Our govt dedicated to welfare of Nigerian workers, says Osinbajo

* How we ensured no worker was entrenched
*Solicits support of workers in actualisation of FG’s programmes

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to the welfare of hardworking Nigerians and social justice.

Speaking on the occasion marking the 2019 national May Day celebration held on Wednesday at the Eagle Square, Abuja, Prof. Osinbajo said this government has prioritised workers and their needs.

“On assumption of office in 2015, in spite of the daunting economic challenges, which confronted us at the time, we ensured that no worker was retrenched across the country.

“We further kept faith with this commitment by providing bailout funds for States unable to pay salaries and other benefits in order to pay accumulated arrears.

“We also released the Paris Club refunds owed since 2005 to make sure workers were not owed anything.

“We also ensured the payment of outstanding benefits of retrenched Nigerian Airways workers owed for decades.

“We also ensured the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), also paid arrears owed to parastatals and Civil Service pensioners covering 101,393 Civil Service pensioners on all grade levels and 76,310 parastatals pensioners across 186 agencies.

“This is in addition to arrears paid to pensioners in the Police and Customs Services in 2016 and 2018.

“Our administration also settled the issue of benefits of Nigerian Armed Forces and Paramilitary personnel who were dismissed and later pardoned for participating on the side of the secession in the course of the Civil War from 1967-1970. All of these veterans have now been paid their benefits.

“Our Social Investment Programmes is the largest of its kind in Africa, and it is directed at ensuring that we are able to provide opportunities in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

“Indeed, the largest numbers of Nigerian workers are informal workers. Those comrades of ours who are petty traders, smallholder farmers, artisans and tradesmen also deserve our respect and the protection of all labour laws.

“Our N-Power programme currently employs 500,000 young Nigerian graduates and additional 75,000 in specialized training as builders, automotive technicians and in other vocations. We have also expanded this programme to include technicians in animation and also specialists in other areas of technology.

“Our Homegrown School Feeding Programme where we now feed 9.5 million children daily in 30 States, provides opportunities for over a 100,000 cooks and farmers across the country.

“Our TraderMoni and MarketMoni schemes provide almost 2million loans to petty traders in all States of the Federation. At the Next Level of our administration, we intend to expand the scope of these micro-credit loans to traders and artisans.

“Our Anchor Borrowers’ Programme has also provided over 1million loans to smallholder farmers across the country. Already, that scheme is being expanded to cover yet another 1million farmers all across the country.

“So for this administration, the theme: “Another 100 Years of Struggle for Jobs, Dignity and Social Justice in Nigeria’’ is not merely a headline for this May Day celebration, we truly believe that the Nigerian citizen, especially those at the bottom of the pyramid, must be the central focus of all economic planning and budgeting.

“The welfare and well-being of all these Nigerians who work everyday and render honest services every day is the true benchmark of our commitment as government and a people to social justice and dignity of all Nigerians.

“We will continue to commit ourselves to the cause of improving the lot of every working Nigerian and providing for those who cannot work.

“In this regard, the new National Minimum Wage, which Mr. President signed into law a few days ago, shall be fully implemented by the current administration.

“Let me once again express our deep appreciation to the leadership of the Nigerian Workers for the understanding showed during and after the negotiations of the new National Minimum Wage.

“We shall continue to provide the enabling environment for higher productivity, industrial peace and harmony, as well as a congenial atmosphere for effective collective bargaining amongst trade unions and employers, while also protecting fundamental rights and other lawful rights of the Nigerian people and especially people who are at work.

“At the just concluded general elections, Nigerians and indeed Nigerian Workers gave our administration another mandate to govern them.

“We shall reciprocate this electoral gesture by focusing on the critical issues that will advance speedily and improve the quality of lives and livelihoods of Nigerians.

“These include the building of infrastructure, roads, and rail, hydroelectric power, and also reforming key driving sectors of the national economy in order to put the country on a sustainable path of economic growth and prosperity.

“We are especially committed to changing the narrative in the power sector. Today that sector, after it was privatized, still remains challenged in delivering power to many Nigerian homes and businesses.

“We must work as a matter of national importance and we are committed to doing so, to rework and re-engineer the sector for much more effective performance.  

“Workers shall be called upon to play greater roles in supporting the government to attain all these goals I have stated.

“Industrial peace is central to economic stability. Every industrial disruption costs the national economy very dearly in money and man-hours that are lost.

“It is for this reason that I urge all actors in the industrial relations system to be more circumspect, patriotic and ethical in the use of industrial actions as tools for resolving workplace crisis and addressing grievances.

“Industrial actions, because of the huge economic and social costs, must be the last, not the first option for resolving disputes.

“Comrades, as we join the rest of the world to celebrate the 2019 International Workers Day and Member States of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on its Centenary Anniversary of the ILO, let me commend your resilience, tenacity, sacrifice and commitment in standing up against every form of oppression, exploitations, unfair labour practices, social injustice, especially the commodification of labour and the violation of the fundamental rights of the working people of this country and world over.