The National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANPE) believes industrial harmony can only be achieved if there’s an effective working relationship between employers and employees, TOBA AGBOOLA reports.
FOR the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANPE), effective industrial relationship between employers and employees will promote job growth and security.
The union urged the government to come up with policies that would promote the economy and have positive impact on employees and employers.
At the union’s 28th Annual Industrial Relations seminar in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti, the President of the union, Comrade Goke Olatunji, said the economy would become buoyant if it began to produce goods for export at required quantity and quality.
The theme of the seminar was: Charting a new course for effective industrial relations in an era of economic instability.
Olatunji said the ability of manufacturers to produce depended on government’s policy to regulate and restrain the influx of foreign goods into the country.
”There is massive importation of poor quality and cheaper items, such as toothpick, soaps, matches and others, which cause stiff competition for locally produced goods.
”It is important for the government to chart a clear policy direction and ensure effective implementation of economic policies for manufacturing sector to operate,” he said.
He said manufacturers have started to relocate because of major challenges, such as epileptic power supply, non-availabilty of gas and fuel, collapse of infrastructural amenities, bad roads and insecurity.
He said the increasing level of insecurity was also affecting manufacturers as many were forced not to sell their products in crisis areas reducing production level.
Chemical and Allied Non-Metallic Products Employers Federation (CANMPEF) Executive Secretary Comrade Femi Oke, in his key note address, said industrial relations practice must create a partnership model that would build peaceful co-existence at workplace.
According to Oke, the country is experiencing low manufacturing growth due to economic instability and only a peaceful industrial atmosphere could enhance job performance.
He said the result of the low manufacturing growth on companies would include staff redundancy, reduction in capacity utilisation, and closure of companies.
” The manufacturing sector is supposed to be a huge employer of labour but statistics shows that it’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dipped from 6.21 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 to 2.01 per cent in 2019 first quarter.
”There is the need for the union to collaborate with employers by promoting good work ethics such as dedication, commitment, honesty and teamwork for effective productivity,” he said.
He urged workers to be competent and ensure success was achieved because that was the only way a positive industrial relations environment could enhance the performance of an organisation.
Chairman, National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC), Mr Femi Adekunle, called for innovation through teamwork to achieve objectives of an organisation.
He said labour must move away from its adversarial role to that of cooperation and collaboration to find solutions to the industry’s problems.
Leave a Reply