… as WTO demands urgent action to shield workers from AI disruption
By Victor Ahiuma-Young
Since the creation of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, in 1995, global trade has grown tremendously—transforming economies, boosting exports, and creating billion-dollar corporations. But beneath the mind-boggling figures lies a disturbing reality: workers — the very engine of production and services — have been consistently sidelined in trade negotiations.
Sadly, the world economic leaders have failed to appreciate the fact that Labour Creates Wealth as Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC’s motto reads.
The continued exclusion of trade unions across the world is not only unacceptable but also unjust and dangerous. The neglect of this critical stakeholder has led to the death of many industries in developing countries, including Nigeria, resulting in massive job losses, rising inequality, erosion of labour rights, and mounting insecurity linked to trade agreements that ignore job creation and employment security.
One of the earliest casualties of labour’s exclusion has been employment itself. Since inception, WTO’s emphasis on liberalisation and open markets has favoured foreign investors and multinational corporations over local industries and workers.
For instance, the removal of trade barriers led to the collapse of many small and medium-scale industries in developing countries, pushing millions into unemployment. Before Nigeria became a founding member of the WTO on January 1, 1995, the textile sector had over 250 textile and garment mills, including cotton processing companies, employing over 500,000 people. The sector was then the second-largest employer of labour after government.
Today, the sector can barely boast of a dozen operational factories nationwide, providing fewer than 15,000 jobs following steady closures and layoffs.
Meanwhile, cheaper foreign goods—often smuggled into the country—have flooded the market. Similar fate befell the leather and tyre industries, with once-vibrant firms such as Bata, Lennard Shoes, Michelin, and Dunlop shutting down and throwing their workers into the job market.
Trade liberalisation promised prosperity, but for workers, it has meant job insecurity, outsourcing, casualisation, and wage suppression. Without unions at the negotiating table, the fate of workers and their livelihoods is often traded away in the fine print of agreements designed for profit maximization and capital growth.
The International Labour Organisation, ILO, has repeatedly highlighted that the gains of global trade are unevenly distributed — with capital reaping the most benefits while labour struggles for survival. By excluding unions, trade deals rarely include labour clauses to protect workers’ rights, leading to exploitative conditions as seen in Nigeria and many other developing countries. This has aggravated issues such as unsafe workplaces, child labour, and poverty wages.
Evidence abounds linking joblessness and growing insecurity in Nigeria and other developing economies. As the saying goes, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
Experts warn that rising unemployment, especially among youths, contributes directly to social unrest, migration crises, and recruitment into extremist movements.
Observers have consistently cautioned that a global trade system that ignores workers is a recipe for insecurity.
When people lose hope in employment, decent work, and fair wages, they resort to restiveness and desperate alternatives—fuelling instability everywhere.
On September 15, 2025, WTO members signed the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala described at a special General Council meeting in Geneva as “a landmark for global trade governance,” emphasizing that cooperation through multilateralism remains essential for addressing global challenges.
Okonjo-Iweala urged all remaining WTO members to complete their ratifications ahead of the organisation’s 14th Ministerial Conference in March 2026.
“One of my key aspirations is to see the agreement ratified by all members,” she said. “Universal participation would cement its promise of healthier oceans and more secure livelihoods.”
However, critical questions remain: What are the implications of this agreement for labour? How will it benefit Nigerian small, medium, and large-scale fishing companies and their employees? As usual, trade unions were not part of the negotiations leading to the deal.
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