Job losses: Employers, workers are victims of economic downturn – NECA

Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) says the job losses being experienced across sectors of the Nigerian economy are direct fallout of unfavourable policies leading to a slump of which both employers and workers are equal victims.

Segun Oshinowo, director-general of NECA, said on Tuesday that the Federal Government would need to enunciate business-friendly policies and stay faithful to their implementation to arrest the slide, and not resort to threats as exemplified in the recent statement by Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, to withdraw licences of deposit money banks (DMBs) over the declaration of redundancy.

“NECA pleads with the government to focus attention on the creation of an enabling environment that will support wealth creation and business survival. We believe that it is a healthy economy that produces jobs and guarantees job security,” Oshinowo said.

The employers’ body also sympathised with Nigerian workers and the masses that have had to bear the brunt of the current economic downturn, “which is not caused by the employers, but have themselves been major victims.”
Oshinowo said the association would do everything to ensure that affected workers were paid their entitlements as guaranteed by their contract of agreement.

NECA assures workers who have been affected by redundancy that the body will do all within its powers to ensure that their employers pay them redundancy benefits, urging any worker affected to contact the NECA (with their names and the company they worked for) on [email protected].”

In the mean, the employers’ organisation has commended the Nigerian Senate for its intervention on the issue of threat by the minister of labour and employment to withdraw the licences of banks for failure to heed his directive to suspend redundancy exercise in the sector.

Oshinowo lauded the Senate for what he called “a very mature, unbiased and inclusive disposition to conflict resolution,” assuring that NECA and its members would be in attendance at the interactive session called by the Senate for Thursday, June 16, 2016 (tomorrow) in Abuja.

NECA remarked that “the meeting was timely, appropriate and would provide the platform to proffer a solution to the issue of management of redundancy with the interests of all: government, workers, employers and like minds.”