The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that two years into President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Nigerian workers and the masses have experienced no gains—only pain and misery.

In an appraisal of the administration’s first two years, NLC President, Joe Ajaero stated that there has been nothing to celebrate since the government came into power.

According to him: “When President Bola Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023, he promised a new dawn—bold economic reforms that would rescue Nigeria from fiscal instability and set it on a path to prosperity.

But two years later, the only thing bolder than his rhetoric is the magnitude of suffering and hardship his policies have inflicted on workers and ordinary Nigerians. Far from renewing hope, his administration has recycled the same failed neoliberal experiments of the past, proving once again that you cannot cure a patient by prescribing the poison that made them sick in the first place.”

Citizens’ woes

“The sudden removal of the petrol subsidy sent shockwaves through an already fragile economy, causing fuel prices to skyrocket from N187 to over N600 per litre overnight. The government claimed it was a necessary sacrifice to free up funds for development—but where are the results?

“Instead of reinvestment, Nigerians got inflation so vicious that families now skip meals, businesses shut down daily, and transport costs consume what little remains of workers’ wages. The naira, left to the so-called ‘market forces,’ has collapsed in value, turning Nigeria into a bargain basement for neighbouring countries, while local industries suffocate under the weight of imported inflation.

“What makes this pain even more frustrating is that none of it is new. We’ve seen this script before—subsidy removals, devaluations, and IMF-approved austerity—each time sold as the bitter pill Nigeria must swallow for a brighter future. But when has it ever worked? These same policies under past administrations only widened inequality, enriched a few, and left the majority poorer. Tinubu’s version is no different—except the suffering is deeper, the anger louder, and the government’s response more brutal.

“Nigerian workers have seen their real wages obliterated. Pensioners, SMEs (facing over 150 per cent inflation in inputs), and 150 million Nigerians are now multi-dimensionally poor. It has been two years of intimidation and harassment for Labour leaders and trade unions in Nigeria. Flagrant disregard for court orders and the criminalisation of union protests and actions have become the norm. Wage award arrears at the federal level remain unpaid, despite repeated promises.

“The only notable effort is the provision of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses by the Federal Government to ease transportation for Nigerian workers—but this remains grossly inadequate, hampered by severe gas infrastructure deficits.”

No dialogue

“Promised dialogue with Labour unions has been replaced with intimidation and violence. Workers demanding a living wage are met with batons and threats, while the government wallows in luxury. The same officials who preach sacrifice travel in convoys, feast on bloated budgets, and treat public funds like personal piggy banks. Meanwhile, factories close, jobs vanish, and hunger becomes the defining feature of Tinubu’s Nigeria.

“Who benefits from this folly? Not the millions of Nigerians who can no longer afford food or transport.

Not the small businesses buried under the weight of rising costs. The real winners are the usual suspects—the oil cartels, the currency speculators, the political elite with offshore accounts, and their foreign backers at the IMF and World Bank, who have always seen Nigeria as a laboratory for their disastrous economic theories.”

Economy

“Economic performance can only be measured by how well the citizens feel. No amount of data manipulation can explain away the massive hardship that pervades our nation. Workers and ordinary Nigerians are deeply worried about the future.

“In any case, in the surreal landscape of a nation grappling with escalating insecurity, discussing the intricacies of economic policy seems akin to debating the colour of curtains in a burning house. The pervasive threat of mass kidnappings, abductions, and banditry casts an ominous shadow over society, rendering economic discourse almost absurd in the face of urgent, life-threatening crises.

“While economic stability is undoubtedly a crucial aspect of governance, the reality of citizens living in constant fear—with lives upended by the heinous acts of criminals—demands immediate attention and action. Who will invest in such an environment except looters and plunderers?”

Insecurity

“Boko Haram and other insurgent groups have multiplied in recent years, while lives and properties are lost daily across the nation. Our nation is at war. In such a climate, the absurdity lies in the stark disconnect between bureaucratic discussions on fiscal policy and the visceral, pressing needs of a populace caught in the crossfire of insecurity.

“Citizens find themselves torn between the hypothetical benefits of economic strategies and the immediate threats to their safety and well-being. The urgency of addressing the security crisis is a stark reminder that, in the hierarchy of priorities, protecting life and liberty must take precedence over economic debate—challenging the very essence of governance in times of profound adversity.

