By Victor Ahiuma-Young
IBADAN — The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has called on Nigerian workers and the media to take charge of the technological revolution sweeping across workplaces, warning that Artificial Intelligence, AI, must not become another instrument of exploitation in the hands of big capitalists.
President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, who made the call while speaking at the 2025 Conference of the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria, LAWAN, held in Ibadan, Oyo State, weekend, declared that the future of work must be shaped by human values, collective bargaining and solidarity, not machines or profit-driven algorithms.
Represented by the Lagos State chairperson of NLC, Funmi Sessi, Ajaero said: “The future of work in the era of Artificial Intelligence presents a new frontier in the age-old exploitation of the working class by big capital.
‘’They sell us a narrative of efficiency and progress, but we must see it for what it truly is, a tool for maximising profit by de-skilling jobs, casualising labour and weakening the collective power of the working people. This is the modern face of the class struggle.
“As a journalist who once walked in your shoes, I understand the power you wield. Your typewriters, your recorders, and your keyboards are no less important than our placards and negotiation tables. They are the instruments with which we shape the narrative, counter the propaganda of the bourgeoisie and awaken the consciousness of the masses.”
Ajaero warned that Artificial Intelligence, though paraded as neutral technological progress, was being weaponised by big corporations to “intensify exploitation, reshape labour relations toward greater precariousness, and erode the very foundations of workplace rights.
“It threatens to create a new, digitally dispossessed underclass through reduction in skilling, cognitive dependence, and mass displacement. It also enables unprecedented surveillance and control over workers, undermining collective bargaining, the right to organise, and the protections that form the bedrock of workers’ dignity.
“For our nation, an AI-driven economy, shaped by capitalist imperatives, promises not inclusive development but a deepening chasm of inequality, where wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite.”
Technology must serve humanity
The NLC President urged labour movements to be proactive in shaping an inclusive future where technology served humanity rather than enslaved it.
He said: “We must seize the initiative to shape the future of work in our own image, a future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around. Do not mourn the digital plantation; organise it! The algorithms that monitor us can be made to serve us, but only if we, the workers, hold the code.
“We must bargain for comprehensive retraining and upskilling programmes funded by taxes on the excessive profits of tech giants. Our struggle is to socialise the benefits of AI and robotise the burdens, ensuring it leads to a society with more leisure, greater security, and shared prosperity for the working class.”
Ajaero reminded participants that the future of work was not a prophecy determined by Silicon Valley elites, but a battlefield that must be shaped by the collective struggle of workers.
“The future is not a predetermined fate handed down by algorithms and capitalists. The future is a battlefield. It is ours to shape through relentless struggle, unwavering solidarity and a unified ideological front. Let us march forward together! Let us fight together!! Let us win together!!!”
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