By Teddy Nwanunobi, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Thursday, maintained that warning strikes are as legal as the strikes that are guaranteed by the law.
NLC’s reaction followed the Federal Government’s warning to trade unions on Wednesday to stop embarking on warning strikes.
Speaking during an interaction with State House Correspondents, after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said that such industrial action is an aberration and not recognised by the nation’s labour laws.
Ngige said that those, who embark on strikes without exhausting all avenues of dialogue, risk not being paid for the duration, as the government may invoke the ‘no work, no pay’ clause in the labour laws.
He also warned the leadership of the organised labour to desist from issuing threats, as doing so may be counter-productive.
In his reaction, the NLC General Secretary, Peter Ozo-Eson, however, maintained that warning strikes will continue to be part of labour’s engagement with all employers, including government.
Ozo-Eson argued that labour does not see how warning strikes can be illegal, if strikes are guaranteed by the law.
“Our attention has been drawn to the threat by the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, to outlaw warning strike and to invoke the clause of ‘no work no pay’ in the event of the use of warning strike in the future as according to him, warning strike is not known to Labour Laws.
“We are taken aback by the claims of the Honourable Minister.
“Accordingly, we find it necessary to state that whether warning strike is in the corpus of the Nigerian Labour Laws or not, unions over the years across all climes use warning strike as a bargaining device to bring to the negotiating table, recalcitrant employers or social partners.In other words, it is a tradition that has acquired the force of law.
“The efficacy of warning strike cannot be in doubt as it is reason why the government, led by the Honourable Minister himself, is now negotiating with ASUP executives.
‘In the annals of labour history, warning strikes have had the distinguishing feature of saving the parties to disputes the rigours, costs and pains of full-blown strikes.
“This, the Honourable Minister, a cerebral mind, a former union leader, very well knows.
“Why then would the Honouràble Minister be canvassing a position that is at once extreme and intolerant of further dialogue, which is the mainstay of labour-government relations?
“We find it necessary to caution that a hasty resort to legalese, as a basis for conflict resolution, will not be helpful.
“However, the truth of the matter is that, if strikes are guaranteed by the law, we do not see how warning strikes can be illegal.
“We do not intend to resort to unnecessary pedantism, but quite often, a literal interpretation of the law falls short of the intendment of the law.
“Accordingly, warning strikes will continue to be part of our engagement with all employers, including government, when necessary.
“And we believe we are deserving of commendation for this thoughtfulness/discretion and not vilification,” he said.