FG vows to implement ‘no work, no pay’ law
The Federal Executive Council has resolved to implement the law permitting it to deny workers their salaries whenever they down tools.
Addressing State House reporters yesterday after the council meeting, Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige explained that the decision was taken due to the plethora of workers’ strikes.
The minister noted that the report of a technical committee on industrial relations set up last year had recommended the decision.
He stated: “The report emphasised the need to implement the law on no work, no pay. The no work no pay is not a rule, neither is it a policy. It is a law captured on Trade Disputes Act of Federation.
“Section 43, to be precise, says that workers have a right to disengage from an employer if there is a breakdown in discussions or negotiation, but for the period that the workers do so, the employer should not pay, and those periods are to be counted as non-pensionable times in the period of work.
“So, council today reemphasised that that law still exists and that it should be brought to the knowledge of workers in the public and private sector, especially those in the public sector.
“We’ve to do that because of the spate of industrial crisis we’ve suffered in the last two months when we had plethora of strikes all over the place. So, council has said this should be re-emphasised to workers so that they will know.”
The minister said the council also considered a recommendation to fish out trade unions that have no constitution prescribing a time limit for their elected officials.
“Council looked at another recommendation in terms of people who are permanently doing union activities, they are presidents of trade unions for life and they sit tight, criticize those who are trying to do third term or fourth term while they themselves are sitting tight.
“It was agreed that my ministry should continue with our work in terms of fishing out the unions that don’t have constitutions that prescribed time limit for their elected officers. Such unions should be made to comply with the law, so that people can be elected they serve out their term and other people will take their place. That is democracy in account.”
He said the council also considered the recommendation on the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“Most times, those agreements are not signed, they are usually signed by wrong persons. So, council agreed with us that according to the labour laws, they should be signed and whenever issues of salaries and wages are involved, the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission must sign, the ministry of labour must sign and the document domicile in the ministry of labour in consonant with Section 4 of the Trade Dispute Act,” he said.