The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • MWUN bemoans NLC leadership crisis

    MWUN bemoans NLC leadership crisis

    The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has bemoaned the leadership crisis rocking the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) following disagreement over the outcome of the March 12, 2015 rescheduled delegates elections in Abuja.

    The union in a statement by its President-General, Comrade Emmanuel Tony Nted, said it is unacceptable and very shameful that the desperation of some individuals had reduced the NLC to a laughing stock both locally and internationally.

    The union said that it had been vindicated, pointing out that its President-General on the eve of the re-scheduled election, withdrew his candidacy from the NLC presidential race because the election had been reduced to ethnic, tribal and sectional contest by those who wished the labour movement no good.

    The union pledged its neutrality in the NLC leadership crisis, stating that the union leadership is not going to take side with any of the factions but remain neutral until the crisis is resolved.

    According to a statement from the union, the organised labour movement has today been taken over by thugs and individuals who do not merit to be addressed as comrades, stressing that there were allegations of manipulations of the electoral process to favour some individuals yet the leadership of the congress are just going about as if nothing happened.

    The statement added that these shameful acts were things not associated with labour in general and NLC in particular. It therefore, queried the moral justification of the organised labour movement in the country to criticise politicians when they fail to organise credible, free and fair elections.

    The Maritime workers alleged that the labour movement now have thugs and individuals parading themselves as labour leaders and the NLC leadership, stressing that this is very sad, unfortunate and shameful.

    The union urged well meaning stakeholders who meant well for the labour movement to wade into the crisis with a view to resolving it.

  • Association urges NASS to pass local content bill

    Association urges NASS to pass local content bill

    The Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA) has called on the National Assembly (NASS) to take all the necessary steps to fast tract the deliberations on the Local Content Bill to ensure that the policy is established as a Local Content Act in the construction industry

    CCESSA’s National President, Comrade (Dr.) Augustine Etafo made the declaration in Lagos while interacting with newsmen on the dangers of government refusal to intervene in the challenges facing construction workers in the country

    He said: “We call on the NASS to take all the necessary steps to fast track the deliberations on the local content bill to ensure that the policy is established as a local content act in the construction industry to save the industry from collapse”

    “We also call on the federal, state and local governments to start as a matter of urgency, to address the unemployment needs of the youths”.

    According to Etafo, the association has specifically looked at youth unemployment, high level of corruption that create a wide gap between the rich and the poor, and poor infrastructural facilities as some of the key challenges which the government must pay attention to in order to address the security challenges in the country.

    While identifying policies that would help to boost the level of economic activities in the construction sector as well as necessary changes to be effected to ensure job creation and also minimize brain drain in the industry, he called on the three tiers of government to intensity effort in the creation of job for the teeming youths who are graduating from the higher institutions on yearly basis.

  • Don’t dabble into labour’s affairs, NLC faction warns govt

    The aggrieved faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the new Minister of Labour and Productivity not to hastily dabble into the internal affairs of trade union movement.

    Factional President of the NLC, Comrade Joe  Ajero urged the ministry to also respect the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 87 and 98 with respect to the rights of workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

    “The Central Working Committee (CWC) re-affirms the commitment of the NLC to defend the rights of workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining as enshrined in our constitution and labour laws and explicitly reaffirms the commitment to uphold ILO convention 87 and 98,” Ajaero said.

    The group also warned the Federal Government over plans to lay off workers in the public sector, adding that this will deepen the unemployment crisis.

    His said: “The CWC in session noted the moves by the Federal Government to commence the implementation of the Orosanye Report on merger of Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    “Labour would resist an attempt to hide under the implementation of a controversial committee report to lay off workers in the public sector and deepen unemployment crisis. We also observe that some states as well as some federal agencies own salaries for many months. Delayed payment of salaries is wage theft and is unacceptable.”

    Ajaero said the devaluation of the naira has impacted negatively on local manufacturing because many factories depend on imported inputs, leading to increased prices of goods and services.

