Worker-centred climate transition: ILO and NLC demand action for Nigerian workers
By: Abudu Olalekan
You know, climate change isn’t just some distant problem for scientists anymore. It’s here. Right now. And it’s hitting people’s jobs hard.
That was the big takeaway on Monday, May 25, 2026, when a mix of government folks, employers, and trade union leaders gathered in Keffi, Nasarawa State, for a two-day Tripartite Post-COP Review Workshop. The event? Organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). And honestly, the mood in the room was pretty serious.
Ms. Inviolata Chinyangarara, the ILO Senior Specialist on Workers Activities/ACTRAVCO from their Abuja Office, didn’t waste time. “Climate change has become a labour market reality,” she told the gathering. She’s right. From farms to construction sites, from transport routes to energy plants, extreme weather keep disrupting work across Nigeria. Floods wash out roads. Heat waves make dangerous working conditions worse. Productivity drops. People’s safety is on the line.
To be honest, it’s a worrying situation.
Chinyangarara made a point that just makes sense: climate policies are labour policies. You can’t talk about “going green” while leaving workers behind. A real transition, she argued, must mean decent jobs, chances to reskill, solid social protection, and respect for workers’ rights as new green industries grow. No shortcuts.
She also reminded everyone that Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) shouldn’t be written in a vacuum. They need to tie directly into job creation and stronger safety nets for ordinary people. And yeah, none of this will work unless government, employers and workers actually sit down together and talk. Social dialogue, not top-down orders.
The ILO, she said, will continue to back Nigeria with technical support, training, and helping to make sure labour concerns are built into climate plans—not just tacked on later.
Then came the NLC. Mr. Emmanuel Ugboaja, the NLC General Secretary, was represented by Mr. Eche Asuzu (he’s the National Coordinator for Climate Change, Just Transition for the NLC). He spoke straight. Developing countries like Nigeria need fair climate financing, not empty pledges. Africa deserves energy sovereignty and green industrial policies that actually benefit its people, not just big foreign investors.
He welcomed the creation of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) under the UNFCCC, which grew out of COP30’s Belem Action Mechanism. But he didn’t clap for it blindly. His demand was clear: trade unions must have real decision-making power inside that mechanism. Not as observers. As stakeholders.
Ms. Nanman Kash, from the Climate Change, Just Transition and Green Jobs team, summed it up nicely. The workshop, she said, was about one thing: making sure climate justice and workers’ rights move forward together. Stronger dialogue. Better policies. Real action.
Look, the climate is changing. Work is changing. It’s that simple. And if Nigeria is serious about the future, workers have got to have a proper seat at the table.
