Former governor of Abia, Dr Orji Kalu, has urged public and private establishments in the county to accord high priority to the welfare of workers in their various organisations.
Kalu made the appeal in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, to commemorate the 2018 Workers’ Day.
In the statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, Kalu said that all tiers of government must provide conducive working environment to enable workers demonstrate their intellectual capacity.
While acknowledging the contributions of Nigerian workers to nation building, Kalu said that no nation can develop without a vibrant labour force.
He said: “Nigeria is blessed with enormous human capital.
“The labour force is being celebrated across the globe owing to the key role they play in national development.
“The demography of Nigeria is such that if workers are motivated to work aggressively, the nation will quickly take its rightful place in the comity of nations.
“As an employer of labour, I do understand the pains of workers and as such, it is important for both employers and employees to always reach a compromise on work hours, wage and salaries, insurance and other benefits for workers.”
He also emphasised the need to periodically review the labour laws with a view to accommodate emerging trends.
Kalu said: “The Nigerian labour laws must be periodically reviewed to accommodate new developments across the globe.
“While I urge government at all levels to protect the interests of workers, may I also task the labour force to increase productivity.
“Only a vibrant labour force will take Nigeria to its desired level.”
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