AMALGAMATED UNION OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS, CIVIL SERVICE TECHNICAL AND RECREATIONAL SERVICES EMPLOYEES (AUPCTRE)
No. 27, SUEZ Crescent,Ibrahim Sani Abacha Estate,Behind Sheraton Hotel,Wuse Zone 4,Abuja, Nigeria
Tel: 08037876501, 08035075939
E-mail: aupctregs@yahoo.com,Website: www.aupctre.org.ng
National Secretariat Annex:
No 13, Ajoke Dosunmu Street, off Funsho Williams Avenue, Barrack Bus-Stop, Surulere- Lagos
FUNDAMENTAL IDEALS AND FOCUS OF AUPCTRE
FOR SUSTAINED POSITIVE (PROGRESSIVE) FOCUS, INTERNAL DEMOCRACY, EFFECTIVE RESPONSIVENESS AND STABILITY
PREAMBLE
Deriving from the Fundamental Ideals and Focus of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) deliberated and approved at the First Plenary Session of the National Governing Council (NGC) held in Ilorin in 1997, the NGC held in Abuja 2005 considered it necessary to review the Ilorin document in such manner as would bring out clearly its import and facilitate its comprehensiveness.
Another reason for the review is the fact that the document and the concepts contained therein were prepared and discussed in the period of military regime. With the change to civil rule, trade union challenges now have new colouration and dimensions. These have the tendency of being misrepresented and therefore confusing.
UNION IDEOLOGY
The Fundamental Ideals and Focus of AUPCTRE recognise that trade unions are essentially class organisation of workers. That being the case, its membership are part and parcel of the working class irrespective of their ethnic, regional and religious affiliations and not members of the conservative and or business-class, that is, the national bourgeoisie who irrespective of their ethnic, regional and religious affiliation are united either in business, boardrooms, political parties, highbrow social clubs and seek to influence or control governments largely for the benefit of their class while claiming to govern in the interest of the people and nation but also committed to sustaining extremes of affluence of a tiny minority and extreme of poverty the vast majority of the people including the pauperisations of the so called middle class. For them, social justice is narrowly defined to exclude economic justice. For them, feudal and neo-feudal conservative features of inequality are ordained. For them social mobility should be the exception. For them, the more poverty persists, the stronger their promotion in the society. For them politics and governance should be the exclusive reserve of the privileged or their stooges. For them ethnic, regional and religious cleavages must be constantly fanned in order to divide the people and entrench their dominance. For them, the market and profit is the cardinal determinant of the State, prosperity and national well-being. For them therefore, success in life is interpreted in terms of personal prosperity at the expense of general development and well-being.
On the other hand, the working class and their allies, that is, intellectuals, professionals, youths, unemployed, (social democrats) – socialists with whom they have shared common values of commitment to social justice such as economic, social and political right; the need for a State, that is, governance, that would genuinely serve the interest of the nation, promote social mobility by ensuring the right of all Nigerians to knowledge, skills and basic needs; advocate politics and governance based on ideals and open to every citizenry without constraints of wealth and status.
For the social democrats/socialists of which the working class are an integral part, there is an inherent commitment to the right of the citizenry to full and decent employment, the right of workers to decent wages that would guarantee basic needs and the right of workers and trade unions to co-determine with employers their conditions of employment.
The ideology of the national bourgeoisie and their cohorts is capitalism in its various manifestations like: the sovereignty of the market, money, privileges and property.
The ideology of the working class, their trade unions and allies is that of socialism in its various manifestations including social democracy – of centre and right. Social democracy is also a variant of socialism and shares with it some basic features.
One major difference between the national bourgeoisies and social democrats is what should be the character of the State and its role at various levels of development. For the national bourgeoisie, the State at various levels of national development should consistently give in to the dominant role of private enterprise and the market, even where the private enterprise represents foreign monopolies and not indigenous.
For socialists and social democrats, the State, in particular at the stage of under-developing or under-development, must be a developmental and patriotic state existing with private enterprise and instilling in them social responsibility to the needs of the nation.
Today, it is not uncommon to see Trade Union Leaders imbibing the bourgeois culture of capitalism at the expense of the working class ideology of socialism. This is manifested in the way Trade Union Leaders join the political class in acquisition of extreme affluence, promotion of ethnic, regional, religious and other primordial cleavages to hang on to power.
It is in the light of the above that the Union is strongly advocating for an appropriate Trade Union culture that will promote internal democracy, transparency and accountability, judicious management of Union resources and above all, Union Leadership that is collective and rejection of the culture of personalizing leadership and its twin brother of proprietor mentality.
This cherished culture remains the pre-requisite for stability, growth and development of any Union that strives to sustain its relevance.
The above analyses compelled the Ilorin NGC meeting to adopt social democracy as the minimal ideological stance of the Union. This means that leaders of the Union at all levels are expected to espouse socialist or social democratic ideology, their values and norms, ethic and ethos while also developing same in rank and file members by:
- Developing and imbibing in them trade union consciousness of collectivism and solidarity among workers.
- Developing and instilling in them social consciousness, that is, special democratic ideology and its concept of politics and the State.