    “We want to express our deep concern about the unending and free fall of the naira against international currencies and the implications for industrial production, job security and the disposable income of workers,” he said.

    The unionist pointed out that the growth and development of the real sector and increased value addition in manufacturing are critical for creation of mass decent jobs, elimination of poverty and for building a virile and sustainable economy.

  • Fashola inaugurates governing council for PSSDC

    Fashola inaugurates governing council for PSSDC

    The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has inaugurated a nine-member Governing Council for the Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC).

    At the inauguration ceremony in his office, Fashola said the ultimate dream was to see the institution become the Lagos School of Government in the mould of the Kennedy School of Government in the United States and other such schools across the world.

    The Council, headed by a former Head, Lagos State Civil Service, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, has other members drawn from both the public and private sectors, including Mr. Abiola Popoola, the immediate past president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, Mrs. Regina Olubunmi Fabamwo, Director-General of PSSDC, Mr. Adeshina Mohammed Odeyemi, Mrs. Kikelomo Morenike Sanyaolu, Mrs. Olubusola Ajibola Abidakun, Mrs. Adetokunbo Ogabi, Prof Hakeem Fashina-Bombata and Mr. Idowu Oladipupo John. The Council has three years tenure.

    Fashola said the inauguration was coming at a time when there was urgent need for outstanding leadership not only in Nigeria, but across the globe in order to make human civilisation live up to its expectation and achieve its full possibilities.

    Fashola, who also expressed delight that the inauguration was coming so close to the end of his tenure, added that his pleasure arose from the fact that he could look back and say his administration was leaving behind not just a strong public service but also a very strong and respected Public Service Training Institution.

    He thanked the initiators of the institution which he described as “a far-sighted vision” adding that although it is still work in progress, government had over the last few years committed a lot of resources and time “in first upgrading the infrastructure of the school so that it is an environment that is conducive to learning which has all the tools”.

    He noted that the institution was already playing the role of a Lagos School of Government “in a much understated way” pointing out that aside the institution being the place where the state’s teachers now receive their annual courses, it was the place where the government converted graduates into volunteer English, Mathematics and science teachers and sent them to the state’s secondary schools to help train students in those subjects.

    He said: “This is also where the reformed programmes for the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) into the Lagos Law Enforcement cadre of the public service took place.”

    Fashola added that a lot of the resources that have been generated by government has been deposited in the same institution where, according to him, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the state’s revenue generation formula were developed.

    According to him, the government is happy to invest resources into the institution through which he said government is now developing the leadership qualities of the Nigerian people within the Nigerian territory instead of sending them overseas.

    He added that he has been receiving letters from governments within and outside Nigeria asking for his government to send resource persons to share the knowledge with them.

    Fashola expressed confidence that the ultimate dream would be achieved, saying: “This is because in the men and women that we have chosen, we have a lot of confidence, there is a lot of experience on one hand, there is a lot of youthfulness on the other side and there is a rich mix also of private and public sector experience going into the governing school.”

  • ITF trains 74,000 youths in technical, vocational skills

    ITF trains 74,000 youths in technical, vocational skills

    • Partners OPS

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has trained 74,000 young Nigerians  in different technical and vocational trades, its Director-General, Dr. Juliet Chukkas – Onaeko, has said.

    Speaking during a stakeholders’ engagement forum in Lagos on Zero Oil Policy and Economic Growth: The ITF Perspective, she said the programme was ongoing.

    She appealed to stakeholders for support and collaborate to consolidate on the ongoing training programmes in the different sectors of the economy.

    She said: “So far, 74, 000 young Nigerians have been trained in different technical and vocational trade areas. Most of the trainees secured employment immediately on  completion of their training, while a large number of them have established businesses of their own and are doing well.”

    Mrs. Chukkas–Onaeko said the technical skills development programme is being run using facilities of employers in different parts of the country and ITF Skills Training Centres, adding that over 2,300 trainees have so far benefitted from this partnership.

