Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has directed striking workers of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), to embrace the spirit of dialogue and collective bargaining and call off their industrial action to pave the way for proper resolution of the dispute.
He stated this in a statement by Mr. Samuel Olowokoore, Deputy Director, Press, yesterday in Abuja.
The minister asked the striking workers to return to work today.
The workers embarked on an indefinite strike on Tuesday, July 18, 2017, to protest the non- payment of allowances and poor working conditions.
He said his intervention was in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Trade Union Dispute Act of the Federation (LFN 2004).
“This is in order to ensure that the principles of social dialogue as a panacea to trade disputes is not only fully exhausted but exploited for the benefits of all parties – employers and employees,” he said.
He summoned a meeting of stakeholders, which include the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to a meeting today to resolve all contending issues.
He implored all the stakeholders and parties to the dispute to attend the meeting so as to ventilate all the issues and reach a lasting solution via a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
He said this was as enunciated in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on Social Dialogue.
Ngige appealed to leaders of the striking workers to ask their members to return to work and open the gates of the commission put under lock and key for the past one week, for business to re-commence.
He added that this was in consonance with the aspect of the law guiding apprehension of trade dispute and conciliation mechanism.
