TUC decries harassment of street vendors, waste pickers, other informal workers

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to address the harassment and exploitation faced by workers in the informal economic sector.

The TUC President, Festus Osifo, made the call at the 2024 Workers’ Day celebration held in Abuja.

The occupational groups in the informal sector are domestic workers, home-based workers (including garment workers), waste pickers, and street vendors, among others.

Osifo lamented that despite the informal sector’s vitality and contributions to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it operated on the margins of legality, leaving workers vulnerable to exploitation.

He said: “The level of harassment and intimidation of the workforce here is heart-wrenching yet the workers remain resourceful and resilient.

“The level of exploitation and outright extortion is deep and leaves the soul weeping.

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“The toiling and exasperation and the violence meted out on them by operatives of the government is better left to imagination.

“It is like all hawks in government descend on them daily for what they call revenue generation.

“They bear the brunt of government operatives, yet efforts are not made to address their basic needs.

“We, therefore call on the government at all levels especially those at the state and local governments to immediately check the over-taxation through multiple levies imposed on the men and women who eke out their living within the informal economy.

“The drive for increasing internally generated revenue should not be a burden borne solely by the exploited masses whose businesses thrive in the informal economy.”

Osifo urged governments at all levels to address the needs of the informal sector to ensure inclusive growth and sustainable development.

He called for policies to formalise and integrate informal enterprises, providing legal recognition, access to financial services, and social protection.

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