    She also said ITF has entered into technical collaboration with Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN) for the training of craftsmen and artisans in the construction industry.

    She said the Federal Government has introduced various policies to reform the economy in order to place it on sustainable economic growth and stability.

    She said: “As a proactive organisation, we have acquired four mobile workshops to complement our existing industrial skills training centres. These will increase accessibility to skills training in all nooks and crannies of the country and ensure that our young men and women acquire relevant skills to fit into existing and new jobs.

    “The ITF has also refocused its training programme to equip two million youths annually with employable and life skills required for self and paid employment. We hope that the outcome will be drastic reduction in unemployment and restiveness across the country.”

    The ITF boss said most of the trainees secures employment immediately after completion of their training, while large number of them have established businesses on their own and are doing well. “This laudable programme is on-going and we need your support and collaboration to strengthen and consolidate it,” she said.

    Mrs. Chukkas – Onaeko said ITF is also in partnership with Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) for the training of young Nigerians in various skills, adding that the Technical Skill Development Programme (TSDP) is being run using facilities of employers in different parts of the country and ITF’s skills training centre.

    According to her, the seminar is expected to attend to all concerns.  “We shall highlight the key activities of ITF;  the collaborations we have made over the years and the various reforms we are putting in place to support the Federal Government policy to transit from oil to other sectors,” she said.

    Mrs. Chukkas – Onaeko, said in line with trends in the international community, the Federal Government has introduced various policies to reform the economy and place it on a sustainable economic growth and stability.

    Of particular importance was the launch of the Transformation Agenda, which emphasised growth in manufacturing, agriculture, power, solid minerals, tourism, road infrastructure and other critical sectors of the economy. The follow up launch of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) policies were to ensure that our quantitative advantage was turned to productive gains.

    She said the NIPR focuses on economic and revenue diversification in industrial sectors where Nigeria has comparative advantage, adding that supporting structures such as infrastructure, skills, finance, investment climate, innovation, standards and local patronage are being initiated to ensure sustainability.

  • Govt receives NLC factional group

    The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya and the Director-General, Department of State Security (DSS), Mr. Ita Ekpeyong, have endorsed the election that produced the Comrade Ayuba Wabba-led Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), saying the process was free and fair.

    NLC held its election with Wabba beating his sole challenger, Joe Ajaero to emerge as president.

    Both Ikenya and Ekpeyong expressed confidence in Wabba’s emergence when the NLC paid them separate courtesy visits in their offices in Abuja.

    Ikenya said: “For us in the Ministry, we want to tell you that you won your election. Actually, our Ministry also supervised it. We have not heard and we have not got any letter from anywhere in respect of any other NLC and it was in the knowledge of every Nigerian that there was an election here in Abuja and our Ministry participated in it.”

    Ekpeyong, who congratulated Wabba, said: “The election was free, the election was very fair and it was in a very conducive environment that you were elected. We want to really collaborate and partner with you. That you said you were going to work with the provisions of the constitution of the NLC cannot be what is not tenable; so, we are going to hold you to that so that at any point in time, you should always follow the due process and the law.”

    He appealed to the NLC to join in the fight against terrorism and other crimes in the country, urging Wabba to ensure that his actions are guided by the interest of workers.

  • Intrigues as new NLC president emerges

    Intrigues as new NLC president emerges

    The man Wabba

    Comrade Aliyu Wabba is a former president of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria(MHWUN).
    He was born October 22, 1968. A native of Askira Uba Local Government in Borno State, he attended the School of Health Technology, Maiduguri and the Imo state University.
    He also underwent several courses at the Beeshiba Institute of Peace and Development, Israel, Royal Institute of Public Administrators, London, Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA and National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru- Jos.

    The botched 11th Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was finally concluded last Saturday at the Eagle Square, with Comrade Ayuba Wabba emerging as President.

