Minister Pledges To Tackle Unemployment

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has said that the Ministry’s 2012 budget is tailored towards achieving Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda, especially in the area of employment generation and industrial peace and harmony.

The minister, who made this known during the presentation of his Ministry’s 2012 budget before the Senate Committee on Employment Labour and Productivity at the National Assembly in Abuja, however, urged Nigerians to support the Jonathan administration to stamp out unemployment in the country.

“These projects and programmes were carefully selected to enable the ministry vigorously pursue its mandate and at the same time contribute towards the attainment of Mr. President’s Transformation Agenda,” Wogu affirmed.

While highlighting the achievements of the ministry in the year 2011, Wogu emphasized that despite the meager capital fund at his disposal the Ministry was able to achieve the following among others:

“Successful intervention in about 78 trade disputes, production of guideline and regulation on employment of contract staff in the oil and gas sector, licensed 161 Employment Agencies (PEAs) through the issuance of Recruiters Licenses, graduated 2,860 from the ministry’s skills upgrading centres, developed a draft National Labour Migration Policy with technical support from ILO and International Organization for Migration”.

Chief Wogu prayed the Committee to restructure the Ministry’s budget within the approved envelope to accommodate Skill Development and Certification projects with a view to fill the obvious skill gap in the Country in the face of high level of unemployed youths in the country.

“Considering the need to fill the apparent skill gaps in the country and provide the very many unemployed youths in the country with the requisite capacity for economic empowerment, I pray that the ministry’s budget be restructured within the approved capital envelope which now accommodates skill development and certification projects,” he said.

The minister also prayed the members of the committee to assist in facilitating speedy passage of the four outstanding labour bills before the National Assembly, namely Labour Standard Bill, Collective Labour Relations Bill, Labour Institutions Bill, and Occupational Safety and Health Bill.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity, Sen. Wilson Ake joined other committee members to extol the virtues of? the minister for his result-oriented effort at ensuring industrial peace and harmony in the country; in particular, the manner with which the industrial impasse with Labour over the deregulation policy of the federal government was resolved and promised the support of the National Assembly to the ministry towards achieving its aspiration.?