It’s May Day, a day set aside to honor workers and raise awareness of their difficulties.
It was established in 1889 to bring attention to workers’ struggles as a result of the Haymarket crisis in Chicago, Illinois, where workers launched a demonstration to demand that they work for eight hours instead of the standard 12 hours per day, among other issues.
Workers in Nigeria are holding rallies across the country to commemorate the anniversary and demand for greater welfare, led by labor unions.
What Leaders Said:
NASS
Senate President Ahmad Lawan has assured workers that the National Assembly will continue to partner with the Organized Labour to address issues relating to them.
He made gave the assurance in a statement celebrating Nigerian workers on the occasion of this year’s May Day, while calling for a speedy and amicable resolution to the months-old Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
Tinubu
Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, also charged Nigerians to work in harmony to produce a better country for themselves and future generations.
Governors
State governors have also joined in celebrating workers.
In the north, the Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led by Ayuba Suleiman, has lamented that the productivity and safety of workers in the state have been largely affected by banditry and terrorism.
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State joined employees in commemorating the day at the Moshood Abiola stadium in the state capital, where a match was played in the past.
Governor Abiodun thanked state employees for their devotion, professionalism, and tenacity in the face of global socio-economic problems in his remarks.
The governor, on the other hand, took advantage of the good fortune to promise better times ahead, promising to settle any outstanding deductions, gratuities, and other welfare packages.
