Nigerians will not die, according to Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige, but will adjust to the country’s economic challenges.
The minister, who stated in a statement issued on Sunday that economic challenges were not unique to Nigeria, but to the globe at large, also stated that worker agitation for higher salaries was not peculiar to Nigeria.
The tendency, according to Ngige, is a worldwide phenomena driven by global economic shocks such as the COVID-19 epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Speaking after receiving the Business Day “Excellence in Public Service Award” in Abuja, the Minister stated that the global labor sector is under danger from various and overlapping economic crises, fueling workers demand for higher wages.
“The other day when I passed through Bailey, they said airport workers were on strike, but only for four days,” he explained. The railway workers were on strike for three days when I came through London. They are all want more pay.
“Workers’ demand for higher pay is not unique to Nigeria; it is a problem all over the world today as a result of the global economic crunch caused by COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and other factors that make it look as if everybody will die today.”
“We are not going to die today.” We merely need to change as people and as a society to endure the crisis,” he remarked.
Ngige said the International Labour Organization acknowledges “social dialogue” as the greatest way for addressing industrial issues in the country.
Whether the issue is a demand for higher wages or a desire for improved working conditions, he believes that once discussions commence around a table, they must be given a social face.
He said, however, that in Nigeria, individuals choose to break the law rather than do the right thing, while others who follow the rules and insist on due process are labeled as “odd.”
“The man who enforces the law in Nigeria is a very wicked and stingy man.” He is seen as a man who doesn’t understand the law.
Government is far worse.”
He warned that if Nigeria is to advance, individuals should not be made look odd because they obey the law.
Ngige, on the other hand, expressed hope that Nigeria will make significant development provided Nigerians obey the law and do the right thing in all aspects of their national life.
He hailed Business Day for considering him worthy, suitable, and proper for being recognized and promised not to let them down even until May 29, when he will no longer invoke the “No Work, No Pay” principle against people who want to go on strike.
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