The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has warned that any strike or mass protest in the face of the hardship and suffering in the country could potentially cause a breakdown of law and order with attendant risks for businesses and the nation as a whole.
NECA, the umbrella body for employers and voice of businesses in the country also urged the government to urgently take immediate steps to ameliorate the economic trauma being faced by workers, Nigerians and organised businesses.
The association in a press statement by its Director-General, Wale-Smatt Oyerinde, argued that any disruption of businesses in the form of a strike or mass protest will exacerbate the current unemployment rate and drag many further down the poverty line.
Oyerinde in the statement recalled that businesses in the formal and informal sectors lost over N5 trillion due to vandalism by unscrupulous elements who hijacked the purposeful #EndSARS protest in 2020.
“Any strike, the threat of mass action or civil disobedience that could potentially disrupt economic activities or businesses, especially those in the formal and informal sectors which could compromise sustainability and job creation, based on economic policies of the government which are non-employment related, will be counter-productive.
‘’While organized labour is at liberty to engage with government on behalf of its members on issues of welfare as they relate to the impacts of any economic policy, sometimes deadlock may hold sway.
“When that happens, the consequential action by organised labour should not, in any way, hinder anyone from going about their businesses peacefully or cause anyone to be intimidated or harassed.
“We re-emphasise the importance of social dialogue, a potent instrument of the International Labour Organisation(ILO) and a globally accepted mechanism for dispute resolution.
‘’While it should be noted that various ILO Conventions, recommendations, international treaties and local legislations guarantee certain rights and privileges to social partners, a call for mass action or civil disobedience is certainly not one of them.
“We urge the government to, as a matter of urgency, take immediate steps to ameliorate the economic trauma being faced by workers, Nigerians and organised businesses.
“It is no gainsaying that many businesses are shut down and many others are on the verge of closing down, which will exacerbate the current unemployment rate and drag many further down the poverty line.
“We strongly request that a coordinated implementation of the various pro-growth and other palliative schemes should commence, without further delay, at the federal level to complement the efforts of some state governments and organised businesses.
“The need for transparent communication and the building of national consensus at this difficult time cannot be over-emphasized.
“Recent events that portend serious danger for the survival of sustainable enterprises, decent work, national development and our industrial relations system as a whole necessitated this urgent call.

By: Corlins Walter