The organised Labour yesterday vowed to resist any no-work-no-pay law of the federal government, saying the policy was introduced to enslave Nigerian workers.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) dared the federal government to go ahead with the policy.
Deputy president of NLC, Comrade Peter Adeyemi, said implementation of no-work-no-pay will not stop workers from embarking on strike whenever their rights are infringed.
He said the federal government should blame itself for remaining insensitive to the welfare of workers.
Adeyemi vowed that workers will fight against the policy and other policies that are anti-workers.
He said, “Government has been the cause of all strikes. It is a policy and decision taken. Surely, it is not going to work. Most of the strike actions have been the fault of government’s failure to fulfill its own part of the bargain.
“Government will only call you when there is a strike action and promise what they cannot fulfill. They will sign an MoU because they want to immediately arrest the strike and enter into MoU they are not going to honour.
“They will ask these workers to go back to work and sleep over the matter for six, seven, nine and ten months but government will not honour its own part of the bargain and the workers will go back on strike.
“Government is the one to be held responsible for any strike and the current situation and the ones that will happen because they can’t make decisions and work them out. It is not going to work, to be displaced in our own land. So, we are going to fight.
Adeyemi further noted that the implementation of no-work- no-pay will not stop the strike, insisting that government should do what they are supposed to do.
He said, “Workers have not been paid salaries for eight, nine months and government is saying they will implement no-work-no-pay. Government is paying salaries in percentages. Since November 2015, they have been paying salaries in percentages- 60%, 70% , 85%- to workers in tertiary institutions, federal institutions, polytechnics, college of education, and then you say we will not go on strike. There is no way.”
On his part, TUC president, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama said government should know that the law also makes provision for no-pay-no-work.
His words: “Let them talk about no-work-no-pay and also no-pay-no-work. They should be fair and unbiased when it comes to the welfare of Nigerian workers because the law has made provision for no-pay-no-work just like the law has made provision for no-work-no-pay.
“What we are saying is that there are circumstances where there is an agreement between the employer and employee. When one flouts the law then what happens? They have not thought of that; instead they are talking about no-work-no-pay.
What we are saying is that it is not the issue of implementing. Can you be biased in your own implementation? What you are supposed to have asked the government is who flouted the collective bargaining agreement? Who flouted the issue of payment when it comes to the right of workers? They only start agitating where their welfare packages have been infringed upon.
“Ordinary Nigerian workers have been patient with their employers. So, if you pay their salaries and entitlement, workers have no business with what you do, but when you don’t promote and take care of their welfare, that is when they start agitation. These are genuine agitations.
“How can you say you will punish a worker for an offence he never committed? So, government should talk about no pay no work before no work no pay.”
Leadership