The Federal Government has granted registration to the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria, an informal sector trade union (AUATWON).
The new union’s membership includes all app-based transportation employees, online transportation services, and e-hailing drivers and operators in Nigeria.
According to Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, the new union represents a continuing global journey to formalize the informal sector, which accounts for the majority of workers.
The Minister noted that prior to now, the informal sector had been unmanageable, owing to a lack of an identifiable structural framework to harmonize and demarcate its diverse sectors.
“Previously, we gave recognition and certification to workers in the formal sector, including the private sector, such as banks, oil and gas, insurance, and other technical areas, and the public sector workers in pensioners’ unions, teachers’ unions, and recently, the two newly registered university-based unions, the Congress for University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics,” Ngige explained (NAMDA).
“Today, we are breaking new ground with those in the informal sector who are employing themselves and from there, employing others. The promoters of AUTWON applied for registration as a trade union on April 27, 2021, to cater to self-employed persons in the field of IT-based transportation services.
We considered necessary factors and perimeters, especially the global movement, which is sponsored mostly by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to formalize the informal sector that has most of the working population in the world of work, characterized and independent owned-account workers.
“In our case today, we have a hybrid of the forgone in the informal economy who own and operate economic units which may also further include employers, and members of cooperatives and of social and solidarity economy units.”
Ngige stated that they also evaluated the changing world of work fueled by technological transformation, as outlined in the ILO’s Centenary Declaration in 2019, particularly the need to guarantee that such transformative innovations were driven by humans.
He stated that in light of these factors, his ministry decided to register AUATWON in order to facilitate the organization of the new but increasing informal economy segment.
Aside from employment development, he stated that union registration will allow the government to oversee the security component of Nigeria’s transportation infrastructure.
Staff Writer 
Joan Aimuengheuwa