ABUJA – (Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment Report) – The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige (Senator) has reiterated the determination of the present administration to finding lasting solutions to the incessant labour crisis in the country and nurturing sustainable employment relationships, devoid of strives and rancor.
Chris Ngige made this assertion recently in his office in Abuja when he inaugurated an eleven-man committee to look into the immediate and remote causes of the crisis in the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) and proffer solutions. According to him, there have been a lot of labour disputes in Nigeria, some of which have resulted to picketing and very unruly behaviours that are not acceptable to the government.
The Minister affirmed that the Federal Government is mindful of the grievances between the employer and employee and is determined to nurture viable employment relationships devoid of strives, hence the inauguration of the panel.
“It is my earnest advice that the panel should work without fear or favour, not to try to undo the worker, neither to unduly disadvantage the management because two things are clear in employer – employee relationship. If there is no employer, there will be no employee and vice versa, so both of them must work harmoniously,” he revamped.
He informed that the eleven – man committee has the Director of Employment and Wages in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Emmanuel Udoh as Chairman and the Director of Labour, Jegbefumeh Amahian as alternate Chair.
Other members, he mentioned were drawn from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment; the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation; Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology as well as the Energy Commission of Nigeria; Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria; the Auditor -General’s Desk in the Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment and the Department of State Services (DSS).
The Minister continued that the Committee which has 4weeks to conclude its report is charged with the responsibilities of looking into the remote and immediate causes of the crisis and the grievances expressed by the workers, proffer solutions and make immediate recommendations wherefrom. He insisted that the report of the recommendations so tendered will be implemented within 3months of submission as agreed by the management, workers and the National Union of the Energy Commission of Nigeria.
In his response, the Chairman of the Committee, who is the Director of Employment and Wages in the Ministry, Emmanuel Udoh thanked the Minister for giving them the privilege to serve, assuring the Minister and the workers of their total commitment to the task assigned to them. He expressed hope that it will yield a fruitful result and the possible crisis in the ECN will be laid to rest, just as peace and harmony will be restored.
