The Federation of Informal Workers Organisations of Nigeria (FIWON) has called on the Federal Government to extend the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) to cover informal workers who suffer injuries, disabilities, or death on the job, ensuring they receive compensation and rehabilitation.
Call for Government Co-Contribution to Micro-Pensions
The workers also urged the government to co-contribute to micro-pensions on a 50:50 basis, matching informal workers’ pension savings, similar to the formal-sector model. Currently, informal workers must save entirely from meagre and irregular incomes, while inflation erodes their savings.
Democracy Day Message to President Tinubu
In its Democracy Day message, FIWON urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently expand social protection coverage for informal workers as part of a comprehensive national security strategy. FIWON General Secretary Gbenga Komolafe expressed deep concern about rising insecurity, banditry, and kidnapping nationwide, warning that these issues are linked to the structural exclusion and social vulnerability of most Nigerian workers.
Job Creation and Skills Development
Komolafe called for massive investment in skills training, access to credit, and support for informal enterprises to provide legitimate livelihoods for millions of unemployed and underemployed Nigerians. He highlighted the recent abduction of school pupils and teachers in Oyo State as a tragic reminder of how far the nation has drifted from the promise of democracy.
He noted that the Oyo State abduction is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a deeper crisis. The young men who carried out the kidnapping were once children who deserved education, opportunity, and a future. Komolafe maintained that the growing army of unemployed, underemployed, and socially unprotected youth provides fertile ground for criminal recruitment and violent extremism.
“The young person who cannot afford healthcare, has no pension to look forward to, and sees no future in legitimate work that pays slave wages becomes easy prey for bandits and criminal networks offering quick money. Insecurity is not just a military problem, but a social protection crisis,” he said.
Call to Action for Informal Workers
FIWON urged all informal workers across Nigeria to use Democracy Day to reflect on their collective power and continue the struggle for recognition, protection, and dignity.
