Worker's Day

It is good to celebrate worker's day. But that does not mean ALL workers are happy to be celebrated on a public holiday.

2. The reason is that ALL the major  concerns affecting them in the workplace  are still not being addressed.

3. One of the key areas of workers distress is their welfare. If they are not happy at work, how can they derive job satisfaction?

4. If they are not fulfilled in their jobs, how can they be productive?

5. Most importantly, labour laws should be tightened to address the lingering issues of unethical business practices.

6.Foreign firms continue to subject locals to harsh working conditions as slaves in their own countries.

7.Issues such as late payment of salaries running into six months, little or no break times, and unfair dismissals need to be addressed.

8.Added to this, there has to be an Employment tribunal to address unfair dismissals and sexual harassment in the workplace.

9.Clearly, Labour unions are not doing enough to address longer working unsocial hours.

10.No doubt, this is outside of the contractual agreement between employer and employees.

11.Unequal pay between the genders who perform the same task is another area of concern.

12.Similarly, unequal pay between a local and a foreign expatriate (whose remuneration is in dollars) that perform the same task equally needs to be addressed.

13.Employers should ensure employees are well remunerated for the work that they do.

14.They need to empower them and allow them to be creative with their work. This is where job satisfaction will come in.

15.It is heartening to note that some state governments are now willing to pay their staff well above the national minimum wage of N18,000k.

16.Lastly, the media also have a role to play in highlighting these problems in the workplace.

17.So too, do civil society groups. Their silence in grinding out this perturbing trend in the labour force, and seeking reforms is not encouraging.

18.And for employees. Anyone can pretend to work for long hours.

19.It is not the hours that you are at work that makes you productive.

20.It is the hours you put into your work that makes you an effective worker.

Happy worker's day.

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