New Minister Plans to Stop Banks from Sacking People Indiscriminately

Senator Chris Ngige, the new Minister of Labour and Employment, has threatened to sanction banks, who sack workers indiscriminately, saying they ought to declare redundancy before taking such decisions.

Ngige, who resumed duty on Thursday alongside Sen. Tayo Alausadura, minister of State for Labour and Employment, said it was worrisome that workers were sacked without recourse to due process of disengagement.

According to him, the ministry has introduced time frame of running agreements that have been reached with trade unions in order to make an insurable industrial climate.

He said,

“We also have to monitor job loses, we also have to stem the tide of job losses through a proactive action from this ministry.

“We were all here, when the bank started, we had to stop them because we looked into the matter and discover they didn’t actually declare redundancy, which is in labour sections.

“They must observe the article of redundancy, once they do that, the law is the last to come first to go.

‘We discovered that those banks, having used earlier people, want to dispose them and bring relatives and other friends, the same thing in the oil industry.

” We have created an enabling environment for them, we can do better, we can consolidate on our gains, we can also conciliate in a better way.

“We have introduced time frame of running agreements that have been reached with trade unions in order to make an insurable industrial climate.

“We have done it before, we can do it again, I urge all of you to wear your cap as issue of unemployment rest on the government to stem it.