The Federal Government yesterday pleaded with investors in the private sector against sacking workers at the moment, noting that the nation’s economy is in a critical stage.
This was as the government observed that the sack of any employee will have serious negative effect not just on the retrenched employee but on the larger economy.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige disclosed this at the investiture ceremony of Engr. Otis Anyaeji as the 30th President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in Abuja.
Represented at the event by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. James Ocholi, Ngige said the role of engineers in job creation could not be over-emphasised, adding that the provision of employment was one of the cardinal objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He called on the large turnout of private sector operators at the gathering to always seek ways of managing their workforce without necessarily increasing the number of unemployed persons in Nigeria through the dismissal of staff.
According to him, “Engineers are too critical to the nation and this is because they create jobs. We all know that one of the President’s key priorities is job creation. But without engineers this cannot be achieved. So engineers are of great significance to our country, especially with respect to job creation.
“I think it is important to state that we should not lay off staff at this critical stage, because if we do, we will be creating more problems. You should try to micro-manage and retain the staff that you have now, because no matter how much we accommodate, government alone cannot be the largest employer of labour. The largest employer of labour is, of course, the private sector.”
Comments