“The truth is simple: reforms that bring only pain without gain are not reforms at all. They are deformations—deliberate assaults on the poor in service of a system that rewards the powerful. If this government truly wants to renew hope, it must abandon these cruel experiments, listen to the people, and chart a new course—one that puts Nigerians, not foreign creditors and profiteers, at the centre of policy. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust.”

Workers’ rights collapse globally, ITUC raises alarm

Workers’ rights are in free fall across every continent, according to the 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index, with Europe and the Americas recording their worst scores since the Index began in 2014.

Just seven countries now have the top rating of 1 for their respect for workers’ rights, compared with 51 — or one in three — rated 5 and 5+.

If the current trend continues, no country will hold a rating of 1 within the next 10 years.

Key findings include: Three out of five global regions saw conditions worsen; the Americas (3.68) and Europe (2.78) recorded their worst scores on record. Europe continued a rapid deterioration from 1.84 in 2014 — the biggest decline seen in any region worldwide over the past 10 years, only seven out of the 151 countries surveyed (fewer than 5%) earned a top-tier rating of 1 — down from 18 a decade ago. The 10 worst countries for workers are: Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Myanmar, Nigeria (NEW), the Philippines, Tunisia, and Türkiye. The worst region in the world for working people is the Middle East and North Africa, with an average rating of 6.8. Deaths of trade unionists were recorded in Cameroon, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, and South Africa, 87% of countries violated the right to strike; 80% violated the right to collective bargaining, and Workers’ access to justice was restricted in 72% of countries — the worst level ever recorded.

ITUC General-Secretary, Luc Triangle said: “The 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index exposes the outcomes of the betrayal of the system built after World War II, founded on democracy, trade union rights, and justice.

Governments have collaborated in decades of deregulation, neo-liberalism, and neglect, leading to the collapse of workers’ rights. This has disenfranchised millions and paved the way for extremism, authoritarianism, and the billionaire coup against democracy that now threatens democracy itself.

“If this pace of decline continues, in 10 years, there will be no country left in the world with the highest rating for its respect for workers’ rights. This is a global scandal, but it is not unavoidable; it is a deliberate decision that can be reversed.

“That is why the ITUC is exposing the coordinated attack by the ultra-rich and their political allies to rig economies against working people. It is not inevitable that workers’ rights will worsen in the 2026 Rights Index.

“Together, through strong, independent unions and a democracy that delivers for all, we can reclaim power, rebuild economies that serve people — not corporations — and demand international institutions that are accountable to those they were created to protect. Our movement is fighting every day for this future — and next year’s Index must show the beginning of real change.”

Other key findings: In 12 countries, conditions have deteriorated so severely — due to conflict and the corresponding collapse of the rule of law — that they now hold the lowest-possible rating of 5+. These countries are Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Haiti, Libya, Myanmar, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Only three countries saw their ratings improve in 2025: Australia (2), Mexico (3), and Oman (3). Seven countries received worse ratings: Argentina (4), Costa Rica (4), Georgia (4), Italy (2), Mauritania (5), Niger (4), and Panama (4). 75% of countries excluded workers from the right to establish or join a trade union, 74% of countries impeded the registration of unions, 45% of countries restricted free speech and assembly. Workers were arrested and detained in 71 countries, and workers experienced violence in 40 countries.

The 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index is being released on 2 June to coincide with the start of the International Labour Conference (ILC) at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Switzerland — the world’s parliament for work.

ITUC priorities at the ILC include: Tackling rights violations through the Committee on the Application of Standards and the implementation of Article 33 measures concerning Myanmar, Advancing protections in the platform economy, addressing biological hazards at work, and promoting innovative pathways to formalise informal work by the violations exposed in the 2025 Index will contribute to this work.

The ILC will include a special session on the 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index at 13:30 CEST on 10 June. The session will feature testimonies from trade union representatives from some of the worst countries in the world for working people, as well as remarks from Luc Triangle, ITUC General-Secretary, and Paapa Danquah, ITUC Legal Director.

The ITUC Global Rights Index is a comprehensive review of workers’ rights in law, ranking 151 countries against a list of 97 indicators derived from ILO Conventions and jurisprudence. As such, it is the only database of its kind. Violations are recorded each year from April to March.