Minister of Labour and Employment Dr. Chris Ngige has attributed most industrial disputes in ministries, departments and agencies to disparity in wages paid to workers.
The minister spoke at the 3rd National Productivity Summit, organised by the National Productivity Centre in Abuja.
He said unless the disparity in civil service was addressed, industrial disputes would continue.
Ngige hinted that there might likely be wage adjustments, as the government intensified efforts to streamline wages through the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
He urged the centre to come up with how the government could bridge the wage gap in the public sector.
The minister said: “A lot of industrial disputes you see today are manifestation of wage disparity. Somebody in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is earning times 10, somebody in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is earning times 12 of the person in the civil service.
“They have the same degree. The man in the civil service may be better than the man in the parastatals we are talking about. These are issues of productivity and we can’t pretend they don’t exist. If we pretend they don’t exist, we are lying to ourselves.”
He said mobilisation and effective use of national resources were strategic to bringing about increased productivity, rapid economic growth and sustainable development.
Ngige said rising debt and volatile capital flows had left many economies, including Nigeria, floating between “incipient recoveries and financial instability.”
He said: “Right now, whether we like it or not, Nigeria is in dire straight. Part of the reason we are in this dire straight is that we didn’t diversify our economy. We didn’t take productivity seriously; we didn’t look at the indices that are necessary.
“Mobilising domestic resources for productive investment is a long-standing challenge for most developing countries like ours.
“Weak demand, rising debt and volatile capital flows have left many economies oscillating between incipient recoveries and financial instability. These economic challenges have pushed inequality higher, retarding growth and development.
“However, there are compelling reasons why more emphasis should be given to domestic resource mobilisation. It is vital to increased productivity, employment and revenue generation, wealth creation and poverty reduction.”
“Through efficient and effective mobilisation and management of resources, countries accelerate their economic growth by raising and spending their funds for public goods and essential services such as schools, hospitals, clean water, electricity and roads.
“For our country to attain sustainable development, it is critical to identify, mobilise and manage these resources. That is the only way our resources can fully translate to increased productivity.”
The Director General of the National Productivity Centre, Kashim Akor, called for collaboration to move Nigeria to the next level of development and sustain it.
