ASSESSMENT OF THE STRUGGLES OF THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS ON WELFARE ISSUES OF WORKERS

ABSTRACT

Corruption remains one of the most challenging issues confronting Nigeria’s development including the welfare of workers. Successive governments have made efforts towards nipping corruption to bud, but most efforts have been to no avail. The problem of this study was to look at labour struggles against corruption and impunity in Nigeria, with reference to the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). The objective was to ascertain how effective the NLC have been in championing the course against corruption and impunity. The methodology adopted for the study was the survey method, and data was collected from a sample frame of 309 respondents, drawn from subsidiaries of the NLC. The study utilized questionnaire and Key Informant Interview as instruments to collect data. The major finding of the study is that labour struggles have been a high-level occurring activity and have impacted greatly on the levels of corrupt practices in the country. Better welfare for workers and reversal in major unpopular policies of governments are indications of the impact of labour struggles against corruption and impunity which impact on the welfare of the working people and their families. Governments at all levels have been effectively held to account for workers welfare, and evolve policies that provide for transparency in government. The study recommended that, the NLC must begin to harness its resources and capacities to sponsor bills that will create the establishment of special anti-corruption courts that will facilitate speedy hearing of litigations against corruption and impunity. The study also recommended that the NLC should also focus more on capacity building, technical assistance and information, to enable them empower themselves to pick out pockets of corrupt practices and impunity better.