The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has called on the Federal Government to punish employers in the oil, aviation and electricity sectors who sack indiscriminately.
Speaking with The Nation, NUPENG President Comrade Igwe Achese urged the National Assembly to halt the retrenchments in these sectors in order not to worsen unemployment.
He hailed the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige, for threatening to withdraw the licences of banks for sacking some workers.
He said banks were unfair to their workers who toil daily to make their businesses viable, adding that workers were always at the receiving end, even when the banks declare huge profits and dividends.
Relatedly, President-General, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), Comrade Chris Okonkwo, has said over 2000 disengaged workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) were yet to receive their severance pay three years after the Federal Government’s privatisation of the power assets.
Okonkwo, who made this known at a briefing in Lagos, bemoaned the development, saying it does not show determination on the part of the government to settle the outstanding payment of the ex-workers.
He urged the Federal Government to ensure that all outstanding and related payments on severance of PHCN workers were settled.
“Government is also advised to urgently conclude severance payments and others involving past and present workers in the sector to close that chapter.
“The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Minister of Labour and Employment and Director-General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), should take specific note to avoid another threat to industrial peace in the sector in connection with this matter,” he said.
He also advised the Federal Government to take urgent steps to bring investors and workers to sign up to rules of engagement based on law to mitigate imminent collapse of industrial peace in the power sector. The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) had backed banks on workers’retrenchment, accusing the government of meddling in the matter.
It disagreed with Dr. Ngige on his directive to banks and financial institutions to suspend the exercise.
NECA Director-General Olusegun Oshinowo said labour laws did not empower the minister to issue such a directive, which he described as “uninformed and populist”.
He added that the laws had envisaged redundancy, which was why provisions were made in Section 20 of the Labour Act to guide the actions of parties in the event of retrenchment or redundancy, Oshinowo said. the minister seemed not to have understood the fundamentals of industrial relations and labour laws in Nigeria and, thus, acted ultra vires.
His words: “NECA affirms that no employer will take pleasure in declaring redundant employees which it has invested significant resources in developing over the years. Usually, redundancy exercise is foisted on employers on account of an unhealthy economy and the dynamics of the business, which often demands staff rationalisation.’’
Oshinowo said it was part of the inalienable right of an employer to determine the optimal staff level it requires to sustain its operations, adding that employers have rights, which include the right to hire and fire within the rules governing such employment contract.
“Employers’rights are employers’ prerogatives, which are not subject to ministerial directives.
”Where an employer has found it necessary to carry out retrenchment, it would respect the laws of the land and the laid down procedures for redundancy.
