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Labour seeks pact with employers to curb job losses

To stem the tide of making workers scapegoat by terminating their appointments whenever crisis hits an organisation, organised labour, under the aegis of Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSAN), has called for improved collaboration between workers and management.

Giving the advice during the 25th Annual National Management/Industrial Relations Seminar of the union in Asaba, Delta State, President of the union, Segun David, said it was wrong resorting to sacking workers whenever there is crisis in the economy and the need to cut cost. He said collaboration between workers and management with meaningful deliberations would improve input and output capacity without job losses, stressing that entrepreneurs should desist from making workers sacrificial lambs in difficult situations.

Specifically, he decried the rate of job losses in the chemical sector through redundancy, saying that the present time was a difficult time for Nigerian workers, who have to deal with the challenges of job loss, reduced salaries and zero appraisals at work places.

“It is an open secret that economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic cut across all facets of life. Workers should not always be at the receiving end whenever there is need to cut costs,” he said.

Noting that the programme, themed, “Critical analysis of post COVID-19 on socioeconomic challenges and its impact on the organised labour-Chemical and Non-Metallic Products experience,” was organised to draw attention to the plights of the sector, he stated that it would also devise ways of solving challenges presently confronting the sector. According to the CANMPSSAN president, workers in the sector sacrificed a lot during the lockdown to ensure survival and continuous running of some of their companies.

“We therefore reject being used as a scapegoat whenever management is contemplating on cost cutting measures,” he added. He pointed out that the advent of coronavirus reminded all of the importance of taking one’s health seriously, adding that employers of labour should put measures in place to make work conducive for the entire workers.

“Workers should not always bear the brunt when there is shortfall in finances, collaborative engagements can help us to strategize for a better future for our companies,” he stated. The labour leader equally tasked the government to be prompt in attending to the voice of the people and take responsibility for many things going wrong in the country.

On his part, the General Manager, Human Asset Management, Dangote Cement, Femi Adekunle, however, said that redundancy was not an easy way out for the companies as they value their workers seriously. “Workers are our most essential part; they are the golden hen that lays the golden eggs.

Without them there wouldn’t be any production nor can a company survive without them. But in a situation where the company existence is threatened due to one problem or the other, there’s nothing that a company can do than to cut down on staff to survive,” he said.

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