Some Lagos-based lawyers on Tuesday described improved condition of service as a recipe for enhancing employee productivity in both private and public sectors.
The lawyers said in Lagos that industrial harmony would improve productivity, urging that steps should be taken by both the public and private sectors to strengthen the nation’s workforce.
The lawyers spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Mr Iyke Agwu, an investment lawyer, told NAN that although the national minimum wage had been reviewed, government should create the enabling environment for improved labour relations.
“Good condition of service is fundamental in improving workers’ productivity; there are key areas government at various levels can address.
“When such issues are addressed, workers’ salaries become meaningful,” he said.
Agwu said that workers would fare better if employers would provide robust transport, housing and pension schemes.
“With these schemes in place, workers will be happier and more productive. When housing, loan and transportation are accessible and affordable, salary becomes more useful.
“With a robust pension scheme, workers will be better motivated to put in their best because retirement will look brighter and more assuring,” he said.
Mr Ayotunde Ologe of Synergy Legal Practitioners, Lagos, also said that improvement in workers’ welfare packages would boost their commitment and productivity.
“Employers should explore other ways of enhancing workers welfare; salary cannot be the only way of making workers happy and more productive.
“Healthcare and workable insurance policies are other things employers can deploy to boost the commitment of the workforce to achieve set goals,” he said.
Ologe urged federal and state governments, as major employers of labour, to improve public transport systems to enable workers to have access to cheaper means of transportation. (NAN)
