Construction workers threaten strike as mass layoffs hit industry

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 stop work on major roads due to some crises leading to mass layoffs in the industry.

The groups represent the senior and junior staff in the construction industry and are affiliated to the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),

At a news conference on Friday, Ayodeji Adeyemo, the national President of CCESSA, and his counterpart, Stephen Okoro, raised concerns over the plight of construction workers while speaking on the state of the construction industry in Abuja.

Adeyemo said the construction industry is the second largest employer of labour in Nigeria after the government.

However, he expressed concern that a lot of workers are being laid off by construction companies, adding that the trend is creating a crisis in the sector.

“Over 30,000 workers have lost their jobs and about 52,000 workers may lose their jobs if care is not taken,” Adeyemo said.

“Over 20,000 have already lost their jobs in the last three months and 32,000 will also lose their jobs if the conflicts are not resolved.

“We may have no choice but to stop work on major roads if the trend continues.

“Some of the roads that are affected by the conflicts are roads being handled by major construction companies like RCC, Setraco, Julius Berger, Dantata and Sawoe, among others.

“They are: Obajana road, Abuja -Kano Road, Bodo-Bonny road, East-West road, Lagos-Ibadan express way, Zaria -Sokoto road and Edo-Auchi road.

“When you sack people with family and other dependents, you are only calling for more insecurity in the country. Nigeria is currently grappling with insecurity and you can imagine when 52,000 workers are laid off.”

Adeyemo said the unions are also concerned about the disagreement between the federation of construction industry (FOCI) and the minister of works.

He said there is a total slowdown in the industry due to disagreement between the contractors handling various civil construction projects for the federal government and the ministry of Works.

Adeyemo said the discord is a result of the unilateral imposition of new standard conditions of contracts by the minister — contrary to the existing conditions as approved by the Bureau of public Procurement (BPP).

This, he said, has affected employment in the industry, leading to mass sack of Nigerian workers who are members of our unions.

Adeyemo said the unions have appealed to David Umahi, the minister of works, for a form of bail out to the distressed construction sector rather than any form of conflict.

“We call on the federal government to resolve the conflict in the industry by involving all stakeholders in contract awards,” he said.

“These are the Bureau of Public procurement (BPP), Ministry of Justice, Ministry of works, Council for Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria (COREN), Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), among others.

“We urge the Minister of Works, FOCI and all concerned to amicably resolve the current conflict within 21 days otherwise, the two Unions will be compelled to declare industrial actions in the construction industry.”

The unions also called for an end to banditry, kidnappings and killings that have become commonplace in the country, urging security agencies to ensure the safety of the members and all Nigerians.