Leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Abia State chapters, have said their members are still confronted with many challenges that led to workers' decades-old struggle for better working condition.
Comrades Okoro Ogbonnaya of the NLC and Ifeanyi Eze of TUC made the assertion while speaking during the 2026 Labour Day celebration in Umuahia, the state capital.
Ogbonnaya and Eze blamed the development on alleged failure of some employers to adopt sound industrial relations practices that promote fairness, dignity, and workplace harmony
They said they are faced with direct union concerns, full implementation of the minimum wage, completion and implementation of pending promotions and resuscitation of ailing state-owned industries, among others.
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They thanked the governor, Alex Otti, for the manner in which he has piloted the affairs of the state, and urged the workers to renew their commitment to the cause of decent work for all through policy advocacy.
In his address, Otti thanked the workers for their steadfast commitment to value creation, faithfulness to their obligation, service to the people and expanding the frontiers of the state's economy.
Represented by his deputy, Ikechukwu Emetu, he congratulated them on the occasion of the workers' day, saying the state's workforce had become a reference point in resilient character, as well as good faith.
The governor promised to always listen to them and to keep his doors open to labor matters as a government elected to lead with a new service disposition.
The chairman on the occasion and member representing Isiala Ngwa North and South federal constituency at the National Assembly, Ginger Onwusibe, lauded the worker for their zeal to serve the state.
He said the dignity of labor must include the reward for labor, and enjoined the workers to shun truancy, lateness to duty, corruption, as well as promise that the state government will invest in their welfare and productivity.
