The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • NASS adds social security for the aged, jobless to NSTF’s mandate

    NASS adds social security for the aged, jobless to NSTF’s mandate

    The National Assembly has voted to give the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) the additional mandate of providing social security for the aged and unemployed.

    The scheme currently has the responsibility to enforce the Employee Compensation Act (ECA), which ensures that employees who get injured or lose their lives in the line of duty are adequately compensated.

    The new amendment, according to the NSITF, was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly on January 14, this year and is expected to be presented to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent.

    Speaking about the additional role, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NSITF, Ngozi Olejeme, said its realisation was due to Federal Government’s unrelenting effort to improve the welfare of workers and vulnerable groups.

    Olejeme said: “We know that the President will assent to the bill once it is presented to him. The implementation of the employees’ compensation scheme by the NSITF was an idea that was very dear to Mr. President.

    “He wanted to ensure that workers that sustain injuries in the course of their duties are no longer left to their fate. The signing of the new national minimum wage law without hesitation shows that he is committed to bettering the lives of the Nigerian workers.

    “These additional responsibilities of providing some forms of social safety net to unemployed and aged person will be done with passion and dedication. The NSITF is well-equipped to execute these new additions,” he said.

    Managing Director of NSITF, Munir Abubakar, said the Federal Government has given the fund a huge task and its responsibility is to ensure smooth implementation. He said NSITF is ready for the task at hand.

  • PENGASSAN warns against indiscriminate sack

    PENGASSAN warns against indiscriminate sack

    Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has said it would not tolerate indiscriminate sack of its members under the guise of falling oil prices in the international market.

    Its President, Comrade Olabode Johnson, who spoke with journalists in Lagos, said the union would jealously guide the rights of workers in the sector in the face of the current realities.

    He said the union is optimistic that when the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is passed into law, it would launch Nigeria into global reckoning in terms of better prospects in the oil and gas industry. He stressed that the bill could still be passed barring post-election skirmishes in the country which could frustrate same.

    Director, Advisory, Oil and Gas, PriceWater House Ltd. Mr Ritch Wingo, said oil companies may lay off workers due to the drop in oil price in the global market.

    Wingo, who spoke on the sidelines of the Offshore West Africa Conference in Lagos, said  falling oil price has adversely affected the sector.

    “Right now, a lot of companies are trying to lay off workers due to falling oil price. It is going to be pretty rough in a couple of months to come. The best thing to do now is to go back to the banks to talk on how to restructure our finances so that people will not default. If oil price continues to fall, investors are not going to invest again,” he said.

    Wingo said the present pump price of petrol, though good, was not sufficient.

    “If you look at the United States of America, a gallon of petrol is sold for just $4 (N740) because there is a regulatory body regulating the price,” he said.

  • Pensioners demand 29 months arrears

    The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) has urged the Federal Government to immediately pay pensioners 29 months outstanding arrears.

    The senior citizens also praised the government for earlier paying arrears of nine months with 33 per cent pension increment.

    Its President, Comrade Abel Afolayan, in a statemnt, said paying the pensioners the arrears would lift the heavy burden off their shoulders, stressing that pensioners would remain indebted to the government if the balance is paid as soon as this year’s budget proposal is passed into law.

    While stating that the payment of the nine months arrears put smiles on the faces of pensioners and their families, Afolayan said paying off the remaining arrears will demonstrate the commitment of government to the welfare and well-being of its senior citizens.

    “Our members will ever remain indebted to the Federal Government if the balance of the arrears is paid as soon as the 2015 budget is passed. Similarly, all unpaid gratuities and other entitlements of pensioners should be as well captured in the 2015 budget for payment.

    “We wish to equally make a case that the balance of 20.4 percentage pension increase which made the total 53.4 percentage increase, formally and officially approved by the Federal Government be immediately worked out and captured in the 2015 budget or in the subsequent budget for payment,” he said

    The union also called on the Federal Government to place pension funding on first line charge as obtained in other countries, and as a mark of respect for the senior citizens.

  • NECA calls for deregulation of oil and gas

    NECA calls for deregulation of oil and gas

    • Employers praise reduction of fuel price

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has described government’s reduction of the pump price of petrol as a right action within a wrong policy framework, calling for the proper deregulation of the sector.

    In a press statement signed by the Director General, NECA, Mr. Segun Oshinowo, NECA commended government’s decision to reduce the price of petroleum from N97 to N87, adding that this demonstrated that government is sensitive to the welfare of Nigerians.

    NECA, however, said this action by government is begging the more fundamental issue of appropriate policy framework that will promote investment in the downstream sector of the oil & gas industry and put a stop to the embarrassing and shameful practice of importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.

