News

3,000 Jobs Lost As Construction Workers Threaten Nationwide Strike

Published

6 months ago

Jun 1, 2024.

Construction Workers Threaten Nationwide Strike.
A dispute between the Ministry of Works and FOCI has led to 3,000 job losses, with up to 32,000 more at risk.
Unions call for a conflict resolution and a construction sector bailout to prevent increased poverty and insecurity.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that ongoing construction on major roads in the country may be halted due to a threatened nationwide strike by industry workers.

Roads that could be affected include the Obajana Road, Abuja-Kano Road, Bodo-Bonny Road, East-West Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Kogi-Auchi Road, and Zaria-Sokoto Road.

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The Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA) and the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) have stated that a dispute between the Federal Ministry of Works and their employers, the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), has resulted in the sacking of about 3,000 workers.

These two unions, affiliates of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), attribute the industry’s slowdown to disagreements over new standard contract conditions imposed by the Minister, which they claim contradict the conditions approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

The unions said this disagreement has affected employment in the industry, leading to mass sack of Nigerian workers who are their members.

The Presidents of CCESSA and NUCECFWW, Comrade Engr. Ayodeji Adeyemo and Comrade Stephen Okoro, said this during a press briefing on Friday in Abuja.

They said: “In the last three months we have lost almost 3,000 and the mass sack is still continuing. If care is not taken, if the conflict is not resolved, in the next two months, we are expecting additional 32,000 workers to be affected.

Construction Workers

“The mass sack will affect the major roads being handled by the major construction companies like RCC, Setraco, Salini, and others.”

They stated, “This is in contrast to the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Currently we have lost over fifty percent of our members as a result of the disagreement; this situation is bound to further increase poverty and insecurity that the country is grappling with.

“We are using this medium to appeal to the Honourable Minister of Works that what is needed now is a form of bailout to a distressed construction sector rather than any form of conflict.

The two unions are also concerned about the effect of a prolonged unresolved conflict on investor confidence in the stability of the country’s business environment.