Skip to main content

Nigerian govt warns rival labour union, ULC, against strike

Following the threat by the United Labour CONGRESS, ULC, to go on a nationwide strike from September 15 , the federal government on Thursday declared the proposed strike illegal.

The strike notice was dated September 8 and is expected to lapse on September 15.

Some of the issues highlighted by the ULC, a coalition of various workers’ unions, include: the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment should set up a task force immediately to carry out factory inspection; Government should review the privatisation of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN; and the Army and Police should withdraw their officers from different work places where they are currently stationed as they intimidate and harass workers in such establishment.

The union, a breakaway from the NLC, also demanded the immediate release of its “Registration Certificate.”

The ULC is headed by Joe Ajaero, General Secretary of National union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and Igwe Achese, President of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG.

Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, while addressing journalists on Thursday night said government “will not fold her hands and allow group of people take law into their hands by brazenly threatening to commit economic sabotage by shutting down essential services in the oil and gas, power and aviation sectors as threatened by the promoters of the union.”

He said the ministry’s reaction is to remind the promoters of the ULC that they are yet to be recognised by the federation of trade unions, hence cannot speak on behalf of any trade union.

“The Trade Unions Act, CAP T14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004, is explicitly clear on how a group of Trade Unions can coalesce to form a Federation of Trade Unions. Section 35(1)(b) states inter alia “A Federation of Trade Unions may be registered by the Registrar if … it is made up of 12 or more Trade Unions none of which SHALL have been a member of another registered Federation of Trade Unions.”

He said the promoters of ULC should fulfill this requirement to qualify to be registered.

“To call out workers on essential services for a national strike without any major trade dispute with their direct employers will be tantamount to blatant violation of our extant labour laws and international labour standards.”

He said the Nigeria Labour Congress has been factionalised after her elections in 2015 and the government through the Ministry of Labour and Employment had been making efforts to resolve the controversies that arose from the disputed elections.

“This to Government is democracy in the practice of Trade Unionism in Nigeria,” he said.

“Members of the Trade Unions who are sympathetic to the ULC mentioned in the press statement are advised to go about their duties in the interest of a peaceful industrial relations environment and for the good of our national economy,” the minister concluded.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The story of how Nigeria’s census figures became weaponized - Feyi Fawehinmi

By Feyi Fawehinmi The story of Nigeria’s 1962 census never gets old. Southern politicians seeking to end the north’s dominance of Nigerian politics decided that the only way to do it was through the census. Population figures at the time determined not only parliamentary representation but also revenue allocation and employee distribution in the civil service. In May 1962, the first census under an independent Nigerian government began. There had been a frenzy of mobilization by politicians in the south of the country using pamphlets, radio, schools, churches and mosques. Although the final results were not made public, the preliminary results were quite clear as to what had happened: the north’s population had gone up from 16.5 million in the last census in 1952 to 22.5 million, an increase of 30%. But in some parts of the east, the population had increased by up to 200% and more than 70% in general. The west also reported an increase of 70%. What the preliminary results showed...
Post a Comment
Read more

FG borrows N3.38bn To Aid Potato Production in Plateau

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) wednesday approved N3.38 billion to boost the production of potatoes in Plateau State. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who made the disclosure said the money would be borrowed from Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) with one per cent interest rate and 25 years moratorium. The minister who said the loan was not fresh, explained that it had previously been cancelled by the federal government with the intention to make a fresh request for the loan on behalf of Plateau State which she said was responsible for 95 per cent of potato production in the country. According to her, following ADB’s comprehensive programme on potato production in Plateau State, 100,000 families and 17 local government areas of Plateau State would benefit from the loan while 60,000 jobs would be created by the initiative. “My approval was on behalf of Plateau State to support the potato value chain. There is a loan that we had previously cancelled from ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Buhari's Economic Blueprint Does Not Address Nigerians' Need - Bill Gates

Sahara Reporters The present economic templates being used by the Muhammadu Buhari government do not have the ability to address the unique needs of Nigerians at present, American business magnate, Bill Gates, has said. The philanthropist and founder of Microsoft corporation however said Nigeria has the ability to approach ‘upper middle-income status’ like Brazil, China and Mexico, but added that achieving this status depends on ”the choice Nigerian leaders make”. Mr. Gates, at the special and expanded National Economic Council, held in Abuja on Thursday tasked Nigerian leaders to sincerely invest in not just infrastructural development but also human investment. The theme of the meeting was “Role of human capital investment in supporting pro-poor and economic growth agenda”. The investor said though Nigeria is rapidly approaching upper- middle income status, the country has ”unmatched economic potential and what becomes of that potential depends on the choice Nigerian ...
Post a Comment
Read more