The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his government’s commitment to the welfare of workers in the State has led to the harmonious working relationship between the labour unions in the State and the government, ensuring improved productivity and employees’ job satisfaction.

Obaseki, who spoke while addressing journalists in Benin City, said workers are the most important factor of production and their well-being is necessary in ensuring optimal productivity and service delivery.

He said, “As a government, honestly, we do not understand why there should be government-labour tension. Labour is a factor of production because they provide labour, the human capacity for production and it has to be paid for.

“Labour is not free, which is why as a government, we focused on issues that will enhance the productivity of the workers in government.

“We understand that if the environment in which you work is not conducive enough, it cannot be productive. If the system, the processes, and the procedure that you worked with are not clear and efficient, the workers cannot be productive and above all, if they do not network into a modern age, using digital technology to enhance their work, they cannot be globally competitive.

“Lastly, if you do not train them, if you do not build their capacity, you do not expect them to perform magic; they can only give you what they have.”

Obaseki continued, “So, those have been the plans of our reforms in Edo. One of the key promises we made was that we are going to build and rebuild our institutions, because we will come and go, but our institutions will remain and it is these institutions that will help us transit one generation to another.

“That is why it is important that we invest in the people who will manage, maintain and sustain these institutions, who are our workers. That is why we don't have that labour-government tension in Edo State, because we expect that we will build the best quality public Service on the continent. That is our goal and I believe in few weeks time, all the heads of service from the sub-region, the BRACED States, will come to Edo, being one of the first in a series of peer review and exchanges that we will be conducting.”

He added, “That will make sure that we are all seeing things from the same perspective, because if the government doesn't work, if the institutions of government don’t work, then we are not going to move an inch in terms of development and prosperity.”