Mr Gbenga Komolafe, General Secretary, Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON), on Monday called for policies to create more jobs in the informal sector and boost existing ones.
Komolafe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday that 90 per cent of Nigeria’s working population was in the informal sector due to closure of factories and unfair treatment by employers.
According to him, workers in the sector need good roads, electricity, better healthcare facilities, among other amenities to operate better.
He said that it was saddening that such workers were operating in unfavourable conditions while some corrupt Nigerians were stealing public funds.
Komolafe appealed that workers in the sector, who were displaced from their shops by governments due to creation of modern markets, should be resettled to avoid crime.
He also called on governments to dialogue with stakeholders and come up with more inclusive urban renewal programmes that would put the needs of the working people on the front burners.
Mr Isa Aremu, the Vice President, Global Industrial Union, urged the Federal Government to fight instability of work and violation of workers’ rights to ensure sustainable industrial development.
Aremu, a former National Vice President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, said that the organised labour would continue to resist violation of workers’ rights and condemn poor wages.
He advised the Federal Government to put policies in place industrialise the country and discourage sack of workers and closure of factories. (NAN)
CHIN/FF/IGO