Senate to FG: Labour strike will cripple Nigeria

[Compass]

SENATORS yesterday appealed to organised labour to shelve its warning strike and cooperate with the House of Representatives to find a lasting solution to the delay in the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage.

The federal lawmakers said should workers embark on the three-day warning strike on Wednesday, the action may cripple the country.

The Senate, which stood down a motion seeking to dialogue with labour, noted that the House of Representatives is already addressing the issue and should be allowed to find a solution to the matter and not be discouraged.

It also urged the Federal Government to ensure that everything is done to avert the strike.

Raising Order 52 in the Senate rule book, Senator Ita Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom) sought the upper chamber to set up an ad hoc committee to dialogue with labour unions with a view to finding a solution to the disagreement.

Enang wanted the Senate to examine ways to ensure proper implementation of the wage increase and also intervene and stop the warning strike.

Supporting the motion, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu urged the Senate to allow the House of Representatives to handle the matter on behalf of the National Assembly, adding that the Lower House should be respected and given the necessary encouragement.

He said:  "We should encourage the House of Representatives to continue to dialogue with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other organised labour with the view to resolving the matter."

He noted that the House had extensively discussed the issue at its plenary and has already invited the stakeholders for a consultative meeting on the matter, insisting that it would be logical for the Senate to support the Lower House as its engages organised labour in finding a solution to the matter.

Ruling on the matter, Senate President David Mark said that the National Assembly "is one and there is no competition", stressing that the House of Representatives should be given the needed encouragement.

He, however, told the House to appeal to the workers to shelve their proposed strike, even as he urged labour unions to corporate with the House of Representatives which he said have the capacity to handle the situation.

It would be recalled that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other organised labour had resolved to embark on a three-day warning strike from Wednesday to press home their demand for the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage.