Construction workers’ strike threat
Nigeria’s ambitious infrastructure development agenda is at risk of grinding to a halt, not due to funding shortfalls or technical challenges, but because of a looming labor crisis. The Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA) and the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) have threatened to down tools on major national road projects if the mass layoffs in their sector don’t stop.
The unions paint a dire picture – over 20,000 workers have lost their jobs in just three months, with another 32,000 at risk. If the trend continues, they warn, vital arteries like the Abuja-Kano Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and East-West Road could see work halt. At a time when Nigeria desperately needs infrastructure upgrades to boost economic growth, such a strike would be a crippling setback.
But beneath the looming labor dispute lies a complex web of issues that expose the fragilities in Nigeria’s construction sector. At the heart of the matter is a disagreement between contractors and the Ministry of Works over contract terms. The unions allege that Works Minister David Umahi unilaterally imposed new standard conditions contrary to those approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
This bureaucratic tussle might seem like arcane procedural minutiae, but its human cost is starkly real – thousands of job losses as projects stall. It highlights how poor governance and lack of coordination between state entities can have devastating ripple effects on the workforce and economic progress.
Moreover, the Construction workers’ strike threat underscores the precarious nature of employment in Nigeria’s construction sector. Job stability is tenuous with projects often subject to political vagaries, funding irregularities, and security disruptions. Workers can be hired en masse for a project’s launch, only to be laid off just as quickly when complications arise.
The union leaders rightly warn that dumping tens of thousands of skilled laborers into unemployment amid Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis and insecurity challenges is a recipe for disaster. Those workers and their dependents, stripped of livelihoods, could be pushed into poverty or even crime out of desperation.
Furthermore, their statement draws a poignant connection between the sector’s job losses and the broader security crisis plaguing the nation. They argue that every worker dismissed is a potential recruit for bandits or insurgents. It’s a sobering reminder that economic instability and physical insecurity are deeply intertwined.
Ironically, as the unions demand action to protect their members’ jobs, they simultaneously plead for an end to the very banditry and kidnappings that have made many construction sites in northern Nigeria high-risk zones. The twin crises of labor disputes and regional insecurity threaten to create a perfect storm, stalling critical infrastructure projects.
The 21-day ultimatum issued by the unions puts the ball squarely in the government’s court. Minister Umahi and the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) must find common ground quickly. Involving all stakeholders like the Bureau of Public Procurement and Ministry of Justice in contract awards, as suggested, could foster transparency and prevent such conflicts.
Nigeria’s infrastructure dream hinges on resolving not just financial and technical hurdles, but also the human and governance challenges that often go overlooked. The construction unions’ grievances expose these overlooked factors. Unless addressed urgently, they threaten to turn our concrete development goals into mere castles in the air.
Reference
Construction workers threaten strike over sacking of 30,000 published in Punch