Issa Aremu

Comrade Issa Aremu, Secretary General, National Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria, says Nigerian economy would only fully recover when issues of labour, productivity and wages are clearly addressed.

Aremu made the assertion in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna over reports of Nigeria’s economy exiting recession.

He said that the country needed to think bigger and be “ambitious in its quantitative and qualitative growth and development numbers.”

According to him, the purchasing power of Nigerians must also improve through prompt and adequate payments of the country’ s over 10 million employed workforce.

“Organized labour has said Nigeria economy had the potential of faster recovery not just exiting recession, if the Federal and states’ governments had put an end to current persistent crisis of compensation of the working class,” he said.

Aremu noted that the 0.55 per cent “token positive growth” was a far cry from the 4.6 per cent targeted under the Federal Government Economic Recovery and Growth Plan in 2017.

He advised the government to ensure improved productivity in public and private sectors by motivating workers and ensuring quality pensions.

“Federal government must ease the cost of doing business as much as it must ease the cost of living of the working people through prompt payments of wages and pensions.”