1. A congress meeting of the Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO), an alliance of Labour (NLC and TUC) and pro-labour civil society organizations met in Lagos on Saturday, January 17, 2009 under the joint-chairmanship of Comrades Abdulwahed Omar – President, Nigeria Labour Congress and Oladipo Fashina.
1. A congress meeting of the Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO), an alliance of Labour (NLC and TUC) and pro-labour civil society organizations met in Lagos on Saturday, January 17, 2009 under the joint-chairmanship of Comrades Abdulwahed Omar – President, Nigeria Labour Congress and Oladipo Fashina.
2. THE JUST DEMAND FOR A MINIMUM WAGE: LASCO declares its full support for a new minimum wage of N52,200 for Nigerian workers, a demand it considers as long overdue given the grossly inadequate minimum wage across the country which is inflicting maximum suffering on Nigerian masses; and against the background of the jumbo pay packet allotted by members of the National Assembly to themselves, and the mismanagement of the surplus that have accrued from the sales of crude oil.
3. LASCO strongly demands that the Nigerian workers must be free from the present regime of wage slavery that is responsible for the miserable and indecent living conditions of the Nigerian worker, and the deepening of the unbearable poverty level and hardships in the country. LASCO insists that anything less than the demand of N52,200 is unjust.
4. LASCO is resolved to join forces with the NLC and TUC to ensure the realization of the demand for N52,200 new minimum wage. Towards this end, LASCO demands a halt to the ongoing retrenchment in the public and private sectors; and will embark on a mobilization campaign to educate Nigerians on the necessity and realities of a new minimum wage. In addition, LASCO will join forces with Labour to organize mass protests against all forms of attack on jobs because we deplore the shifting of the burden of the global financial crisis and the mismanagement of the Nigerian economy on the working masses.
5. LASCO observed some minutes silence in honour of the great African patriot and revolutionary, Patrice Emery Lumumba – the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo-Kinshasa, who was assassinated by the western imperialist forces for his stand against neo-colonial capitalist exploitation and domination of his country and Africa.
6. IN MEMORY OF PATRICE LUMUMBA: In realization of the historic coincidence and significance of the LASCO meeting holding on the same January 17, in which Comrade Lumumba was killed on January 17, 1961, LASCO leaders and members rose to their feet while the last historic letter of Comrade Lumumba to his wife Pauline was read. Parts of the letter which still rings true read: My dear Wife Pauline Lumumba, I am writing these words not knowing whether they will reach you, when they will reach you, and whether I shall be alive when you read them. All through my struggle for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for a single instant the final triumph of the sacred cause to which my companions and I have devoted all our life. All we wanted for our country was its rights to an honourable life, to unstained dignity, to independence without restrictions. That was never desired by the Belgian imperialists and their western allies, who found direct and indirect support, both deliberate and unintentional, among certain high officials of the United Nations Organisation. Neither brutality, nor torture will ever bring me to ask for mercy, for I prefer to die with my head unbowed, my faith unshakable and with profound trust in the destiny of our country, rather than live under subjection and disregarding sacred principles. Do not weep for me, my dear wife, I know that my country, which is suffering so much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty.
7. THE RIGHT OF PALESTINIANS TO SELF DETERMINATION: Equally, LASCO outrightly condemned the carnage and continuing bombardment of the Gaza strip by Israel. Since Israel insists on the right of the Jewish people to self determination, which we accept, Israel cannot legitimately deny the right of the Palestinians to same. All attempts to deny the Palestinians the right to self determination in practice are unjustified and the whole world should oppose it. LASCO wishes to alert Nigerians in particular, that what is at stake in the Middle East is not a fight on religion between Muslims and Christians, but fundamentally THE RIGHT OF THE PALESTIANS TO SELF DETERMINATION. Those who cherish freedom and justice in the world must rise in support of this just cause.
Dr. Oladipo Fashina
Joint-Chair, LASCO
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