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Nigeria Trade Unions
The central trade union in the country was the Nigerian
Labour Congress (NLC), which was formed in 1975 as the
umbrella
trade union and recognized by Decree Number 44 of 1976 as
the
sole representative of all trade unions in the country
(see Labor Unions
, ch. 3). The NLC had a national executive and
secretariat,
as well as state councils in all states. It had more than
100
affiliated unions. Although most labor matters were
channeled
through the NLC, the affiliate unions had engaged
individually in
union activities, such as strikes and lockouts. In the
1980s, the
NLC was torn apart by leadership struggles, ideological
differences, and ethnoregional conflicts. The NLC nearly
broke up
in 1988 after disagreements over elections of its
leadership,
resulting in the federal government's appointing an
administrator
for several months. The NLC organized a nationwide
workers'
strike in 1986 to demand the retention of government
subsidies on
petroleum products and continued to articulate workers'
demands
on matters such as minimum wages and improved welfare
conditions.
Several other trade unions were also active. A few, such
as the
Academic Staff Union of Universities, were proscribed for
alleged
antigovernment activities.
Data as of June 1991
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