WE SALUTE GREAT NIGERIAN WOMEN
On behalf of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union and the generality of our members, I salute our women members and women worldwide on the occasion of 2016 International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is held on March 8 every year to celebrate women’s achievements across nations. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.

It is a time to reflect on the progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played extra ordinary roles in the history of their community and countries.

THEME
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it up for Gender Equality”. The UN has been declaring an annual equality theme for many years.
Beijing conference of 1995 clearly made it known that women’s rights are human rights. Ever since, there has been increasing recognition that men and women are equal and complimentary not competitive.

TEXTILE UNION’S ACHIVEMENTS IN PROMOTING GENDER PARITY

Our Union in its contribution towards promoting parity has adopted the following policies:

•Enforced 30% female representation in all union’s activities and programmes.

•At the national level (i.e. leadership) there is an automatic affirmation of a female representation as trustee during the Delegates’ Conference. This is in addition to the fact that female members can also contest any of the elective positions at the Conference. This position has also made it possible for a female Deputy President (Comrade Chichi Emeogo) to emerge at one of our previous conferences. We also had a female signing trustee, late Comrade Hauwa Ambi. May her soul rest in peace.

•At the Branch level, it is mandatory for a woman to be among the elected nine (9) branch executives of a mill. This is the minimum as the number can increase if more women are elected.

•Also, the Union has in place a Women Committee with members drawn from the various factories of the Union. A workshop is held annually to bring the women together to enlighten them, identify challenges and proffer possible solutions. Delegates to the Conference are also picked from the Women Zonal Committees.

PRESIDENT BUHARI MUST SHOW THAT HE IS TRULY GENDER SENSITIVE
Nigeria will be one of the leading 10 economies of the world if we allow for gender equality and equal treatment of boy and girl children. 70 per cent of the country’s population are women. We must integrate this huge number of human resources in development if Nigeria must develop.

Organized labour calls on President Buhari today to consolidate on the gains the country has made in involving women in governance and further deepen this through enhanced appointment of more women in the affairs of the country. So far out of the suspected public officers including retired generals being tried for corruption, women are not as involved as the men. The lesson here is that women in public office tend to have eyes on public welfare and goodness than some men who criminally rape the nation’s scarce resources.

WE SALUTE MRS ROSE JULIUS
A pensioner and a woman, Mrs. Rose Arabameh Julius, has donated her entire monthly pension of Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000.00) to support the Buhari administration’s war against corruption. Mrs. Julius, retired as a cleaner from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She also promised to contribute N1,000 every month out of her pension towards the rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons. She said that she was making this singular sacrifices because she was convinced that President Muhammadu Buhari is a tested man of integrity who can be trusted to restore the lost glory of Nigeria and drastically curb corruption in the country. Thus while some men are shamelessly looting the economy, a woman is helping to rescue the economy through selfless imposed taxation. Today women’s day should be dedicated to the likes of Mrs. Rose Arabameh Julius. We encourage all Nigerians to emulate her.

IMPLEMENT 2014 NATIONAL CONFERNCE’s RESOLUTION ON SOCIAL SECTOR
President Muhammadu Buhari should urgently implement the resolutions of the national conference on social sector which calls for equal opportunities for Nigerian women. One of the major challenges to parity is the issue of violence against women which has been on the increase lately especially as it relates to sexual harassment. We hereby add our voices for the release of Chibok girls.

The 1999 Constitution guarantees sex-based equality. There are in place ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that seek to eschew discrimination, equal opportunities and access to women, children and other vulnerable groups. Its time to make gender parity a reality.

WOMEN ARE HUMANS NOT ARTICLES OF COMMERCE; WE CONDMEN DINO MALAYE’s STATEMENT ON MRS OSHMHOLE
Women issues are human issues. To this extent national language of discourse on women issues should also reflect human values, be gender sensitive not commercial. We hereby strongly condemn the statement credited to Senator Dino Melaye on the floor of the Senate recently. Melaye, who is from Kogi-West senatorial district, while contributing to the motion by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, which advocated the need to patronise products made in Nigeria, took an unprovoked swipe at Oshiomhole, saying Nigerians should not emulate the governor whom he said opted not to “patronise ‘Made-in-Nigeria women’ but a foreign one”. This is one senatorial irresponsibility carried too far. Nigerian women and indeed all women are NOT articles of trade. Women are not commodities like cars which senators like Dino are greedily bent on buying inspite of dwindling National resources. Women do not need patronage by men of dubious character and warped perspective of women. On the contrary women like men need equal opportunities to add value to national and global development. Women like men and other humans are not made by any country but by Almighty God and they must be dignified accordingly. We use this opportunity to call on Senator Dino Melaye to withdraw the statement and issue public apology to Nigerian women and all women World wide failing which he will be seen for what he is; Senator without public and social responsibility to women as humans. There should be a limit to verbal impunity by some of our senators.

