Population of youth around the world amount to 1.8bn-Wabba
By Peter Usman
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, has revealed that population of youths around the world amount up to 1.8billion, saying that this figure represents more than 20% of the global population.
Wabba noted that despite the youth being a significant part of the world population, young people continue to suffer severe limitations to opportunities, resources and support they deserved.
NLC boss said, currently, 621million young people aged 15-24 years old are not in education, employment or training, adding that 75million young people were trained without job.
He said, “In the next decade, one billion young people will enter the labour market, and large numbers of young people would face a future of irregular and informal employment.
“A recent report by the Trading Economics put the level of Nigeria’s youth unemployment at 36%. The resource access challenge faced by young people has been exacerbated by Covid-19 and worsening impact of climate change. There is certainly a huge fight ahead of you and all of us as we embrace what the future brings”
Wabba stated that Nigerian workers trade unions have been facing daunting challenges which he said, have been increased by the “rapidly evolving dynamism in the world of work especially with the emergence of platform businesses and the reality of their iron clench resistance against unionization of workers”.
“It is gratifying that the international labour community is awake to this reality and is engaging the labour statutes to ensure that hard won freedom and rights for workers are not ambushed and defeated by new ways of work which the Future of Work presents.
“This is why Congress is intensifying efforts and stepping up its campaigns against casualization of labour especially through the decoy of platform technology businesses particularly in the transportation, telecommunications, oil and gas and the hospitality sector.”
According to NLC boss, “Today, I use the opportunity of this Conference to invite our young comrades to explore and engage both the opportunities, the limitations and the risks presented by the new bridges that lead to the future of work. And this word – the future of work – is a word that we must use with great caution and a huge sense of modesty.
“As was manifestly revealed during the global lockdown of factories, production floor shops and offices, work can now be done everywhere without necessarily having physical contact. Through the use of virtual ICT applications and tools, teleworking is no more in the realms of prophesy and projections, it is now the new normal in the workplace. Dear, Comrades welcome to the Future of Work”