The Organised Labour has on Monday urged the Federal Government to provide businesses with palliative, grant and fiscal support incentives including downward review of tax and interest rates in order to give the businesses breathing space to maintain production at pre-COVID-19 level and to be able to protect jobs and income.
Labour leaders, during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on job protection between Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), disclosed that it would also work with private sectors through the social dialogue process to prevent further loss of jobs in Nigeria.
Speaking during the signing of the MOU, NLC president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the body’s major concerns were job security, rights at work, social protection and occupational health and safety for all workers in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.
Wabba said: ”While we continue to call on the government and private sector employers to provide adequate protective and preventive facilities at the workplace, we will use the framework of this MoU to ensure that workers who fall ill are supported through paid sick leave to recover and be reinstated safely to their positions at work.”
Wabba added that labour would defend the existing social protection nets such as pension and gratuity.
NECA, on it’s part, expressed concerns that over 90 per cent of businesses irrespective of their sizes were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NECA DG, Timothy Olawale, who was represented by Adenike Ajala, a deputy director, urged the government to develop initiatives to boost economic activities and protection of occupational safety and health of workers in the world of work.
On its part, the TUC decried that Nigeria is faced with two pandemics, the COVID-19 and insecurity.
TUC President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, tasked the government on creating more jobs, noting that it would curb the menace of insecurity in the country.
On the issue of job losses, Quadri said; ”creating more jobs is the only solution that can bring everlasting peace in the country.
“The more we try to engage our youths, the more we have peace.”
TUC boss said; ”organised labour signed peace agreement that even if people are going to lose their jobs, it should be on reasonable ground and we are going to give it the humanity in us.
”We implore the government to play their own role; they should provide palliative, incentives to legitimate employers of labour not political business people.”
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