Thousands gather in Lagos during the general strike over the removal of fuel subsidies. The Nigerian Labor Congress and the Trade Union Congress have called off the strike after the government announced a partial restoration., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
06 Sep 2013
National Chairman of the party, Mr. Dan Nwanyanwu
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
Nigeria, ThisDay
The leadership of the Labour Party (LP) Thursday asked members of the National Assembly not to remove Labour from the Exclusive legislative list in the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution.
The party barked the demand of both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), to retain labour on the exclusive legislative list, maintaining that any attempt to remove labour issues from the exclusive legislative list to concurrent list would take the country many steps backward.
The National Chairman of the party, Mr. Dan Nwanyanwu, who addressed journalists in Abuja, on the issue, said such action would make labour uncoordinated and unmanageable thereby promoting industrial crises and unrest.
“The importance of Labour as a critical factor of production cannot be overemphasised. Nigeria certainly cannot be part of the 20 leading world economies by the year 2020 if a critical success factor of production like labour is not accorded a national (federal) constitutional status and protection,” he said
Nwanyanwu said countries concerned about development appreciate that labour issues such as labour productivity and motivation, minimum wage, health and safety at work, conflict resolution, social security and pensions are better coordinated nationally.
He, therefore, called on members of the party nationwide, both in the Senate, House of Representatives and state assemblies to support NLC and TUC to make sure this current democracy does not erode the gains labour has won over the years.
The LP chairman stated further that military regimes with all its draconian laws left labour on the exclusive list because they realised the importance of labour as critical factor of national development and national cohesion.
The party also frowned at a situation where the Senate tried to water down and deregulate minimum wage law while putting itself exclusively on a federal regulated life pension for its principal officials, urging on the lawmakers to see labour as an asset rather than as liability that must be crushed.
“The effect on the economy is better imagined. Investors both local and foreign definitely will not put their resources in an uncoordinated and unregulated labour management regime when each state of the federation makes uncoordinated labour laws,” he said.
1 comment:
the labor sector should certainly be given attention because it's a huge factor in a country's success. each worker should enjoy work benefits, as mandated by the law, such as health benefits, reflected in OSHA posters. something that workers must know.
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