TUC pickets Abuja Continental, says workers treated like slaves
—Vows to occupy premises till Friday before reviewing situation
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA — THE Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Monday picketed the Abuja Continental Hotel, accusing management of violating workers’ fundamental rights and treating employees like “slaves” by denying them the chance to unionize and engage in collective bargaining.
TUC officials and members of its affiliates — including the Hotels and Personal Services Senior Staff Association (HAPSSAN) and the National Union of Professional and Allied Staff of Nigeria (NUPSI) — staged a picket that halted activities at the hotel when they converged on the premises.
Protesters tried to block the hotel’s entrance and lock its gate, but security staff and some hotel officials pushed back; numerous security operatives were also present on the premises.
Speaking during the action, Comrade Nuhu Toro, Secretary-General of the TUC, said the union had exhausted all avenues for dialogue with hotel management before resorting to picketing.
He said, “The issue is very clear. The hotel workers are slaves in Abuja Continental, their rights have been violated. They are not allowed to exercise their fundamental human rights and that is why we are here.”
He explained that the labour centre had deliberately chosen dialogue before industrial action, revealing that the TUC wrote the hotel management on August 4 to invite it for discussions on how to resolve the dispute peacefully.
“But to our surprise, the management of Abuja Continental wrote us back to say, owing to renovation exercise going on, they might not be available to discuss with us until the end of November.
“How does that make sense to you? We are talking about workers’ rights being violated. We are talking about workers being treated as slaves, and you are postponing it until the renovation is done.
“Invariably, which means by the time they are done with the renovation, all our workers will have died.”
Toro explained that the response by the hotel management left the TUC with no option but to escalate the matter, insisting that workers’ rights could not be placed on hold because a renovation exercise was taking place.
“It’s against that background that we are here to exercise our fundamental right and press on our demand that they do have a right to unionisation and collective bargaining.”
Citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which guarantees freedom of association, Toro maintained that the workers must be allowed to exercise the right without intimidation or interference as he declared,
“That’s why we are here.”
The TUC secretary-general said the protest was not intended to shut down the hotel permanently, stressing that the labour centre remained prepared to negotiate with management.
“We will be here for this week. From now until Friday, we will be here. We will review it on Friday. If they are ready to talk, we will talk.
“But I can assure you that the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, under the leadership of Comrade Engineer Osifo, is ready to dialogue. That was why we wrote the letter. It’s up to them to come and dialogue with us.
“If they want to dialogue right now, we are ready to dialogue with them. But workers are the backbone.”
Toro also rejected suggestions that the workers were united against unionisation, following the appearance of some hotel workers carrying banners indicating that they did not want to belong to a trade union.
Asked whether the protesters could authoritatively claim to represent all the hotel workers, he said, “Everybody has a right to his opinion. Are they all the workers? Can you authoritatively tell me that they are all the workers? No. So, of course, we don’t expect anything less.”
He insisted that the TUC had information indicating that some workers supported the unionisation drive but were afraid to openly identify with the protest.
“But I can rest assured you that the workers are members in there. They are resolute. They are ready to join the union and we will ensure that their rights are guaranteed,.”
Toro also said the labour centre was not opposed to any meeting initiated by the hotel management, provided the person attending had the authority to negotiate on behalf of the organisation.
“We don’t know,” he said when asked about reports of a meeting allegedly called by the management.
“We are ready to discuss with anybody. So long as the person has mandate to negotiate with us in good faith on behalf of the management, why not? “We want a peaceful resolution and that’s what we stand for.”
The National President of Hotels and Personal Services Senior Staff Association (HAPSSAN), Comrade Iyeh Adegbe accused the hotel of allegedly maintaining an anti-union posture since its takeover by new investors.
Adegbe who said the problem was not peculiar to Abuja Continental, alleging that a similar situation existed at the Continental Hotel in Lagos, recalled that the former Sheraton Hotel, which the current investors took over, had an active union structure before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After COVID-19 and these people took over as a new investor, they told their employees that union is a taboo and they have established this place like a slave camp,” he alleged.
According to him, workers had been denied access to proper conditions of service and the right to freely associate.
He said HAPSSAN and NUPSI had written several letters to the management seeking dialogue, but the letters failed to yield the desired result “That was why we escalated to the labour centre, which is the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria,” he said.
Adegbe added that the management’s decision to defer discussions until November was unacceptable to organised labour.
“That is the reason why you see the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria coming to say that what people are saying about them is true and is correct. Our mandate is to defend workers anywhere in Nigeria.”
However, some workers seconded to the hotel by outsourcing companies have dissociated themselves from the picketing.
The workers through their spokesman, Samuel Esiakpoyere, said the industrial action did not represent their interests, insisting that they had deliberately chosen not to participate.
The workers cited Section 40 of the Constitution, arguing that employees were free to decide whether or not to belong to a trade union. They also cited Section 12 of the TUC Constitution, which they said recognises the voluntary nature of union membership.
“We can choose to join or not. It’s not by force,” the workers said, insisting that they receive their salaries and benefits regularly and enjoy HMO and other welfare packages.
They also said the hotel operates an open-door policy and provides channels through which workers can raise concerns.
“We are satisfied with how we currently engage with Abuja Continental Hotel management and believe our interests are being adequately protected. Our decision not to participate in any picketing is deliberate,” they said.
But the TUC has rejected the suggestion that the workers’ public position settles the dispute, insisting that the fundamental issue is whether workers are genuinely free to organise and bargain collectively.
Addressing the workers of Abuja Continental Hotel who mounted top of the Hotel’s security post with banners dissociating themselves from the picketing, the National Union of Professional and Allied Staff of Nigeria (NUPSI), Comrade Martin Egbanubi said the TUC and it’s affiliates were not at the Hotel to joke.
“We are here to enforce the law, because the law has provided that workers anywhere have the right to work and workers of Abuja Continental Hotel must belong to trade unions.
“We don’t want any workers here to work under preparation, under a condition that is not protected by law and that is why we are here. So make sure that as Nigerian citizens working here, you have the right, fundamental right, protection of your job, protection of your wage, protection of your condition of service, your freedom must also be guaranteed.
“As you see how we work in several organizations across the economy, several sectors of Nigeria’s economy we are gathered here because we are free and that is why we are free to exercise our freedom in our respective places of work.
“We are here not only in solidarity with the oppressed workers of Abuja Continental Hotel, but also to enforce their fundamental rights.
“Their fundamental right to collective behavior, their fundamental right to job security, their fundamental right to wage protection, their fundamental right to enjoy all conditions of work in line with standard level laws.”
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