Economy can’t exit recession without production, says steel workers union

The Steel and Engineering Workers’ Union of Nigeria, (SEWUN) has said any economy that does not engage in the production of goods and services cannot exit recession.

The union said this following the recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) the nation’s economy had exited recession as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

SEWUN also raised the alarm over the closure of 272 factories and the disengagement of no fewer than 3,000 since 2016.

It National President, Elijah Adigun, disclosed this at the union’s annual industrial relations conference and workshop in Lagos.

Adigun said since governments do not protect local industries enough, workers lose their jobs and the “imported inflation” reduces consumers’ purchasing power, such economy will slide into recession.

“The economy needs a robust production base to exit the recession. Our deficiencies have to do with inconsistencies, policies summersault and inefficiency as those manning various sectors of our economy are operating outside their field of expertise.

“Nigeria needs a good technocrats to drive the economy out of the ocean of recession,” he said.

He noted that the challenges of operating in a country’s economy context, while being conscious of global standards and trends, informed the union’s choice of Employing Information Technology (IT) for Increased Effectiveness in a Globalised Economy as the theme for this year’s workshop.