If the Conference-in-session accepts the validity of the Ilorin NGC document and by that endorses social democracy as the union’s minimal ideology, it becomes necessary to define, consistent with the ideals of social democracy:
- The purpose and ideals of the Union
- The Union’s position on labour and politics
- The Union’s position on the economy and major social issues
- Trade union interaction with Government –Executives and Legislature
- Trade union issues:
- morality and ethics – transparency, simplicity and humility
- labour education
- leadership style and orientation
- internal democracy
- independence from employers – government
- inter union relationship
- Nigeria Labour Congress
PURPOSE AND IDEALS OF AUPCTRE
AUPCTRE exist first as a socio-political institution, which is what trade unions are. It is also a legal institution because it is a registered trade union.
AUPCTRE exist primarily to advance and protect the economic and social well-being of workers who are its members. By that, it is its inherent function to solve rank and file members problems, that is, workplace grievances, improve their working conditions in the areas of salaries and wages, allowances, promotion, safety, productivity, security of employment and a fulfilled working life.
AUPCTRE also exist to address problems of workers who are its members that have their sources from outside the work place. These include housing, rent health-care, transportation for self and children, inflation, poverty, taxation, economic policy of government, unemployment and democracy, etc., etc. The ideals of social democracy enjoin trade unions to address employment based problems and societal problems identified above as the traditions and cardinal functions of well-meaning trade unions.
AUPCTRE therefore, as a union committed to the ideals of social democracy must commit itself to addressing problems of workers in the work place and problems of workers and society generally outside the work-place. This is because there exist definite linkages between workers’ problems in the work place and the larger society.
The above enjoins AUPCTRE, its members and leaders to manifest nationalistic perspectives rather than sectional or regional because work-place problems and those emanating in society affect rank and file members and the entire working-class irrespective of ethnic, regional and religious affiliations.
LABOUR AND POLITICS
Social democracy does not subscribe to apolitical unionism, that is, non-political unionism, rather it subscribes to workers having appropriate consciousness of their class, its problems and the role of politics in creating or solving their problems.
Deriving from the above, AUPCTRE must address consistently, effectively and efficiently problems of workers at the working place while also addressing the problems of workers in the wider society, which often times are political. By this, AUPCTRE cannot be indifferent to the needs to sustainable democratic culture in the country, good governance and social justice. In pursuit of which AUPCTRE and its members may support political parties that are genuinely committed to actualisation of the ideals of social democracy in governance and in society.
The above notwithstanding, AUPCTRE as a trade union must continually strive to change and modify public policies that are not workers friendly and not consistent with social democratic ideals. Conversely, AUPCTRE would support government policies without being sycophantic and service if such policies are beneficial to the members, trade unions and the working class generally.
DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE
Democracy and governance have direct impact on workers and the trade unions. Both could facilitate or retard the essence of trade unions and the successes and failures of unions. Therefore consistent with the ideals of social democracy, AUPCTRE members and leaders must work for the attainment of deep and ever expanding democratic culture of society and government. These also entail agitating against practices and policies, which inhibit good governance as legitimate expectations of citizenry and the sole purpose of government.
ECONOMY AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Consistent with the ideals of social democracy, AUPCTRE and its members must demonstrate commitment to the economic and social prosperity of the nation as basis for sustainable democracy, good governance and humane society.
In furtherance of the above, AUPCTRE believes in the developmental role of the State and also in facilitating the private sector. To play that role, AUPCTRE believes that the State must be democratic, transparent, well focused and efficient.
On the basis of the above, the State and the private sector shall be involved in generating wealth, job creation and job sustenance.
AUPCTRE believes that it is the principal responsibility of the State to provide guaranteed social needs to every citizen in order to prevent extremes of affluence and poverty, widespread poverty and promote sustained social mobility.
INTERACTION WITH GOVERNMENT
AUPCTRE being a public service trade union, we must re-enact, maintain interaction with the MDAs in which we operate. The practice of carrying members’ problems at the first instance to JNC/Council III must stop. The peculiar problems of our members are our primary responsibility. It is only when we have tried and fail that such issue goes to, in the first instance, Council III and from there to JNC.
MEMBERSHIP
Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) is essentially a General Public Sector Union that draws membership from: Professional, technical and related Cadres in the core Civil Services (Federal and States), Federal and States Governments Owned Companies and Statutory Parastatals i.e Agencies, Authorities, Boards Commission/Councils etc.
AUPCTRE has offices in all 36 States of the federation including the Federal capital Territory Abuja and Federal Organ Lagos.
AUPCTRE STANDS FOR:
Unreserved service to its members by constantly addressing their welfare and well-being in the workplace and improving their conditions of employment.
Social Justice, Full Employment, Job creation and Protection, Humane Working Conditions, Governance for Genuine Development etc.
Commitment to the Concept and Practice of Movement Unionism, Trade Union Unity and advancement of the socio-economic well-being of its members.
The protection, defence and sustenance of the culture of accountability and transparency in the National polity including Trade Unions.
Commitment to quality services, enhanced work culture and merit driven employment conditions.
Commitment to workers education for: the development of the Union and members i.e sound leadership qualities and skills, Trade Union and Social consciousness etc.
These we are committed to, in our struggle for a progressive National and formidable social force in which the working class shall be a counter-vialing force.
AUPCTRE’S PHILOSOPHY
Trade Union Rights for all Public Service Workers
Gender Equality and employment equity for all
Inspirational/Transformational leadership style
Strong commitment to effective and responsive leadership that responds to the aspirations and expectations of members
Strong commitment to collective depersonalized leadership style,
Strong commitment to Internal Union democracy
Strong commitment to, inculcation of political/Trade Union Rights and Working Class consciousness,
Strong commitment to Union leadership that is not alienated from the rank and file members.