Sets up c’ttee to resolve dispute
The Federal Government has said that Kaduna and any other state must dialogue with the Organised Labour as enshrined in the International Labour Organisation, (ILO) conventions, to which Nigeria is a signatory.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, stated this while presiding over the meeting between Kaduna State Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), in Abuja yesterday.
He said though the Organised Labour has a right to go on strike according to the provisions of the law, it should not obstruct the provision of essential services.
The minister, however, said should he fail to reconcile both NLC and the Kaduna State government within one week, the matter will be transferred to a higher authority as prescribed by the Trade Unions Dispute Act.
In his opening remarks, the State’s Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Ja’afaru Sani, who led the State delegation jointly with the State’s Head of Service, Bariatu Mohammed, said that the national minimum wage was being implemented in the State along with public service reform policies.
He said over 7,000 teachers have been recruited to fill in various vacancies, noting that the public service consumes N4 out of every N5 received from revenue sources.
He added that the NLC strike and protest came as a rude shock to the State government and condemned what he described as a violation of the Miscellaneous Offences Act by the NLC members who allegedly obstructed economic activities in the State.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, said the labour movement was committed to social dialogue, collective bargaining arrangement and tripartism.
According to him, redundancy was declared in Kaduna State in the implementation of the right-sizing policy without engaging Labour and without payment of due entitlements to the disengaged workers.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has set up a 10- member bi-partite committee to resolve the labour dispute between the NLC and Kaduna State government.
The Commissioner for LG Affairs, Ja’afaru Sani and Bariatu Mohammed as well as the leadership of NLC, led by its President, Ayuba Wabba, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
They promised to settle their dispute and embrace peaceful correlation, by desisting from any further industrial action or victimisation of workers.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who addressed reporters at the end of the meeting, said the committee, with representatives from the State Government and the NLC, will critically look at the issues under contention and resolve them based on provisions of Section 20 of the Labour Act.
The NLC had commenced a five-day warning strike and protest in the state over the sack of workers on Grade level 14, compulsory retirement of workers who have attained the age of 50 years irrespective of their Grade Levels, reduction of local government staff strength to 50 in the 23 local government areas (LGAs), and the casualisation of workers on Grade Levels’ 1-6.
In their opening statements before the meeting went into the closed-door section, Ngige said though Labour has a right to go on strike according to the provisions of the law, it should not obstruct the provision of essential services.
Governor Nasir Ahmed el-Rufa’i was absent during the meeting.
