From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Federal Government, yesterday, said it would introduce mandatory training for newly elected labour leaders at the National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) to address incessant labour crises in the county.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said the proposed training will equip the labour leaders with the knowledge of Labour Laws and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions to curb the industrial disputes in the country.
The minister disclosed this at the 2022 budget defence of his ministry at the House of Representatives.
Ngige also revealed that his ministry had made provision for the establishment of Rapid Response Labour Desk Offices across the 36 states of the federation to help nip some of these industrial crises in the bud.
According to Ngige, lack of proper understanding of the Labour Laws and ILO principles were responsible for most labour crises.
He said: “One of the problems is that labour leaders are not in tune with labour laws. They don’t know when they over step their rights. Some of them don’t even know that before you embark on an industrial action, you will give an official notice.
“You start with negotiating with your employer. And when you finish and want to go on strike out of dissatisfaction, you notify the labour ministry.