The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Economic downturn: 60,000 construction workers sacked

    Economic downturn: 60,000 construction workers sacked

    No  fewer than 60,000  construction workers have lost their jobs in the last four months, the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) has said.

    The union’s President, Comrade Amechi Asugwuni, blamed  the development on the country’s economic downturn.

    He described the development as a minus to the country’s quest to create jobs, grow the economy and add value to people’s lives.

    Asugwuni deplored the infrastructural deficit in the country, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to address the problem and other social vices to reduce poverty, joblessness and insecurity.

    “The economy is slowing, and promised infrastructural reforms are taking too long to implement, as over 60,000 of our workers have lost their jobs as a result of infrastructural deficit in the last four months,” he said.

    The union called on the Federal Government to unfold its blueprint on infrastructural reforms to accelerate economic growth.

    Asugwuni said there was no way the government could create jobs without focussing on infrastructural development.

    His words: “We have not seen the blueprint of the government on infrastructure, but we want to urge the Federal and the state government to channel the same effort used in fighting corruption into infrastructural development.

    “We believe that Buhari would re-activate all uncompleted projects. The target of any government will not just be on construction of roads, it would be on the development of every other sector of the country.

    ”As a result of the lapses observed in contract awards and execution by previous governments, we are calling on President Buhari to constitute a monitoring committee to check anti-labour practices by employers and poor execution of contracts.”

    To tackle the nation’s economic problems, the union suggested jobs creation through infrastructural development; re-activation of on-going projects to stimulate employment and extensive rail/road networks construction, among others.

    Asugwuni noted that the Ministry of Labour has not been effective, calling on President Buhari to monitor the ministry.

  • ‘Inconsistent policy threatens 11m non-oil sector jobs’

    Inconsistent policy is threatening the growth of non-oil exports, which employ over 11 million people, Executive Secretary of Organised Private Sector Exporters Association (OPEXA), Jaiyeola Olarewaju, has said.

    He told The Nation that statistics showed that non-oil exports, which are agro-allied, have declined by about 20 per cent.

    The growth in the sector between 2006 and 2013, he said, was being hampered by inconsistencies in the implementation of government policy, which are aggravating the already precarious job situation.

    “Non-oil exports showed remarkable growth from $1 billion in 2006 to about $3 billion in 2013 in foreign exchange. The bulk of non-oil exports which are agro-allied, employ over 11 million Nigerians, directly and indirectly thus boosting the agriculture income.

    “However, this growth is being hampered by inconsistencies in implementing the government policy on non oil sector. For instance, the extant policy on the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and the utilisation of the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates (NDCC) has been put on hold.

    “The recent statistics showed that the sector has declined by 10 per cent to 20 per cent, between 2014 and 2015, aggravating the already precarious forex situation. This is a threat to over 11 million direct and indirect jobs,” he said.

    Olanrewaju pointed out that the huge backlog of unutilised NDCC’s amounting to over N150 billion for over two years has paralysed the exporters’operations, adding that the liquidity crisis led to a fall in demand for agricultural commodities. Nigeria’s image as a reliable international trade partner, he said, has been affected.

    He asked the government to direct the Nigeria Customs Service to accept utilisation of NDCC for duty payment as per extant policy. The meeting of the inter-ministerial committee on EEG, Olanrewaju said, should be reconvened with the Organisation Private Sector (OPS), adding that  the Federal Ministry of Finance should treat the backlog of NDCC in a time-bound manner.

    “We (OPEXA) are convinced that the only way out for the country to disentangle itself from the shackles of mono-economy is to diversify its exports sector.

    “We will like to collaborate with government , all its agencies and other private sector organisation to further boost the expansion of non oil exports,” he said.

    Olanrewaju, former director-general of Textile Manufactures Association of Nigeria (TMAN), said manufacturers would still be in business if the quality of import could be controlled. Local products, he added, are of higher standard than imported ones

    Importers, Olanrewaju said, were fond of bringing low quality materials at ridiculous prices, making it difficult for locally manufactured products to attract patronage.

