The Nigeria Labour Congress staged a picket at the office of Trustfund Pensions Limited in Abuja on Tuesday, protesting against the recent dismissal of 45 employees and the casualization of workers, among other unfair labor practices by the organization.

Protesters, wielding placards with messages such as “#Stop casual and contract employment, pay fair wages,” “#union membership is a fundamental right (we have to join the union),” and “#respect workers’ right to freedom of association and collective bargaining (RECOGNIZE THE UNION),” blocked the entrance to the Tetfund pensions office located at the Labour House as early as 7 am.

Speaking to journalists at the scene, Deputy General Secretary of NLC, Comrade Ismail Bello, expressed the union’s disappointment with Trustfund’s management for their lack of cooperation in addressing labor issues through dialogue.

“Trust Fund is a Pension Fund Administrator that takes care of pension investment of workers and it is also a PFA in which the NLC has a stake and so we believe that we can deal with all issues through a process of dialogue, but, unfortunately, the management of Trust Fund has not shown good faith when it comes to discussing labor issues,” Bello stated.

He emphasized the necessity of the demonstration, citing the organization’s dismissal of 45 workers, which the union deemed as redundant.

Additionally, Bello raised concerns about the unfair treatment of casual and contract workers, both in terms of wages and their conditions of employment.

“We have tried to go through a process of dialogue but the management of Trust Fund has not shown sufficient good faith, and we think that for a business in which we have a stake, we expect the utmost level of labor standards,” Bello added.

The NLC urged Trustfund to respect union rights, ensure fair treatment of casual and contract workers, and provide appropriate disengagement entitlements for the dismissed workers if they are not recalled.