    “Our expectation therefore, is that government would seize the opportunity of the current decline in the price of crude oil to commence implementation of the policy on deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil & gas industry. This is a unique timing the government cannot afford to miss as full implementation of deregulation, which in time past had led to price increase and reaction by the labour movement in form of industrial action, does not have any negative effect on the masses.

    “We are indeed, surprised that government’s announcement was limited to just the reduction in the price of fuel (PMS) as one would have expected a far more holistic announcement of a new policy thrust of deregulation of the downstream sector and privatisation of the four refineries, which have now become sink-holes.

    “We do appreciate the fact that election is around the corner and government is being unusually cautious on the possible backlash which announcement of deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil & gas industry could have on its electoral fortunes. We, however, do not share the sentiment, given the fact that this is one moment when such a policy announcement would not have any damaging impact on the populace,” Oshinowo said.

    According to Oshinowo, it is a common thing for government to weigh economic imperatives against political exigencies at moments of political engagement and political process as the country is currently experiencing. He said government is more likely to accord priority to political exigencies while relegating economic imperatives to the background particularly if the fall-out of the economic imperatives will undermine public perception of the government.

    “The issue, however, is that the government is not faced with that choice under the current circumstance as the economy stands to gain from the deregulation policy. We, therefore, call on the government to do the needful by coming out boldly and courageously to inform the Nigerian populace that it has deregulated the downstream of the oil & gas sector,’’ he said.

  • PenCom generates over N4.6tr CPS

    PenCom generates over N4.6tr CPS

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) said it has generated over N4.6 trillion in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) since inception in 2004.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on the 2014 Pension Reform Act (PRA), with the theme “New Pension Act 2014, its Implications and Obligations to both Employers and Employees in Nigeria”, organised in collaboration with Lagos Council of Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), the Director General (DG) of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said the coverage of the CPS included employees in the public service of the Federal, States and Local Governments as well as the private sector organisations with three or more employees.

    Represented by the commission’s Head of Compliance and Enforcement Department, Mr. Mohammed Bello Umar, the PenCom boss recalled that the pension reform started in 2004 with the passage of PRA 2004, which provided for a uniform pension system for both public and private sectors. She said the CPS has been successfully implemented since then and the fund under management has grown to about N4.6 trillion while membership is over six million.

    The DG explained that the coverage of the CPS include employees in the public service of the three tiers of government as well as private sector organisations with three or more employees. The PRA 2014, she added, strengthened the powers of the commission to perform its mandate of regulation and supervision of all pension matters, stating that it would further protect and create value for the contributor.

    She said: “Following the successful passage of the PRA 2014, PenCom is working towards significantly increasing the membership of CPS by expanding the coverage to include the informal sector as well as ensuring that the pension assets are invested in ways that are most beneficial to the economy.”

    Earlier in his opening address, Chairman of Lagos State Council of NLC, Mr. Idowu Adelekan, called on the Lagos State Government to pay greater attention to the plight of pensioners who retired from local governments, parastatals, etc whose gratuity and arrears of increment in pension since 2006, had not been paid till date.

    “We have appealed to the state government before now to always put our senior citizens who had dutifully served the state in the fore front and provide for them a happy retirement life. But as we speak, nothing meaningful has changed in the state as far as pension payment is concerned,” he said.

    Mr. Adelekan also expressed the state NLC’s displeasure in the way and manner the state government set up Pension Board with the exclusion of the NLC in Lagos State, lamenting that this is contrary to what is applicable in other states. He however, noted that the workshop was to enlighten the workers in Lagos with the new PRA 2014 and the changes it has brought.

    “The old Act says both the employers and the employees would contribute 7.5 per cent a piece to make it 15 per cent, but in the new Act, the employees now contribute eight per cent and the employers 10 per cent. It is already in operation at the federal level and we want our members at the state to know it, so that workers in the state would not be short-changed,” he explained.

  • Mismanagement of oil, gas led to austerity, says TUC

    The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has said that the impunity of politicians and mismanagement of the fortunes of the oil and gas industry by successive governments in the country led to the ongoing austerity measures introduced by the Federal Government, especially following the slump in oil price at the international market.

    TUC also called on the Federal Government to review its policies that would create a conducive working environment for employers of labour and workers in the country, stressing that the nation’s labour movement may have no option than to resist any government policies that would inflict more hardship on workers after next month’s general elections.

    TUC’s President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, who made the declarations at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos on the adverse effects of the ongoing austerity measures on workers, noted that the labour movement is aware that government may pretend not to implement some policies that may affect their political interest in next month’s general elections until March this year.

    He said: “The impunity of politicians and mismanagement of the fortunes of the oil and gas sector by successive governments in Nigeria led to the ongoing austerity measures introduced by the Federal Government on December 17, 2014 as a result of the slump in oil price at the international market.

    “The Congress feels at this time that it is important it calls government’s attention to a number of issues plaguing employers and employees relationship to ensure a friendly working environment this year as we are also aware that Government may pretend not to implement some policies that may affect their political interest in next month’s general elections until march this year.”

