TRADE UNIONS AND THE ACTUALIZATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS OF WORKERS IN NIGERIA

Trade union in Nigeria emerged to fight against the colonial rule and the exploitation of the colonial workers of low wage paid and poor standard of living. After the independence of Nigeria in 1960, trade union through its affiliated unions have continued to struggle and fights for the improved workers’ welfare and wages which contributed greatly to Nigerian workers’ improved wages and standard of living. It is in this light that this paper set to examine the impact of Nigerian Labour Congress and its affiliated trade unions in the actualisation of socio-economic rights of workers. The paper traced the history of Nigerian Labour Congress, its membership and appraised its contributions in making the economic and social rights of workers a reality in Nigeria. The paper used secondary methods of data collection which includes journal articles and books chapter for the information. From the findings of the work, the Nigerian labour congress was said to play a significant socio-economic role to agitate for the improvement of the standard of living of the Nigerian workers. Some of these include: improved workers’ education, training and fair wage, initiation of cooperative societies which give some workers access to loans to solve their immediate family problems and enhanced job security among other. Therefore, the paper stressed that if government can sustain these welfare provisions for its workers, they will be more committed to their duties which will ensure efficiency and productivity in the service delivery among workers.