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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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NANS condemns passage of Labour Bill, may picket National Assembly
STUDENTS in the country have condemned the passage of the controversial Labour Reform Bill by the Senate and threatened to picket the National Assembly if the passage was not reversed.
The students under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), described the bill as not only obnoxious, crude and draconian but repressive.
In a statement in Abeokuta, Ogun State yesterday, NANS also described the passage of the bill by Senate as "fascist and offensive" on Nigerian to break their ranks so as to pave the way for government to impose its wishes on them at all times.
A statement by the Association's President, Mr. Tony Nwoye and Secretary Mr. Ashaye Wasiu accused the National Assembly of being stooges of the Federal Executive, warning that NANS would mobilise its members to picket the Assembly if the bill was not reversed.
In their view, the bill initiated by President Olusegun Obasanjo is vindictive and aimed at settling scores with Adam Oshiomhole-led Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). NANS asked Nigerians to resist the bill.
The students called on the Federal Government to respect the right of workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining as enshrined in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention instead of meddling in the affairs of labour unions.
They argued that strikes were not peculiar to Nigerian workers, recalling that strike was one of the major weapons used by Nigerian workers to send the British colonialists away from Nigeria.
The association alleged that information at their disposal indicated that the president had intention of increasing fuel price, hence he initiated the bill to check any strike against it.
" NANS has studied the bill and called on labour, civil society groups and political organisations to reject this vindictive bill because it is a time bomb," the statement read.
The varsity students insisted that President Obasanjo's statement that the bill was aimed at democratising Labour Unions was not sincere, arguing that if the President was sincere, the bill would rather strengthen labour unions instead of weakening them.
"Not even colonial authorities sought to register unions, the Labour Reform bill is a recipe for industrial chaos which calls for resistance," the students stated.
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