FGN PLEDGES CONTINUED PROTECTION OF WORKERS IN ALL SECTORS
Oru Leonard
The Federal Government of Nigeria has pledged the continued protection of all categories of workers in all sectors, and swift response to their calls and complaints.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, gave the guarantee in Abuja when he received the leadership of National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), led by its national president, Dr Nosa Lancy Orhue, on a courtesy call.
He noted that the Federal Government has been taking stock of the peculiar needs and grievances of different categories labour organisations, and has been working assiduously to addressing them effectively.
Lalong assured NAMDA that measures to address their complaints and grievances was already on course, and would be concluded to their satisfaction.
Earlier, the National president of NAMDA, Dr Nosa Lancy Orhue, had congratulated the Minister on his appointment, and pledged the support of the Association to the federal government in salvaging medical education in the country, as well as in general education.
He disclosed some challenges which the Association was grappling with, including the disparity in the entry point salary grade level between their Association, as doctors teaching in the university system, and their counterparts in the hospital system, whose entry point salary ranks higher.
Orhue pointed out that the disparity should be closed, as it discourages doctors from working in the university system, thereby posing a challenge to medical education in Nigeria.
He sought the Minister’s support in pushing for the implementation of agreement with Federal government to extend the retirement age of their category of medical doctors, as well as the implementation of the special pension benefit, as captured in the PENSION ACT 2014, for their category of workers.
Orhue also appealed for the payment of the withheld salary of their members, as they did not take part in the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) strike for which it was withheld.
He also commended the management of the Ministry for their quick response to industrial relations issues.
(FMoL&P Press)