    “The truth is that we cannot compete because we are at 40 per cent disadvantage in terms of production cost. The foreign manufacturers don’t pay levies, taxes and other tariff to government to bring these items into the country. They only bribe their way. This is despite the fact that cost of production is low in the originating country.

    “All these are making imported textile to be cheaper in the market, and our products cannot compete with the cheap and low quality foreign products. So, they need to check the quality of imported products. If they fail to check smuggling of imported textile materials, this policy will eventually kill the local industry,” he said.

  • TUC lauds Ambode for creating Wealth Ministry

    TUC lauds Ambode for creating Wealth Ministry

    Lagos State chapter of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has  hailed Governor Akinwunmi  Ambode for creating the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Empowerment.

    Its Chairman,  Comrade Akeem Kazeem, said the development would impact the citizens, urging the governor to appoint a personal assistant or consultant on labour matters in his cabinet.

    He said: “Labour is also in support of the on-going restructuring in the state civil service. Round pegs are being put in round holes. Merit and excellence is now recognised and put into consideration in appointments in the state.’’

    Kazeem noted that the advertisement for teachers and surveyors jobs was a positive step to reduce unemployment, urging the Federal and the state governments to embrace the idea.

    “We commend the good work being done in the area of security and the marginal improvement in power supply, particularly in Lagos State. This trend should be sustained and improved upon,’’ he said.

    Also, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has criticised the claim by Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) that government plans to sell off hospitals under the guise of public-private partnerships (PPP).

    The association said the union was afraid of the work place discipline that private sector control would bring to hospitals.

    Dr Joseph Ana, head of NMA’s clinical governance committee, accused JOHESU of backing its members to continue with their bad work ethics.

    He said the private sector’s involvement in health would ensure corporate efficiency, discipline and resources which government alone cannot afford, if it is to deliver on its health promises.

  • Union demands probe of governors over judiciary’s autonomy

    Union demands probe of governors over judiciary’s autonomy

    The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe governors who are against financial autonomy for the judiciary.

    Rising from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting  in Abuja, JUSUN said the governor’s action amounted to floating the constitution and court order.

    According to a communique signed by the President, Comrade Marwan Mustapha Adamu and General Secretary, Isaiah Adetola, corruption can be reduced if judiciary is granted financial autonomy.

    The union said it had raised a committee on the matter.

  • NIOB to train 200,000 artisans

    NIOB to train 200,000 artisans

    The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) said it plans to train 200,000 building workers across the country.

    Its President, Tijjani  Shuaibu made this known  in Abuja, after he was sworn-in.

    He said the introduction of the National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF), which empowers the institute to certify artisans and craftsmen, further lend credence to the programme.

    He said: “With the approval from NBTE, the assessment and certification board, which has just been established is expected to train, assess and certify 200,000 artisans within the next 12 months.

    “Towards this end, skill training centres are to be established in all six geo-political zones while all state chapters will have to be fully equipped and active in the recruitment and basic skills training to prepare their candidates for assessment and certification.”

    “Membership drive for all cadres will have to be stepped up in order that professional members are not overwhelmed by the expected massive influx of competent and certified artisans into the industry,’’ he added.

    Shuaibu, therefore, gave a wakeup call to NIOB members to acquire basic training to supervise these new breed of artisans and benefit from the significant incremental income they can generate as trainers, training providers, assessors and verifiers.

    “To drive this, we have entered into a tripartite collaboration with CORBON and the DFID sponsored construction skills training and empowerment project C-STEmp with its foreign partners to train 120 masters’ trainers, 1000 trainers and assessors,’’ said the NIOB president.

  • Why power supply is stable, by unionist

    Why power supply is stable, by unionist

    Why has power supply  been stable in the past 100 days? It is because of the rains, the President Muhammadu Buhari factor and steady supply of gas to power plants, says National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) General Secretary Comrade Joe Ajaero.

    Ajaero said: “During this time of the year, there is always a slight improvement in power supply because of the rise in water level. That is, the lake goes up and hydro power stations generate more power. Second is the Buhari factor, which has made the operator to sit up and added to that, before now, the gas pipelines were  usually vandalised.

