Buhari moves to end frequent strikes
http://www.gatewaymail.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/President-Muhammadu-Buhari..jpgNIGERIA: PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his administration’s zero tolerance for strikes, saying all shall be done by him to apply brake.
And to ensure industrial harmony in the country, the President has directed officials of the Labour Ministry to liase with other stakeholders to deliberate on how to end strikes in the critical sectors of the nation’s economy.
Buhari, who met with the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Clement Illoh, and Directors in the Labour Ministry, explained that his government would boost national productivity by taking relevant actions to halt frequent strikes “in vital sectors of the Nigerian economy.”
“The President directed the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Clement Illoh and Directors in the Ministry of Labour to liaise with other stakeholders and quickly work out proposals for ending the recurring strikes in the health, education, transport, oil and gas, power and other critical sectors of the national economy,” Mr. Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said in a release.
The president, who met the officials on Wednesday in Abuja, told them that he was greatly disturbed by prolonged industrial action in the nation’s health sector, which, according to him, had impacted negatively in the nation’s standard of healthcare services.
Shehu said in the release that the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who was present at the meeting, enjoined Illoh and his team to contribute their input into the ongoing plans to extend welfare services to the poor and the disadvantaged persons.
Earlier, Illoh had identified the major factor responsible for frequent strikes, linking it to the unbridled negotiation of pacts – with financial implications – without the involvement of officials of the Labour and Finance ministries.
To check the trend, the permanent secretary said that the ministry had introduced a code of conduct for government negotiators, which prevented them from entering into pacts that have financial implications without the consent of the President.
