A labour dispute at the Abuja Continental Hotel took a new turn on Monday as workers openly opposed efforts by organised labour to unionise them, even as the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress commenced picketing of the hotel.
The workers, who gathered during the protest, chanted “No to union” and displayed placards insisting that they had neither invited the unions nor authorised them to speak on their behalf.
The development followed allegations by the TUC and NLC that the hotel management had violated workers’ rights by preventing them from joining unions and engaging in collective bargaining.
However, some employees said they were unaware of the correspondence and disagreements between the unions and the hotel management, arguing that they should have been consulted before organised labour intervened in the matter.
The workers’ spokesperson, Samuel Esiakpoyere, said employees had not been carried along and questioned the basis of the unions’ action.
He said the workers believed the hotel management was making efforts to improve their welfare and warned that shutting down the business in the name of protecting workers could ultimately affect their livelihoods.
“We don’t want the union to kill us in trying to help us,” Esiakpoyere said, insisting that the workers were opposed to unionisation.
TUC insists workers want union representation
The TUC, however, rejected the position of the workers who spoke during the picketing, arguing that they did not represent the views of the entire workforce.
The TUC General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, said the labour centre had attempted to resolve the dispute through dialogue before resorting to picketing.
According to him, the TUC wrote to the hotel management on August 4 seeking discussions over the alleged violation of workers’ rights. He said the management responded that it might not be available for talks until the end of November because of ongoing renovation work.
Toro said the delay was unacceptable, insisting that workers’ rights could not be put on hold until the completion of renovation work.
He maintained that workers had a constitutional right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, adding that the union was prepared to return to dialogue if the hotel management was willing to engage.
The TUC General Secretary also said the picketing would continue throughout the week and that the labour movement would review the situation on Friday.
Responding to the workers’ public rejection of unionisation, Toro said everyone was entitled to an opinion but argued that the workers who protested might not represent the entire workforce.
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He insisted that some employees inside the hotel were willing to join the unions and that the labour movement would continue to pursue what it described as their right to organise.
Union alleges intimidation
Also speaking during the protest, the National President of the Hotel and Personal Services Senior Staff Association, William Adegbe, alleged that the hotel management had discouraged union activities since a change in ownership following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adegbe claimed that workers had been denied access to conditions of service and the freedom to associate, describing the situation as a violation of their rights under the Constitution.
He further alleged that some workers who publicly opposed the union action had been intimidated by management.
According to him, some of the employees were allegedly communicating with union officials privately and expressing support for the unionisation campaign despite their public position.
The allegations, however, contrast sharply with the position publicly expressed by workers at the hotel, who maintained that they were comfortable dealing directly with management and did not want union representation.
The dispute has consequently created a standoff between organised labour and the hotel workers, with the unions insisting they are defending employees’ rights while the workers publicly reject the intervention.
The TUC said it remained open to dialogue but vowed to sustain the picketing until the matter was reviewed later in the week.