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Go on strike, lose your jobs � FG
� It�s an empty threat, says NLC
� Govs�, labour leaders� talks collapse
Tobi Soniyi and Babatunde Oke
The Federal Government on Monday threatened to sack any worker who takes part in the November 16 strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The government, in a statement by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Hassan Muhammad Lawal, said that any worker who takes part in the strike would not only lose his salary but could be sacked.
In a swift reaction, NLC described the threat as �empty.�
The statement by the Minister said, �I wish to draw the attention of the entire workforce of Nigeria to section 42 (i) (a) of the Trade Disputes Act Cap 432, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 which states that:
�Where any worker takes part in a strike, he shall not be entitled to any wages or other remuneration for the period of the strike and such period shall not count for the purpose of reckoning the period of continuous employment and all rights dependent on continuity of employment shall be prejudicially affected accordingly.
�Consequently, workers who absent themselves from work during the period of a strike shall not only forfeit their pay but also lose their rights of continuous employment.
�In the light of the above, I wish to advise that it is in the interest of all workers in the public and private sectors not to heed the call by the NLC to embark on strike with effect from November 16, 2004.
�The Federal Government is determined to sanitise the labour sector by enforcing the no-work, no-pay rule and any breach thereof shall be visited with appropriate sanctions.�
In its reaction to the government�s threat, NLC�s President, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, said there was nothing in the labour laws that prescribed sack for any worker that participated in a strike.
Oshiomhole argued that the minister did not understand the contents of the Trade Dispute Act, which he quoted.
He said, �To the best of my knowledge, there is no law in the country that says those who go on strike should be sacked. If that is what he said in the statement that means he is ignorant of labour laws.
�No amount of terrorism will make Nigerians submit to their (government) misrule. The citizenry cannot be coerced into submission. This country must be ruled by laws, not by fiat.
�Dialogue is the only escape route from this strike as nothing has changed. Even the threat cannot deter us. We have all said it, even the Senate, the House of representatives and the palliative committee, unanimously called for the reversal of the prices to the pre-September 23, 2004 level.
�This government must learn to respect the wishes of the masses.�
But just as the government statement circulated at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, about 500 unionists gathered in the city to mobilise support for the November 16 strike.
The unionists converged on the headquarters of the NLC, blowing trumpets and singing solidarity songs.
They also carried their awareness to the streets adjoining to the NLC headquarters.
A large squad of armed policemen, backed by an armoured car, was on hand to prevent the unionists from leaving the street.
The police blocked the marchers but there was no violence.
�The message that we want to send is that the planned general strike on November 16 is not reversible unless the Federal Government reverses the price hike on petroleum products,� said NLC�s Acting General Secretary, Salihu Lukman.
Oshiomhole had on October 30 announced that the second phase of the strike to protest against the September 22 increase in prices of petroleum products, would commence on November 16.
A four-day warning strike, regarded as the first phase, ended on October 14.
As at 9pm on Monday, the NLC president other labour leaders were attending a meeting with the 36 state governors on the way to avert the strike.
From all indications, the meeting, however, failed to persuade NLC not to go on strike.
Oshiomhole who parried questions on the outcome of the meeting, told newsmen that the palliative committee, headed by Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu, would not deter NLC from going ahead with the strike.
He said the non-inclusion of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency in the committee was a sign that the issue of fuel price would not be adequately addressed.
Meanwhile, four unions � National Union of Chemical Footwear, Leather, Rubber and Non-Metallic Products� Employees; National Union of Hotels and Personal Services Workers; National Union of Pensions; and Maritime Workers� Union of Nigeria � have dissociated themselves from a paid advert in one of the national dailies, that they would not participate in the November 16 strike.
At a news conference in Lagos on Monday, the General Secretaries of MWUN, Mr. Aham Ubani, and NUCFLRANMPE, Mr. Emma Ugboajah, described those responsible for the advert as �discredited labour leaders, who are currently facing criminal charges at various courts.�
The unions claimed that they were active members of the NLC�s National Executive Council, National Administrative Council and Central Working Committee and therefore, were in full support of the strike.
Meanwhile, health workers have given the Federal Government a 30-day ultimatum to stop further deductions from their wages or face strike.
The workers, under the aegis of the Medical and Health Workers� Union of Nigeria, said that, �If by December 10, 2004 the payment of our members� full salaries and the amounts thus far deducted has not commenced, with effect from December 13, 2004, medical and health workers in all tertiary health institutions in the country, would down tools until such payment commences.�
The PUNCH, Tuesday, November 9, 2004.
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