The federal government says it will no longer tolerate
industrial actions that do not follow due process “particularly during the
transition period of the current administration”.
According to a statement by Olajide Oshundun, head of press
in the ministry of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, the minister, spoke on
Thursday in Abuja.
Ngige made the remarks after receiving an ‘award of
excellence’ conferred on him by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors
(NARD) at the 42nd annual general meeting/scientific conference of the
association.
“The federal government will no longer tolerate a strike
that does not pass through due process,” he said.
“Any group that
embarks on strike will be visited with section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act
(TDA), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004.
“It says that when a worker goes on strike, especially those
on essential services, the employer can also refuse to pay compensation or
wages which accompanies work done.
“The due process of a strike is that social dialogue
negotiation with employers should be explored first.
“In the event of
failure, the federal ministry of labour and employment office in the affected
state or FCT should be notified and, finally, a trade dispute notice (TDN)
served.”
Ngige advised all aggrieved unions to emulate the doctors
and commence proactive discussions with the federal government rather than
resort to strike whenever issues arose.
Reacting to the circular on upward review of the Medical
Residency Training Fund (MRTF), he assured that the National Salaries, Incomes
and Wages Commission is working on it.
He also added that the area of domiciliation of the fund for
residents would be addressed during a negotiation to align it with the National
Residency Training Fund Act which is the guiding law, pointing out that a
circular derives its life from extant laws.
Ngige said the issue of non-payment of new hazard allowance
to house officers is being addressed by the office of the accountant general of
the federation.
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Rather say we FG will quickly resolve issue before it escalate to long strike. FG is so full of faults, and FG don't even see it.
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