerate empty promises as their lives go down the drain.
