The newest affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), National Union of Market Traders Employers of Nigeria (NUMTEN), has expressed resolve to tackle the illegal price fixing and exploitation in Nigerians by market forces across the country.
National President of the union, Mr James Chukwuma, made the pledge at the headquarters of NLC in Abuja when NUMTEN presented its Certificate of Registration to its affiliated labour centre.
Chukwuma said the unstable market prices are a menace NUMTEN is very much interested in tackling in the interest of Nigerians, adding that market pricing is one of the main objectives of the union.
He said, “We are going to work with the market traders, distributors, manufacturers and even government to ensure that prices are regulated.”
He further said the union would protect traders from persistent exploitation and victimisation by unscrupulous elements hiding under the garb of the government.
Chukwuma also hinted that NUMTEN was registered to liberate market traders from persistent intimidation and extortion by illegal market associations.
“This unlawful act perpetrated by these illegal impostors has caused grievous bodily harm to the market traders with people losing their lives on a daily basis on the account of the encounters.
“The idea is to tackle all the identified challenges, including, non-conducive trading environment, unrealistic business profit, unstable market prices, incessant loss of properties in the market from fire outbreak,” he said.
He noted that NUMTEN is meant to salvage government revenue being siphoned by minority individuals and illegitimate associations.
Chukwuma said the union would ensure that the right revenue goes into the government purse and the labour of its members would no longer be in vain.
The NUMTEN president also promised to enter into collaboration with sister unions and government agencies to ensure Nigeria becomes a productive and not consuming nation. “We will ensure that Nigeria becomes an industrialised nation producing finished goods for consumption by other nations in the world,” he added.
Mr Benson Upah, NLC Head of Information, urged the union to be up and doing and prioritize workers’ welfare.
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