The Federal Executive Council ( FEC ) has approved the implementation of the no-work, no pay principle when workers go on strike in the federal public service.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Wednesday in the Presidential Villa, Abuja while briefing State House Correspondents after FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said the approval was sequel to the adoption of the Draft White Paper on the Report of the Technical Committee on Industrial Relations Matters in the Federal Public Service.

Ngige said that the public service in Nigeria was bedevilled by problems and conflict areas; hence governments over time set up various committees and brought out circulars in a bid to stem the tide of industrial dispute.

The minister said that the technical committee, which was inaugurated on April 27, 2016, did their work and submitted to the FEC in Oct. 2017.



“FEC in turn, empanelled a committee of ten which I chaired to do a government Draft White Paper on those contentious areas that the technical committee had looked at.

“These contentious areas are enforcement of section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act Law of the Federation 2004; this is the section that deals with lockout of workers by their employers without declaring redundancy appropriately.

“Because in some establishments, especially in the private sector, workers are locked out by their employers; so the law there says that if you lock your workers without passing through the normal channel-due process.

“For the period of the lock out, the worker is assumed to be at work and will receive all the remunerations and allowances, benefits accruing to him for the period and that period will also be counted for him as a pensionable period in the computation of his pension.

“But when workers go on strike, the principle of no-work-no-pay will also apply because that principle is enshrined in the same section 43 of the Labour Act.’’

According to Ngige, the section says that for the period a worker withdraws his services, government or his employers are not entitled to pay.

The minister said that under the section, the period for which the worker was absent would not count as part of his pensionable period in the public service.

He said that FEC accepted it as a white paper recommendation that should be gazetted because even the National Industrial Court had made pronouncement on that law and said that it was clear.

Ngige said that another area was the issue of public servants remaining permanently in the executive bodies on trade unions.

“Government realises that some persons in the public service go into trade union executive positions; hold offices; and they do that for life; for as long as they are in the service.

“In doing so, they will refuse postings and deployments under the guise that are doing trade union activities; government says no.

“You have to be a public servant first before you become a trade unionist; therefore, if you are there; the public service rules will also apply to you.
“And in doing so, government says establishments will look at the issues and give it a human face in order not to disrupt trade unionism.

“And in furtherance to this, government has also said that there must tenure stipulations because people stay there without tenure; many organisations give people union positions without tenure; government says there is no office that does not have tenure.’’

Ngige said that trade unions, henceforth, should present constitutions that must have tenures; at least, maximum of two tenures for any elective position.

He said that another aspect of the report discussed by the council was the issue of residence training for medical doctors.

According to him, the residence training for medical doctors has been contentious one as some medical doctors come into this training and become professional unionists and stay there as permanent job.

He said that the Federal Government had fixed tenure for residence training of medical doctors, which was seven years within the trainee was to pass all his exams or quit.

Ngige said that FEC also looked at the Ayere report on inter-professional rivalry in the health sector and directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to present it FEC for deliberation.

On the minimum wage, the minister restated that the Federal Government’s stance was N24, 000 per month.

He said that once minimum wage was fixed, any organisation or state that had the capacity to pay more could do that.

Ngige cited that Edo, Delta and Lagos states paid their workers more than the current N18, 000 national minimum wage.

http://thenationonlineng.net/no-work-no-pay-principle-apply-during-strike-fec/

GBAM!!!

My PVC and passport are intact

Approving laws as this signifies how shameless this administration continues to portray itself, rather than step up measures to curb anything that may result to industrial actions or strikes, you are busy threatening workers with this shit. This clearly shows you arent with us. Our response to this is: we'll never let you Buhariate us any further than Febuary 2019, for we are all set to be Atikulated.

bedspread:
If you hv lived in the core North like Yobe, Maidugri you will understand that this law does not reach them..

The Only time u will know that there are workers in Ministries in the North is bre 26th-31st of any month! That's During Salary time!

Apart from that period it's Holiday thru the Month

Lies lies lies!

Lalasticlala Igbo proverb says, Wepụ aka enwe na ofe tupu owuọ aka mmadụ (Remove a monkeys hand from soup before it turns to human hand)

When Shiite and IPOB were exercising their Civic rights in form of protest, and were being shot at, many nigerians looked the other way. Now it is growing small small, and when it finally mature, both big o, small o, and medium will feel it.

I Would have supported the clueless-in-Chief for once since this year if only he didn't introduce this policy just to tackle perceived enermies (NLC that speaks for the common man)

Can you imagine how this government continue to display it crass foolishness and stupidity everyday of it moribund existence

With enough problems already on ground & no iota of idea on how you can resolve them without an impasse, so why heating up the polity with constricting irrational decisions

Imagine denying worker the right to unionism.Asking healthcare workers not to do private practice @ their spare time? Who survives only on an unreliable govt. salary in today's Nigeria You wonder who are the economic advisers of this useless government?

Gagging of real or perceived political enemies under all manner of guise but it's not going to work.This is a bad PR policies for this government.

This will only affect people in the south and not in the north where two people use one certificate to work in CBN

Yoruba muslims here who are supporting Buhari una don see am? Continue with your support which you will regret if Buharii wins again.

Great development

I just don't know the type of wicked leaders we have in this our country.

So you mean it is now a taboo for workers to protest and go on strike for thier right.

If you do the worker well, would any of them be clamoring to sit down at home doing nothing and be expecting salary?

This government is just a dunce.

Cost of food has drastically gone up, and the meagre salary cant even feed a puppy talk more of a baby.

ma pipu, abeg make una welcome me. am just back from being banned. e no easy jooor, if you know you know.

na wen i wan resume my fresh FG job dis useless policy dey come. na lie

MODs you must Ban PMB

#BACKTODAURA


hit like for una boi, e no easy

Senate should make the law and FG should sign it. Nonsense of this NLC

useless people

Make we start now!

oh

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Lifeless FG

Camouflage military regime!


IF Nigerians allow APC smell asorock for another 4years this nation is finished.

Craze!
I don't blame them, is the NLC that is so loose I blame really.

Very shameful law

If I was the Labour chairman... I will challenge this with a strike action.

We all thought APC is a party that will turn Nigeria to dubai.
We don enter one chance

Kolewerk. We won't take it

Ganduje mobile banking nko?

No more minimum wage increase be that

They don scam NLC

,

Draconian law after draconian law. Daura must go!