1 month ago
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The Management of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has reaffirmed that extant instrumentality prohibits concern strikes and lockouts successful the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) for 10 years.
Managing Director of the Authority, Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, made the connection successful Abuja, pursuing predominant and excessive outer national infiltrations that person destabilised the creaseless operations of Dangote Refinery successful Ibeju-Lekki country successful Lagos State.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) unopen down captious lipid and state facilities past week implicit allegations that Dangote Refinery had sacked 800 workers who joined the union.
However, the Dangote Refinery held that it lone sacked a fewer workers who were allegedly sabotaging the facility, claiming this was portion of the company’s reorganisation.
In a connection by the Head, Corporate Communications, NEPZA, Martins Odeh, the NEPZA brag stated that the caller escalation of the commercialized quality betwixt the portion and the PENGASSAN, peculiarly fixed the refinery’s presumption arsenic a Free Trade Zone, was worrisome.
He added that the commercialized national should person directed its concerns done NEPZA, arsenic required by law, arsenic the Authority operates a One-Stop-Shop administrative exemplary to fast-track processes.
“Section 18(5) of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones (NEPZA) Act provides that ‘there shall beryllium nary strikes oregon lock-outs for a play of 10 years’ pursuing the commencement of operations wrong a Zone, and the Authority shall resoluteness immoderate commercialized quality arising wrong a Zone,’’ helium said.
According to him, the the ineligible proviso imposes a 10-year prohibition connected strikes and lockouts wrong Free Zones portion inactive allowing workers to articulation oregon signifier commercialized unions and prosecute successful corporate bargaining.
“We are pleased that the struggle has been de-escalated. Dangote Refinery is simply a declared FTZ that continues to payment from taxation incentives and customs work waivers to enactment the economy, and NEPZA regulates it.
“The Free Trade Zone strategy successful Nigeria is somewhat implicit 30 years old, and we ought to beryllium acquainted with the strategy and the planetary rules that usher the cognition of this satellite economical model, which aims to accelerate economical improvement and industrialisation.
“The NEPZA Act requires us, on with each instruments of the firm authorities strategy wrong the industry, authorities agencies, and applicable sectoral and specialised bodies, to honour the Authority’s ‘one-stop-shop’ presumption successful overseeing the scheme,’’ Dr. Ogunyemi said.
Dr. Ogunyemi further reiterated that commercialized disputes originating wrong a portion indispensable beryllium referred to the Zone Authority for resolution, adding, however, that this regularisation applied exclusively wrong the Free Trade Zones and did not widen to the broader Nigerian economy.
The NEPZA Chief Executive besides pointed retired that Section 24(1) restricts excessive enactment betwixt outer laws and the cognition of the scheme, arsenic laws applicable wrong the customs territory tin lone beryllium operational wrong Free Zones to the grade that they are not inconsistent with the NEPZA Act.
“Consequently, successful cases of struggle betwixt the Trade Unions Act (TUA) oregon Trade Disputes Act (TDA) and Section 18(5), the provisions of Section 18(5) instrumentality precedence arsenic the much circumstantial regularisation governing Free Zones,” helium stated.
He, therefore, expressed the Authority’s beardown appreciation for the swift enactment taken by President Bola Tinubu to de-escalate the dispute, which was a wide objection of safeguarding the nationalist asset.
Dr. Ogunyemi added that labour issues often pave the mode to industrialisation. “It is simply a motion of President BAT’s maturing ideology that this has been resolved rapidly without deleterious effects connected our economy,” helium stated.
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