    Three groups slugged it out in the election. They are the Restoration Group, led by General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and a presidential candidate in the election, Joe Ajaero; Redemption Group, led by the new president and immediate past Treasurer of the Congress, Wabba; NLC Secretariat, made up of mostly members who conducted the election.

    The election was however, not devoid of intrigues. For instance, the restoration group, led by Comrade Ajaero alleged that what was supposed to be a single item agenda and therefore not expected to last for more than one day, sadly, lasted for two days.

    According to him, just like the previous failed election, there was an unacceptable disregard for rules and regulations in the election that produced the new president. “Rules were changed midway into the elections. It took two working days for an election fixed for only one day to count the votes of 3,119 delegates from the 43 industrial unions affiliated to the Congress. Due to poor electoral arrangement, sorting of ballot papers turned to be cumbersome and open to manipulations and distortions with non-members of the Credential Committee dictating the patterns of counting,” he said.

    Ajaero and his group also alleged that there was an unacceptable direct involvement of former NLC President, Abdulwaheed Omar in the election, particularly in the sorting and counting of votes well after the dissolution of the former National Administrative Council (NAC) he headed against the best practices of the past.

    The group was said to have issued invitations immediately to the 23 affiliates allegedly sympathetic to the decision to reject the result for a special delegates’ conference in Lagos this weekend to elect a parallel executive.

    The group said they have resolved to forge ahead under the banner of NLC and in line with the provision of the NLC Constitution. “New members of the national administrative council of NLC will be elected at the Special Delegates Conference as it was done in the past credible delegates’ conferences of NLC. A Conference Organising Committee has therefore been duly constituted,” the group added.

    But, the outgoing national executive, led by Omar, in a statement distanced itself from such an action, saying it is aimed at destabilising the Congress.

    The statement signed by the General Secretary, Peter Ozo-Eson, warned those he called “group of individuals driven by inordinate ambition and vainglory” to desist from being used as agents of destabilisation of the labour movement.

    While urging affiliate unions of the Congress to ignore any invitation to such a conference, Mr. Ozo-Eson reminded them that its 11th Delegates Conference was successfully concluded.

    At the end of the exercise, he said the National Executives of the Congress were elected in a free, fair and credible election under the watchful eyes of unions, delegates, invited guests, veterans and members of the media.

    Mr. Ozo-Eson said the processes that led to the elections and the elections were “manifestly transparent, incontestable and unimpeachable”, with all the contestants and their delegates voluntarily lending and submitting themselves to the electioneering/voting processes.

    The unions that attended the meeting include NUEE, National Union of Petroleum and National Gas (NUPENG), National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution Employees (NUBIFIE), among others.

    Not withstanding the intrigues and disaffection that trailed the election, the Supervising Minister of Labour and Productivity, Kabiru Turaki has congratulated Wabba.

  • TUC urges workers to defend democracy

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has tasked   workers to defend the nation’s democracy by collectively making necessary sacrifice to ensure that the forthcoming general elections hold as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) without chaos.

    The Congress also called on Nigerians to resist the temptation of exchanging their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) for money as some politicians are said to be buying PVCs as a way of disenfranchising  them.

    TUC’s President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama spoke during an interactive session with reporters in his office while sensitising workers on the need to participate in the coming rescheduled general elections  by INEC.

    He said: “We call on Nigerian workers to do everything possible to defend the nation’s democracy by collectively making necessary sacrifice to support  the government  to ensure the coming general  elections hold as scheduled by INEC without chaos.

    “We use this opportunity to call on Nigerians to resist the temptation of exchanging their PVCs for money as some politicians are said to be buying PVCs as a way of denying them their right to vote,” the TUC chief said.

    In a related development, TUC has appealed to the Federal Government and the military authority to temper justice with mercy on the soldiers that were condemned to death by a military court marshal.

    In a statement, its President, Comrade Kaigama and Secretary General, Comrade Musa Lawal, said:  “Justice, they say, serves a better societal purpose when tempered with  mercy. And indeed, the quality of mercy is not strained. It is twice blessed. It blesses he that gives and he that takes.”