    According to Kaigama, Congress laments the way and manner politicians go about their politicking. He said workers’ bravery, doggedness and loyalty to the project Nigeria in the face of gross abuse of human rights, insecurity, terrorism, arson, dislodgment and chaotic situation is an eloquent testimony to the fact that lives of Nigerians are not in the hands of the government nor the Bretton Wood institutions and their perfect policies.

    He noted that what is predominant today in the nation’s democratic governance is government’s use of state’s coercive power, especially the police and resort to use of touts and idle youths to molest political opponents and journalists. “In the 1970s, we had political parties with manifestos, and the likes of Awos, Ziks and Tafawa Balewas’ of this world chronicled what they planned to do and how they planned to achieve them. But what do we have today? Are we wiser now.” he queried.

    In a related development, the Secretary General of TUC, Comrade Musa Lawal stated that government deliberately refused to listen to advice on oil windfall before the oil slump. He said: “The labour movement and some fore-sighted well-meaning Nigerians have on uncountable times called on government to make utmost use of the excess dollar we got by diversifying the economy. Unfortunately, our politicians are only interested in rushing down to Abuja for monthly allocation. Government of allocation, this is certainly not our idea of social contract.”

  • Adopt labour standard, ASSBIFI urges World Bank

    Adopt labour standard, ASSBIFI urges World Bank

    The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has urged the World Bank to adopt a comprehensive labour standard lending requirement in its institutions like those adopted by other multilateral development banks. The Association said that this would correct the major weaknesses in the draft labour safeguard that was recently issued for consultation.

    ASSBIFI’s National President, Comrade Sunday Olusoji Salako, who made the disclosures to newsmen in Lagos while reviewing the labour standard version proposed for protecting the rights of those who work in bank-financed projects, stressed the need for the World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, to ensure that the proposal would be to all intents and purposes and not exist only on paper.

    He said: “The intention of the World Bank to adopt a labour safeguard is a welcome development, but we call for the version proposed would have almost no impact in protecting the rights of those who work in bank-financed projects alone, but would be to all intents apply to contracted workers, to public servants and not purposes exist only on paper”

    According to Salako, an important feature of all of the other banks’ labour safeguards in the past has been their application to contractors and sub-contractors, thus ensuring coverage of a category of workers that is highly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. “The World Bank President, by proposing to not protect these workers in its projects, the Bank will perpetuate instances of unsafe working conditions, child labour, unpaid wages and denial of freedom of association that we have seen in bank-funded projects,” he said.

    He emphasised that the major weakness of the World Bank’s draft labour safeguard is the proposal that the International Labour Organisation (ILO’s) core labour standards only be fully complied with if they are incorporated in national law.

    “Specifically, the freedom of association and right to collective bargaining provisions would apply only where national law recognises them, thus opening the door to retaliatory measures by project managers against workers who wish to exercise those rights.

    “We fully hope and expect that the World Bank will catch up to the labour standard provisions adopted by the other development finance institutions over the past years, and not undermine the progress that has been made by adopting a labour safeguard that is full of exemptions and exclusions,” he further said.

  • TUC urges govt on welfare, good governance

    TUC urges govt on welfare, good governance

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has drawn government’s attention to some issues plaguing employer and employee relationship to ensure a friendly working environment this year.

    The President of the Union, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, drew the government’s attention to politicians’ impunity and the mismanagement of the fortunes of the oil and gas sector, adding that the way  politicians go about their politicking is bad.

    His words: “What we could read on the wall can best be described as ‘I must get there no matter whose ox is gored’, which is an aberration. They use power and money to win the people to their side because they lack the required ideas to transform the country. What is predominant today is use of state’s coercive power; especially the police and resort to use of touts and idle youths to molest political opponents and journalists. In the 1970s, we had political parties with manifestoes. The Awos, Ziks and Tafawa Balewas of this world chronicled what they planned to do and how they planned to achieve them. But what do we have today? We are wiser now.”

    On the recent drop in the price of crude oil, he said following the unexpected drop in the prices of crude, government is planning to employ some austerity measures to cushion the effect on the economy. He called on the government to make utmost use of the excess dollar by diversifying the economy.

    He said: “Unfortunately, our politicians are only interested in rushing to Abuja for monthly allocation. Government of allocation is certainly not our idea of social contract. Yes, our economy has just been rated the biggest in Africa. It would have been laudable if it had a positive effect on the lives of the average Nigerian and the industrial environment. How do we agree with that when in practical terms the lending rates, cost of living and doing business are unreasonably high?”

    The unionist added that the hasty and deliberate devaluation of the naira, which has also brought untold hardship to the real sector and all other facets of the economy, has to be addressed as congress will not tolerate cases of job losses arising from government’s insensitivity. He said it has become pertinent to warn against such move now to avoid worsening the spate of insecurity in the country, which was occasioned by the gross mismanagement of the economy.

