The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the federal government not to sack workers as the country prepares for more consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
The NLC president, comrade Ayuba Wabba, in a goodwill message for Easter celebration, stressed that jobs must be preserved, income recovery, and the creation of new jobs must be a priority during the coronavirus pandemic.
Wabba noted that creation of jobs is about collective will to survive.
Experts in various sectors of the Nigerian economy have given indications that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the private sector negatively as many firms are struggling to survive.
The US Department of Labor recently announced that employers cut over 700,000 jobs in March.
While there is yet no current statistics on job losses in Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that in 2019, Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose to 23.1% and underemployment to 16.6%. This might be further worsened by the effects of the pandemic, experts say.
Researchers at the African Union (AU) believe the continent will slip into a recession this year due to the impact the coronavirus is currently having on trade, remittances, tourism and a huge fall in global oil prices.
An AU report estimates governments will lose around $270 billion from lost trade. The report, first published by Reuters, also says governments will need at least $130 billion in additional public spending to fight the virus.
According to a report by the African Union, the vulnerable African economies could be strangled by the coronavirus pandemic with the possibility of up to 20 million job losses and the potential for social unrest.
“African economies remain informal and very extroverted and vulnerable to external shocks,” said the report, describing how the spillover from Covid-19 could hit economic activity on the continent.”
In a related report, the covid-19 crisis, according to the International labour Organisation (ILO) via its official twitter handle noted that the “pandemic is expected to wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020 – equivalent to 195 million full-time workers.”
“Workers and businesses are facing catastrophe, in both developed and developing economies,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. “We have to move fast, decisively, and together. The right, urgent, measures, could make the difference between survival and collapse.”
Ryder said “Massive losses are expected across different income groups, but especially in upper-middle-income countries of 7%, translating to 100 million full-time workers.”
“This far exceeds the effects of the 2008-9 financial crisis,” said Ryder.
However, Wabba is saying that the covid19 imposes a new sense of awakening to re-order priorities.
He said: “Government must now major on the major.”
“We must rededicate ourselves to issues that bother the majority. The focus must be efficient, resilient and inclusive health and education systems, ” he added.
He noted that “the Covid-19 reminds us that what touches the nose would soon touch the eyes. Rich countries, poor climes, developed economies, struggling societies, workers, owners of capital, politicians, peasants, aristocrats, artisans, are all affected by this global pandemic that fears neither class nor status.
Wabba expressed optimism that Nigeria would arise from the pandemic better, wiser, and stronger.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