    “We suspect it may be in collaboration with some highly placed individuals who award contracts for the pipelines to be repaired which runs into billions of Naira. If the pipelines are vandalised and the contracts are awarded for repairs, almost every two months, it is big money for them. I think that because of the fear that those who engaged in the business may be caught, for now there is relative peace and the gas pipelines are delivering gas to the power plants.”

    Continuing, he said: ”But we fear the power situation may not be sustainable. Once the rainy season ends and the water level drops, there will be problem. Again, today, all power being generated is being pumped into the system, there is no reserve in case of any breakdown, and there is no reserve in case of maintenance and so on. We ought to have reserve for emergencies. Sadly, we do not have that at the moment.”

    On NUEE’s face-off with Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), Ajaero said though the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police, attempted to wade in, they had nothing to do with industrial relations.

    Ajaero warned that next time, PHEDC may not find it easy, saying: “Though the 18 successor- companies have disdain for union, at least, in others, there is union management relationship. Though we don’t agree on a lot of issues, we meet and discuss,  PHEDC does not want to discuss. The next time we are biting them, we are going to bite them hard. This one is just an example. ‘’

    He continued: “We went to Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) and the management said they were not going to respect the ruling of IAP. They wrote to us a letter that they had appealed to the National Industrial Court, NIC, but, till now, we have not seen the appeal. Nevertheless, the issues now are not the matters presented at IAP. They wanted to use that excuse of being in court to continue to perpetuate anti-labour practices.

    “The arrangement in the power sector makes it easier for us to select a place and deal with the issues there. Before now, it would have been a nationwide action. We have perfected our plan so that there could be power outage in Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa without the action affecting other states. We feel sorry for the residents of these states who experienced power outage during the action, and we pray that we will not be forced to take a similar action again. If we take this action again, the management won’t see anyone to negotiate with. Electricity sector is a unionised sector,” he added.

    Explaining the genesis of the conflict, Ajaero said: “At privatisation, the first six months was a transition period from Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to the new investors. What were transferred to new investors were the files of the workers and grades, only Port Harcourt claimed that the membership of the union was not transferred. Even for the six months that nobody was meant to talk, they did not pay their dues and none of the workers has withdrawn his membership of the union.

  • Wabba warns against fuel subsidy removal

    Wabba warns against fuel subsidy removal

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President  Comrade Ayuba Wabba has warned against fuel subsidy removal as a pre-condition for investment in the downstream oil sector.

    He told The Nation that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu is not on the same page with President Muhannadu Buhari on the reforms in the oil and gas sector.

    He said the ongoing campaign of the NNPC boss for the removal of fuel subsidy does not align with the presidents’vision.

    “We are surprised that Dr. Kachikwu has failed to read the lips of his principal, who has consistently said he is not convinced that the vast majority of poor Nigerians can afford to bear the effect of the removal of the so-called subsidy on petrol.

    ”For us, the NNPC boss has his job clearly cut out for him. If he cannot assist Mr. President and the country in ensuring that our four refineries start working at optimum capacity within the shortest possible time; if he cannot come up with a do-able plan for the Buhari Presidency to establish new refineries to cater for the shortfall in our domestic petroleum products needs; if he cannot articulate a plan for us to establish refineries within and outside our immediate borders that will be refining our crude oil for export, adding value, creating jobs and making more revenue for the country, then he is the wrong man at this point in time to man the NNPC.

    “It is quite clear, and we have said this times without number, that all those campaigning for the withdrawal of fuel subsidy as a pre-condition for investment in the downstream sector of the oil industry are not friends of our country, and indeed the masses of our people.They must be kept at arm’s length,” Wabba said.

    The NLC helmsman argued that removing fuel subsidy tantamount to increasing the suffering of the average wage earner and the majority of Nigerians that do not earn any wages at all.

    “We will continue to resolutely oppose any such plan, and we will mobilise Nigerians in their millions to join us in this struggle,”he added.

  • Use recovered funds to create jobs, Fed Govt told

    Use recovered funds to create jobs, Fed Govt told

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to use part of the funds recovered from looters for job creation to  bridge the unemployment gap.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliates were also asked to protect workers against  retrenchment.