    The Congress also commended the Nigerian Army for its recent victory in reclaiming the country’s soil from the Islamic terrorists group, Boko Haram.

    The Congress, however, charged the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Kenneth Minimah, to  reward soldiers as promised during his recent visit to Baga town in Kukawa Local Government Area of Bornu State.

  • Labour vows to paralyse Defence Ministry

    Labour vows to paralyse Defence Ministry

    Organised labour, acting  under the aegis of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), has vowed to paralyse activities at the Ministry of Defence if urgent steps are not taken to pay its civilian employees their allowances, including promotion arrears outstanding since 2011.

    In a statement endorsed by its Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, the union expressed surprise that an institution, which prides itself as an epitome of discipline, equity, and fairness could choose to oppress and dehumanise thousands of its civilian workers by denying them their entitlements.

    The union said efforts to bring the management of the Ministry to the negotiation table to discuss labour issues have been frustrated.

    It, therefore, gave the Ministry of Defence 14 days, with effect from March 12,  to convene the meeting or face industrial action.

    “It is necessary to emphasise that if within this period the meeting is not called, the national leadership of the union should not be held responsible if thousands of civilian employees in the Ministry of Defence decide to resort to self-help to resolve the impasse,” the union warned.

    ASCSN regretted that though the national leadership of the union and the management of the ministry had agreed that there should be quarterly meetings to address the  labour issues and new ones that might emerge, no meeting had been held since the agreement was reached on December 16, last year.

    The issues in dispute, according to Lawal include, non-payment of promotion arrears since 2011 to date, non-placement of staff after their promotion, short-payment/non-payment of salary arrears, non-payment of hanging salaries.

    Others are neglect of Lagos and other outstations in training programmes, non-payment of death benefits and package/repatriation allowance and delay in conversion/upgrading of staff.

    The union recalled that the first quarterly meeting was fixed for February 5,  but was subsequently re-scheduled for February 10 on the excuse that the Permanent Secretary, who chose to be part of the meeting, was out of the country.

    He said: “On the 10th of February, when the national leadership of the unions arrived at Ship House, Abuja to attend the re-scheduled meeting, no management team of the Ministry of Defence was available for the parley.  All efforts to get information on why the meeting could not hold proved abortive.

    “The Deputy Director, Staff Welfare, however, promised that he will liaise with the Permanent Secretary with a view to getting a new date for the first quarterly meeting.  Unfortunate, no meeting has been fixed up-till now.”

  • Delayed PIB passage derails foreign investments 

    Delayed PIB passage derails foreign investments 

    The Rivers State Chairman of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Chika Onuegbu has warned government and politicians to stop politicising the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law. To him, the delay in its passage has derailed foreign investment in the sector  that accounts for over 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

    Onuegbu, who spoke at a media briefing in Lagos, noted that investors have continued to adopt  wait-and-see attitude, refraining from making any new investment pending the passage of the bill into law.

    He said: “The non-passage of the PIB into law has derailed foreign investment in 2014 in the sector that accounts for over 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

    “The irony of the delayed exercise was when President Goodluck Jonathan administration was advised to re-start the whole process over again when the administration in January 2012 set up the  Special PIB Task Force led by Senator Udo Udoma to work with relevant government bodies to produce a new version of the PIB for presentation to the National Assembly.”

    According to Onuegbu, the dangers in the current dispensation is that Nigeria, therefore, cannot afford the luxury of time, while politicians indulge in unnecessary bickering over such an important bill in a sector that is the main stay of the economy accounting for over 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings, about 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and 80 per cent of government revenue.

    The labour leader, who noted that the PIB represents a great opportunity for Nigeria to ensure a solid foundation for the future of oil and gas operations in the country, added that the petroleum resource, which Nigeria is endowed, should work for and benefit Nigerians and not a few individuals.