President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, has called on the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association to join hands with labour unions in defending workers’ rights, protecting pension contributions, and promoting decent work as technology transforms workplaces.

Ajaero, who leads the country’s biggest labour union, made the call at the 2025 Annual General Meeting of NECA, held in Lagos. In his goodwill message, he urged employers to see workers not as adversaries but as partners in building sustainable businesses.

He warned that while technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping the business landscape, employers must not sacrifice workers’ welfare on the altar of innovation.

“As technology accelerates and the frontiers of artificial intelligence expand, the imperative before all of us, employers and workers alike, is to ensure that innovation does not eclipse human dignity,” Ajaero said in a statement on Wednesday to The PUNCH.

He stressed the need for a governance framework that balances technological advancement with workers’ rights and welfare.

“The sustainability of businesses remains a function of the character of the welfare and benefits accruing to workers in the world of work. AI and the like must work with humanity at its core,” he added.

Ajaero praised the Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, for his progressive leadership and his openness to partnership with the labour movement.

“We appreciate the bold and progressive leadership of your Director-General, whose readiness to engage with workers’ organisations has demonstrated an uncommon clarity of purpose. His conviction that we are partners, not adversaries, resonates deeply with us,” Ajaero said.

The NLC president also called on NECA to support labour’s efforts in stopping attempts by some state governors and lawmakers to remove labour issues from the Exclusive Legislative List in the ongoing constitutional review.

“These public officials are totally ignorant of the confusion and consequences such action may foist on the nation’s industrial relations system,” he warned.

Ajaero also raised concerns over the management of workers’ pensions and social insurance funds. He urged NECA to help resist what he described as the government’s inappropriate appropriation of 50 per cent of workers’ and employers’ contributions to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund as revenue.

“We must work together to protect our pension and social insurance contributions by ensuring that the Board of PENCOM is constituted according to law and that the government stops appropriating workers’ funds,” he said.

On workplace conditions, Ajaero lamented that the 2025 International Trade Union Confederation Global Rights Index ranked Nigeria among the world’s ten worst countries for violations of workers’ rights.

“This is a stain on our collective conscience. These violations, ranging from non-payment of wages to union suppression and unsafe working conditions, also occur in enterprises operated by members of NECA,” he said.

Ajaero urged NECA members to operate within the law, respect collective bargaining agreements, and uphold the rights of workers.

Beyond workplace concerns, the labour leader said Nigeria’s civic space is shrinking due to insecurity, repression, and economic exclusion. He called for unity between employers and employees to protect democratic freedoms.

“Imagine what is possible when we, employers and employees, stand together and speak with one voice!” he said.

He also reminded NECA of the pending agreement to set up a standing committee between the two organisations. According to him, this committee will serve as a structured mechanism for continuous dialogue, dispute prevention, and joint problem-solving.

On the theme of NECA’s AGM, “The Workplace: Influence of Technology and AI in Business Sustainability, Ajaero urged businesses to keep human sustainability at the core of technological advancement.

“Profit without people is an empty pursuit, and progress without justice is a fleeting illusion. The worker you want to replace because of technology is part of your business chain. He must have income to consume your product, and your product must be consumed to keep you in business,” he said.

Ajaero congratulated NECA on its 68th Annual General Meeting and called for collective efforts to create workplaces that are productive, just, and truly decent.

“May our businesses protect our jobs and treat us fairly and equitably even as technology advances,” he said.