Workers of Abuja Continental Hotel on Monday rejected efforts by organised labour to unionise them as the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress commenced picketing of the hotel over alleged violations of workers’ rights.
According to The PUNCH, workers gathered at the premises and chanted messages opposing union representation, insisting that they had not requested the intervention of the labour centres.
The development created a sharp disagreement between the workers and the unions, with the employees maintaining that they preferred to resolve employment-related matters directly with the hotel management.
The workers displayed placards with messages rejecting the unions and questioning their representation.
Speaking on behalf of the workers, Samuel Esiakpoyere said employees were not consulted before the labour action was initiated.
He said, “This matter affects us. If there are correspondences and disagreements, we need to be involved because the whole thing is about us. We were not carried along.”
Esiakpoyere also argued that the picketing could negatively affect the hotel’s operations and, consequently, the livelihoods of the workers.
“The management is doing its best, and we believe things will get better. We don’t want the union to destroy the business in the process of trying to help us,” he said.
He added, “We are saying no to unionisation.”
However, the TUC rejected the workers’ position as an indication of the views of all employees, alleging that some workers were interested in union membership but were being intimidated.
The TUC General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, said the organisation had first attempted to resolve the matter through dialogue before resorting to picketing.
According to Toro, the TUC wrote to the hotel on August 4 seeking a meeting over alleged violations of workers’ rights. He said the management responded that it might not be available for discussions until the end of November because of ongoing renovation work.
Toro questioned the delay, saying, “We are talking about workers’ rights being violated, and you are postponing it until the renovation is done.”
He said the labour movement was exercising workers’ constitutional right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
“We are here to press on our demand that workers have a right to unionisation and collective bargaining,” Toro said.
He maintained that the labour action would continue through Friday, after which the unions would assess the situation.
Toro also dismissed the claim that the workers opposing the unions represented the entire workforce.
“Everybody has a right to their opinion, but can you authoritatively tell me that they are all the workers? No,” he said.
The dispute is being pursued by the Hotel and Personal Services Senior Staff Association, an affiliate of the TUC, alongside the National Union of Hotels and Personal Services Employees, affiliated with the NLC.
The national president of the Hotel and Personal Services Senior Staff Association, William Adegbe, also accused the hotel management of discouraging union activities and denying workers access to proper conditions of service.
Adegbe alleged that the situation began after a change in ownership following the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that workers were discouraged from joining unions.
He said, “Our members don’t have access to any form of conditions of service. They don’t have any right to association, and that is against Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution.”
Adegbe further alleged that some workers who publicly rejected unionisation were acting under pressure from management.
The hotel workers, however, maintained their opposition to the labour intervention, leaving the dispute centred on a fundamental question: whether the employees opposing unionisation represent the wider workforce or whether other workers are privately seeking union representation.
The TUC said it remained open to dialogue with the hotel management, while insisting that workers must be allowed to freely decide whether to belong to a union.
