NLC: Industrial Action Will Drive Manufacturing Sector Into Recession—MAN DG

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said that any strike attempt by the Nigerian Labour Congress will drive the manufacturing sector into recession.

The Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi, also said the operating environment has been harsh, a development that is driving consumer apathy to a 30-year high.

Ajayi made the disclosure in an interview monitored by THE WHISTLER on Tuesday.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliate unions ended their meeting with the government in a deadlock after the government negotiating team led by Simon Lalong, Minister of Labour and Employment, failed to address the concerns of the NLC.

The MAN DG said, “This is very worrisome and my hope is that it (NLC strike) should not just happen because the economy cannot afford any strike.

“It is even an indefinite strike and coming from where we are since the beginning of the year, the economy has witnessed unprecedented hiccups. We have the naira transition; we have had the floating of the exchange rate and the removal of fuel subsidy.”

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed the real GDP growth of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector stood at 2.2 percent in the second quarter of 2023 which is the lowest since Q2 2020.

Aji said, “Adding a strike at this time is not good for anyone not even the manufacturing sector that for more than 30 years, we have never witnessed this kind of consumer apathy that we are seeing.

“The average Nigerian’s disposable income has dramatically dwindled. We are having a situation where the influx of foreign goods competes unfairly with our products massively.

“We have seen quite a number of disruptions. So, the manufacturing sector will certainly go into recession if we have any strike that is for an indefinite period or a very long time.”