Uber, Bolt drivers form trade union in Nigeria

The Nigerian government has officially recognized the unionization of e-hailing taxi drivers by presenting a letter of approval of registration to the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria (AUATWON)

Nigeria’s Labour Minister, Chris Ngige recently presented a certificate of registration to the Union after FG approved the union. The union members comprise app-based transport workers, online transport services, and e-hailing drivers and operators in Nigeria.

The Labour Minister stated that the unionization of e-hailing taxi drivers is a significant achievement for Nigeria’s industry and a significant step towards standardizing the informal sector of the country.

“Hitherto, we gave recognition and certification to workers in the formal sector, including the private sector, such as banks, oil and gas, and insurance, among other technical areas. Today, we are breaking new ground with those in the informal sector who are employing themselves and from there, employing others”.

Chris Ngige

The e-hailing taxi drivers had been advocating for a trade union, citing the lack of government regulation and protection as the main reasons. They had identified this as the driving force behind the dictatorial application (app), arbitrary standards, lack of concern for drivers’ safety, security, and loss of investment for e-hailing drivers, partners, and fleet management companies in an industry that frequently employs graduates.

“We considered necessary factors and perimeters, especially the global movement, which is sponsored mostly by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to formalise the informal sector.”

“In our case today, we have a hybrid of the forgone in the informal economy that owned and operate economic units which may also further include employers and members of cooperatives of social and solidarity economy units”.

Chris Ngige

The Labour Chief also mentioned that the Ministry of Labour registered AUATWON to organize and monitor the new but growing segment of the informal economy and to ensure the security of transportation systems in Nigeria. He added that the Ministry is following an international position on the unionization of self-employed workers.

He emphasized that the need to ensure that such workers have trade union rights to further and defend their interests, which includes collective bargaining, has been emphasized in various forums concerning the world of work. He also added that for self-employed workers, it is a different kind of collective bargaining tailored to suit the particularities of the self-employed segment of workers.

He also stated that this will also be a collective bargaining mechanism that will span the international boundaries of Nigeria, as these apps are usually foreign-owned and operated. He urged the union to observe the provisions of Section 3 of the Trade Disputes Act, CAP.T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004.

Dr Adedaramola Adeniran, the President of AUATWON, said that before the registration, the sector was facing a lack of policies that protect their industry. He added that this registration will protect workers by ensuring their safety and promoting the responsibility of app-based unions.