Only Adequate Funding For Labour Ministry Can Stop Strike – Lalong Tells Senators

The Minister of Labour, Employment, Simon Lalong, has said the only way to stop incessant industrial actions and other labour disputes by workers in the country is adequate funding for the ministry.

Lalong made this assertion when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment on Friday to defend the ministry’s 2024 budget proposals.

Osun Defender reports that the sum of N10billion has been allocated to the ministry as budget for 2024

The Minister noted that the ministry’s duties were principally to create jobs, promote productivity and address workers’ welfare.

He said having sufficient funds to work was the only way he could succeed in the job.

According to him, strikes and other industrial disputes will be a thing of the past once there is adequate funding to tackle all labour-related issues.

Lalong said: “If the ministry is well-funded, there will be no strikes in Nigeria. There were so many strikes ongoing during the budget preparation, and they mostly had to do with funding issues.

“For instance, one of the parastatals under the ministry, the Michael Imodu National Institute for Labour Studies, has a budget of N1.4billion for 2024 operations.

“The breakdown includes N785 million for personnel cost and N332 million for overhead expenses,” he said.