Babalola cautions labour over incessant strike

A frontline legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has condemned incessant industrial action to settle labour disputes between government and workers.

Babalola who spoke in Ado Ekiti while performing the foundation laying ceremony of “Nurses House “at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, (EKSUTH), Ado Ekiti, said workers must learn to be moderate and realistic in their agitation.

He, however, called on all employers of labour, especially the three tiers of government to evolve measures capable of reducing causes of such trade disputes with their staff by giving them whatever are their legitimate benefits in record time.

He said the strike option, as an instrument aimed at making employers to accede to the demands of employees was supposed to be sparingly used and not the other way round.

He also noted that medical doctors and nurses are not expected to go on strike, considering the fact that their job is centered on saving lives.

The uncontrolled use of strike in the country, according to him was fast alluding to the impression that Nigeria was not ripe for independence.

“We abuse everything in Nigeria including strike, the way strike is often applied in this country is far from the way it is carried out in places like Europe, it is like we are not ripe for independence.

“Workers hardly go on strike in Europe, no matter what, and when there is the need to do so, such strike action does not last more than two hours before they return to their work”, he said.

The legal luminary urged Nigerian workers, especially nurses to embrace habit of self-development by pursuing on-the-job higher degrees to enhance their competence and further their future job opportunities.

Babalola who narrated how he suffered as a child of poor parents to get himself educated up to university level through correspondence studies, blamed lack of progress and outstanding success among most Nigerian youths of today on their “visionless and missionless lifestyle”.

Babalola promised to see to the early completion of the Nurses building project despite the current economic recession in the country.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of the EKSUTH Unit of Nurses and Midwives Association, Mrs. Olufunke Adetoye said the “Nurses Building” to be named after Afe Babalola was in recognition of his service to humanity, promotion of education as well as philanthropic activities all over Nigeria.

She said when completed, the building, which will have e-library, crèche and mini mart, would serve as the secretariat of the association and meeting place for congress, workshops and seminars.