CONDOLENCE; TEARS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE LATE MINISTER OCHOLI, SAN

SHOCK AND SYMPATHY
Our union as affiliate of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) received with great shock the news of the fatal motor accident Sunday March 6th, 2016 along Kaduna – Abuja Road which sadly claimed the lives of the Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. James Ocholi, SAN together with his beloved wife and son while on their way back to Abuja after a family private visit to Kaduna. Let’s observe a minute silence for the dead.

NOT HOW LONG BUT HOW WELL
The brief tenure of the late Honourable Minister of State of Labour showed that it is not how long but how well. We recall his singular role as an impartial mediator and reconciliator in the ongoing dispute between organized labour and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on arbitrary energy tariff increase. All the stakeholders in the labour market would miss his ministerial sense of proportion, fairness and above all patriotism. We agree with His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari that the loss of a devoted Minister with great commitment and dedication to his duty leaves a big vacuum in the cabinet of key drivers of the change agenda of his Administration. May God provide the nation a worthy replacement. We take consolation in the time tested Devine injunction that we indeed all came from God and to Him we all shall return!

DIGNITY OF LABOUR
The story of Hon. James Ocholi, SAN is a celebration of dignity of labour and impeccable integrity. Happily he was not in any way identified with the sickening private and public corruption which is now the norm among some of his peers. On the contrary the late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi born November 26, 1960 who became a breadwinner having lost his mother at a tender age rose from grass to grace through singular hard work and diligence! His was a success story both at the bar and the bench. He was also a principled and consistent politician, a close and long standing associate of President Muhammadu Buhari. Many Nigerians recall with painful nolstagia his remarkable performance during the ministerial screening by the Senate.

TIME FOR ROAD GOVERNANCE AND ROAD SAFETY
While we agonize on the death of this patriot, its time we all joined hands with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to ensure good governance on our roads with emphasis on speed limit, training and retraining of drivers, vehicle maintenance and above all urgent mass repairs of Federal and state roads. Nigeria is regrettably losing scarce human capital to avoidable carnages on our roads, the latest being Hon. James Ocholi, SAN, his beloved wife and son.

We commiserate with President Muhammdu Buhari and his cabinet, the family of the deceased, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the government and good people of Kogi State, the Nigeria labour movement and the nation as a whole for the great loss. May Almighty God grant his defendants the fortitude to bear these losses. May the departed souls rest in perfect peace. Amen.

11TH NATIONAL DELEGATES’ CONFERENCE
The National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), private sector industrial union affiliated to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and IndustriALL Global Union has concluded arrangement to hold its 11th Quadrennial National Delegates’ Conference. The historic Conference holds from Wednesday 16th to Friday 18th March 2016 at Meena Event Place, No. 2 Lodge Road, Kano, Kano State. Pre-Conference Delegates’ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting holds on Wednesday March 16th.

The opening ceremony of the historic Delegates’ Conference holds on Thursday 17th March, 2016.

THEME
The theme of the Conference is LABOUR AND INDUSTRY: BACK TO BASICS. The Conference is another opportunity to compliment President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign promise with respect to industrialisation, textile revival and job creation. To this extent, the Conference is of national and international significance in promoting awareness about industry protection, employment generation and decent work.

DELEGATES
Delegates and observes are drawn from the textile and garment industries across the country as well as self-employed tailors and kampala makers, union veterans, fraternal unions in Nigeria as well as affiliates of IndustriALL Global Union in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Niger, Benin Republic, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

HIGHLIGHTS
The highlight of the Conference is stocktaking of union’s struggles, achievements and weaknesses in the past four years as well as opportunities for the future. In particular, the Conference will review major achievements of the union in areas of Collective Bargaining, Unionisation, Workers education, Internal Democracy, Union’s finance, Gender issues, Health and Safety issues among others. There will be election of the new national officers that will run the affairs of the union in the next four (4) years.

The opening ceremony of the Conference will hold on Thursday March 17th, 2016 at Meena Event Place, No. 2 Lodge Road, Kano, Kano State. The President of the union, Comrade Oladele Hunsu and General Secretary, Comrade Issa Aremu, mni are the comrade hosts. President Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, mni, President of TUC as well as Presidents and General Secretaries of sister Industrial unions are special guests.

Royal Father of the Day is His Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II, Sarkin Kano, Emir of Kano. Distinguished Guests include the Comrade Governor of Edo State and former General Secretary of the union, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, mni, host Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Executive Governor of Kano State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, The Governor Kaduna State, Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator (Dr.) Chris Ngige, Honourable Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Chairpersons of Senate and House Committees on Labour and Industry respectively.

Other dignitaries expected at the occasion are the Chairperson, Nigeria Textile Manufacturers Association, Mrs. G.K. Adereti and Director General, Mr. Hamma Kwajaffa, captains of industry, members of the civil society and international guests.

The Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, GCON is expected to declare the conference open as Special Guest of Honour.

The 3-day conference will feature a Dinner/Award Night on Thursday March 7th, 2016 in which some individuals and organisations will be honoured for their support and contributions to the labour movement and national development.

The Conference will end with a Communiqué of major decisions taken at the Conference.

Issa Aremu, mni
GENERAL SECRETARY
CHAIRMAN, IndustriALL Global Union, Sub Saharan Africa