Workers under the aegis of the Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSAN) have decried the rate of job loss in the chemical sector through redundancy.
The association’s President, Mr Segun David, who raised the alarm in a statement on Monday, also lamented the challenges faced by Nigerian workers amidst the pandemic.
“The present time is a difficult time for Nigerian workers who have to deal with the challenges of job loss, reduced salaries and zero appraisals at workplaces.
“It is an open secret that the economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic cut across all facets of life,” he said.
The labour leader urged entrepreneurs to desist from making workers “sacrificial lambs’’ whenever there was a need to cut cost in an economic crisis or difficulties.
READ ALSO: Buhari is good but Kleptocrats surrounding him are Nigeria’s problems – Sen Ndume
According to him, workers in the sector sacrificed a lot during the COVID-19 lockdown to ensure survival and continuous running of some of their companies.
“We, therefore, reject being used as a scapegoat whenever management is contemplating on cost-cutting measures,” he said.
David said the union would devise ways of solving challenges presently confronting the sector.
He said, however, that there was a need for the stakeholders including management and staff, to engage in meaningful deliberations that would improve input and output capacity without job losses.
“The advent of coronavirus has reminded all the importance of taking one’s health seriously; thus, employers of labour should put measures in place to make work conducive for the entire workers.
“Workers should not always bear the brunt when there is a shortfall in finances; collaborative engagements can help us to strategise for a better future for our companies,” he said.
The labour leader also urged the government to be prompt in attending to the voices of the people and take responsibility for the many challenges facing the country.
Also, General Manager, Human Asset Management, Dangote Cement, Mr Femi Adekunle, said that redundancy was not an easy way out for the company as it valued workers seriously.
Adekunle said: “Workers are our most essential part as they are the golden hen that lays the golden eggs and without them, there would not be any production neither can a company survive.
“But, in a situation where the company’s existence is threatened due to one problem or the other, there is nothing that a company can do than to cut down on staff to survive,’’ he said.’’