    These were views expressed at a retreat by the NLC in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

    The NLC resolved to review its position presented at the 2009 Tripartite National Employment Summit organised by the Federal Government with technical support from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

    A communiqué signed by NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary, Comrade Peter Ozo-Esson, said Labour’s position should reflect the final report of the summit, which stated that four to five million jobs would be created yearly between then and 2020; and the campaign promise of the APC government to create three million jobs yearly.

    It reads: “The retreat resolved to support the determination of the current leadership of congress under Comrade Ayuba Wabba to build a firm coalition of Nigerians for good governance. In this direction, the retreat endorsed the decision of the national leadership of congress to declare September 10, 2015 as a Day of Solidarity Protest Action against the incidences of escalating corruption in our public life, as well as protest against the high cost of governance in this country.

    “The retreat further resolved to call on all stakeholders in the Nigerian project to join the NLC and its allies to massively turn out on this day, and send a clear message to our political elite that Nigerians would not continue to allow very few greedy and unpatriotic members of the ruling elite to continue with the high level of corruption in our country, as well as the unsustainable high cost of governance, with a huge amount of our earnings going to pay the wages and allowances of political office holders, to the detriment of developmental projects, and developmental aspirations of the vast majority of our citizens.”

  • Govt’s textile revival effort genuine, says Aremu

    Govt’s textile revival effort genuine, says Aremu

    Labour is upbeat about the Muhammadu Buhari administrations plan to revive the textile industry.

    It was part of its campaign, National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) Secretary-General  Issa Aremu has noted.

    Speaking at the 27th Annual National Education Conference in Kaduna, organised by NUTGTWN,  Comrade Aremu, said: “Our chosen theme this year is to assist Buhari’s administration to consolidate on the few gains of the past, avoid policy mistakes of the past and above all, revive all closed factories where past governments, in spite of their efforts, could not stop the free fall.”

    Aremu quoted Buhari as saying:”I have made a promise to Nigerians that jobs will be created as part of efforts to revive the economy and that promise will be fulfilled. We will move as fast as we can to resuscitate the textile and mining industries, and improve production in our agricultural sector. We cannot allow industries and factories to close down. Instead, we should be making every effort to ensure that we re-open the closed ones and attract new ones to reduce unemployment.”

    He also urged President Buhari to ensure that smuggling and counterfeiting of textile materials are  halted, adding that if such socio-economic activities are allowed to thrive, they would rub on his good image.

    Aremu said: “We were encouraged during Gen Buhari’s campaign that he has resolved to revive textile and garment industry as part of his party’s overall strategy to re-industrialise the county and create mass employment for the millions of unemployed.

    “We recall that in the 70s and up to early 80s, (when General Buhari and his patriotic team were in power) Nigeria was the largest producer of different range of textile, garment and carpet products surpassed in production only by Egypt and South Africa. We are willing to partner with his administration to reinvent this sector, which has propelled newly industrialised countries in recent times such as China, India, Balgadesh and Indonesia among others.

    He said 26 out of the 36 states grow cotton of both long and short stable lengths; in addition as an oil-producing country, Nigeria boasts of a large polyester base.

    “Combined with the 170 million population rich in fashion and clothing and huge labour force of some 70 million potential workers, Nigeria has the potential of producing 1.2 billion meters of cloth per year. When we factor the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) sub-regional market, Nigeria is a natural textile destination point in the world.

    “The major threat to the realisation of the great potential of Nigeria in textile production is high influx of counterfeit and smuggled goods. The real acid test of Gen Buhari’s incoming administration’s anti-corruption is how he frontally fight smuggling.

    “Over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s huge market size is dominated by smuggled and counterfeit goods, killing local companies in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Guzau, Aba and Port Harcourt, and millions of direct and indirect associated local jobs. In addition, smuggling denies the government the much needed revenue in unpaid custom duties. While private sector is the engine of growth, it is the government that must “oil” this engine, failing which it will crash as it has with the textile industry,” Aremu said.

    He said nations want to employ their youths, produce goods and services, overcome poverty and under-development. To this extent, he said every nation protects its own industry, whether the industry is in ‘infancy’ or ‘adulthood’, adding that Nigeria cannot be different under Gen Buhari’s administration, which has commendably raised expectations to fight unemployment and grow the economy.