Abstract
A woman unionist, while not being a professional can also participate at the domestic, local, state or national level. At the domestic level, she must be a worker and a member of a chapter of a registered industrial union. She must also actively participate in union politics. Being a member, she can seek election into the offices of the trade union at any level. However, several studies on women in black Africa and indeed Nigeria have revealed that although there have been increased participation of women in wage labour in the past three decades, they have not significantly improved their involvement in union affairs, especially in leadership roles. A larger proportion display total indifference to trade union matters. Thus, the lone woman activist is the exception rather than the rule. Put alongside their counterparts in the informal sector of the economy, the participation of women workers is minimal. While women traders have acted collectively in the past to protect their interest, the same can hardly be said of the female wage workers. Even today, in Nigeria, women traders still act collectively under the umbrella of the numerous women associations to prevent undue interruptions of collectively agreed prices at each prevailing period. In fact, these women form the bulwark of masses of present political parties in Nigeria. But the picture of women wage earners activism is almost non-existent as the following discussion on women involvement in the Nigeria Labour Congress will show.
Keyword: Labour, Legislations, Trade, Union