As the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) continues its strike, the Director-General, Michael Imoudu Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Issa Aremu, has called for an urgent reform of the industrial relations system in the country’s health sector for sustainable peace and service delivery.
The DG made this call in his opening remark at a 3-day capacity building workshop on advocacy communication skills for Women Economic Collectives (WEC) in Abuja on Monday, saying that a strike is not a call for war, but a temporary stoppage of work by workers in order review and negotiate for working terms and conditions
He said, “A strike is a temporary stoppage: the workers intend that at its conclusion they should return to the same jobs with the same terms. It’s time all parties suspended the existing unhelpful actions and returned to negotiations.”
Also speaking, the Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment Mr Festus Keyamo SAN, in a goodwill message, stressed on the need for government to live up to its agreement with workers
He further said that though the agreements may be accepted in ill fate, the government is bound by the agreements to play its role.
“Government should live up to its responsibility to the workers. Agreements that are signed should be respected.
“Most of these agreements we inherited them because in the past it used to be that many governments had to enter into agreements that perhaps sometimes, are not workable but just because they just want to get over with the problem and some governments accept with bad fate which is labour meaningless and that of course, is not acceptable at all.
“But when the government gets into agreements with workers, it is bound by such agreements,” he said
He also added that the other aspect to be considered is the method of airing grievances, adding that strike is not a war but a way to instigate dialogue.
“The end of labour conflict is to instigate dialogue by apprehending strikes. The labour unions are not the cause of the strikes we see everywhere, but rather peacemakers”