    “No wonder, unemployment figures remain high, unimaginable crime rates, poverty, epileptic energy sector and inexplicable high tariffs have become our lot. And it is yet a tragedy of national proportion that as parents we sleep in the comfort of our homes when the over 250 Chibok girls and the series of other kidnapped youths are nowhere to be found,” he added.

    Kaigama expressed concern that government has refused to reduce the prices of petroleum products even though the price of crude has collapsed in the international market, which was the reason given when it wanted to increase the price of fuel in 2012.  He urged government to direct the appropriate agency to immediately adjust prices of petroleum products as it will ameliorate the suffering of the  masses.

    On the content policy, he praised the government’s initiative. He, however, said since the policy came into place in 2010, there has been no yardstick to measure the progress made. “We have observed that the entrepreneurs that are being empowered are compromising employment standards and flagrantly breaching workplace rights and decent work principles with intimidation and myriads of victimisation.

    “Finally, we wish to inform politicians that the labour movement is not oblivious of the fact that we are in an election year. Meanwhile, while we make case for free and fair elections, we also want politicians to know that we, the workers and masses, are going to do the voting and that we are going to ensure that our votes count,” Kaigama said.

  • ‘Judiciary’s financial autonomy non negotiable’

    ‘Judiciary’s financial autonomy non negotiable’

    The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has said the strike by members of the union is an outcome of the government’s disregard for a judicial pronouncement by a court of competent jurisdiction.

    The Union said it is a product of a chain of broken promises by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), state governments and other appropriate government agencies.

    The Union, in a statement signed by the General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said over a year ago, a Court of competent jurisdiction entered a judgment in favour of JUSUN by directing the AGF to deduct money and pay the National Judicial Council as part of the process of directly funding the Judiciary, which in the Union’s view further strengthens the nation’s democracy.

    He said: “It needs no stating that for the development of our democracy, we need strong institutions, a truly independent Judiciary in de jure and de facto terms. Since the judgment, as many as seven Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with government (arising from countless meetings) have been signed”.

    The statement said that in spite of serial breaches by government and its agencies, JUSUN had continually displayed remarkable understanding and uncommon maturity. According to the secretary, the direct funding of the Judiciary is a constitutional right, which has been further strengthened by a judicial pronouncement.

    “We, therefore, call on the AGF and all the Attorneys-General of the states to respect this judgment. It is saddening that these law officers are seen to be breaking the law in such a brazen manner and at a time like this,” he said.

  • Opportunity to pick right leaders has come, says Labour

    The Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Aremu, has said next month’s election has created another opportunity for Nigerians to pick the right leader. He said the nation is being given another opportunity to go to the poll next month.

    Speaking with reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, while marking his 54th birthday, Aremu said: “People should judge politicians at the election based on what they have to deliver. We have always been at the forefront of the struggle and we urge Nigerians to ensure that the country survives; our patriots should fight for their votes, we should all ensure that the votes count.”

    Aremu, who also presented two books at the event, decried the poor state of the economy due to poor infrastructure, which has put the youths at great disadvantage. “We should get the youths back to the industry. If Nigeria does not work, Africa will never survive. When Nigeria was working it liberated Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. But we are no more on duty, our leaders have been docile. They steal money. Nigeria must wake up to return to the good old days of Shehu Shagari, Gowon, Murtala,” he said.

    Aremu, who is also the Textile Union General Secretary, emphasised that for Nigeria to emerge an industrialised nation, Nigerians must consume what they produce and produce what they consume. He warned that without that the country cannot get out of poverty.

    He recalled that  in the 70s and 80s Nigeria used to be the leader in the manufacturing sector, but now Nigeria is fast becoming poorer, while poverty has forced youths to riding Okada as alternative, which could not be considered a decent work.

    He, however, commended the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who was the guest of honour at the event, for his efforts at reducing the unemployment rate in the state and creating a better public school. He said: “Osun has the lowest unemployment rate because of the efforts of the governor. There is Omoluabi Garment Factory, which produces the free uniforms  for the students. The state has also shown to us that a public school can be better. The governor is building better schools than some in Europe.”

    Governor Aregbesola, who presented of the books, corroborated Aremu’s view on industrialisation. According to him, the way out for Nigeria’s economy is to look inward.

    He said: “Until we process what we produce here in terms of agricultural outputs, make it abundant and affordable, we will continue to be poor. There is no productivity, and productivity ensures that what we consume is produced here. We should produce things that are relevant to us. Failure of Nigeria is directly proportional to failure of blacks globally.”

    He maintained that the forthcoming election is paramount as it would afford Nigerians the opportunity to say no to corruption and maladministration through their votes.