Michael Imoudu
| Michael Imoudu | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 7, 1902 Owan West, Nigeria |
| Died | June 22, 2005 (aged 102) |
| Occupation | Labour Leader |
Michael Athokhamien Imoudu was a Nigerian labour union leader.
Imoudu was born in 1902, in Afemai division of Edo State. His father was a soldier in the West African Frontier Force and had served in East Africa and in The Gambia. After the death of his parents in 1922, Imoudu lived and worked for a relative who was a linesman on the railways. Due to the job of the relative, he traveled to various cities in the Mid-West and in the East, during his sojourn, he learned the Igbo language. He attended several schools and finished his elementary education at Agbor Government School in 1927. He traveled to Lagos in 1928 and secured work a year later as a daily labourer, he also worked as a linesman in the Post and Telegraph Department before joining the railways as an apprentice turner.
Imoudu started labour union activities as a member of the Railway Workers Union (RWU), the union was to become one of the most militant unions in the country during the colonial period. The union was formed in 1931 at a time where many trade organizations were a lot similar to social undertakings than an industrial movement. In 1939, Imoudu became the president of the union, during the same year, the union was registered under the Trade Union Ordinance which allowed trade unions legal authority to seek collective bargaining with their employers. RWU was the first union registered under the act. Under Imoudu's leadership, the union renewed their demand for higher wages, de-casuaulisation and improved working conditions. He came into limelight in 1941 when he sought the government's and railway management's consent to improve the conditions of technical employees. Though, the colonial government ratified some of their demands, the railway management was slow to implement the changes. After a while, the management released its concessions to the workers who were displeased and several negotiations further took place between July and September 1941. On September 30, 1941, the mechanical workers found their gates locked on the order of the Works Manager. Imoudu then led a march to the seat of government in Lagos Island shouting for the ouster of the works manager. The protest got the attention of the government which took immediate measures to resolve the workers grievances. Though the demonstration was successful, Imoudu later had constant clashes with European managers, it has been said that a reason of the clashes was his disagreement with the preferential treatment meted out to European officials. Between 1941 and 1943, he was queried many times and was dismissed in January 1943.
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