Category: Labour

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has said it will continue to tackle anti-workers and anti-poor policies of employers and the government.

According to the NLC,  such policies should be dealt with to show their inadequacies.

Speaking at the opening of the  Organising Academy of the NLC in Ikeja, the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said such a step was good for upholding workers’ rights.

He said the workshops  of the academy were designed by the NLC in response to the challenges of governance in the workplace.

Ajaero, who was represented by the NlC Deputy President and President-General of Maritime Union, , Adewale Adeyanju, said: “Organising is at the heart of every trade union struggle. Any trade union that refuses to organise has decided to fail and, ultimately, die. We organise to build power. It is with organising that trade unions build our solidarities – the organic solidarity and the wide and inclusive solidarity

“It is with this that we build our strength, which is critical tool for engaging our social partners.Without building power through organising, we become powerless, thus ineffective in our various engagements and unable to deliver benefits to our publics, especially our primary constituency who look up to us for the defence of their rights and privileges.

“A union that has stopped organising is a union that has ceased to exist because organising is the heartbeat of trade unions without exception. Among the heart-wrenching and serial atrocities of employers both in the public and private sectors against workers is the continued prevalence of abuses of their rights and privileges in the various shopfloors which have gone unchallenged.

Read Also : NLC cautions against electricity tariffs hike

“Acts of impunity by employers without recourse to our labour laws have contributed in abridging the rights of our fellow workers in our various workplaces. It has suddenly become a passion and a dangerous pastime for employers to trample upon our rights as the creators and builders of the wealth of this nation,” Ajaero said.

He noted that across the nation, there had been reports of workers denied of their basic rights to fair and living wages.

Ajaero said  governments at various levels owed salaries, sometimes up to one year. When they manage to pay one month, they applaud themselves, believing that the payment of salary is charity.

He said many state governments had  trampled upon the rights of Nigerians without any remorse.

“Every union is an organising platform. Every trade union leader and member is an organiser. Every trade union  is organising focused. If organising is, therefore, the livewire of what we do as trade unions, then, we must seek to imbibe the lessons that would come out of this to equip ourselves with the organising tasks that confronts us,’’ he added.

The General Secretary of NLC, Comrade Emman Ugbuaja, said a trade union is about number and not names.

“The trade union is strong organisation and it is also about numbers. If the leader doesn’t understand the need for organising, there will be trouble. There is the need for is to energies our abilities.

“We need to organise for us to be stronger. In fact, arising from this workshop, organising committee should be set up in your states. Let us have a new beginning,” Ugbuaja said.

The General Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa, in this interview with TOBA AGBOOLA, urges the government to cushion the effects of subsidy removal with savings from it.

What is your take on the proposed utilisation of proceeds from fuel subsidy removal?

 Many people call it subsidy scam, I will call it corruption in subsidy. It is a good thing that the government has finally removed the subsidy and it’s a welcome development. In fact, it was long over due. However, there is the need for the government to properly appropriate the savings to cushion the effects of the removal. The government has to consider the average Nigerian.

Prior to this time, the government was actually putting money to subsidise fuel. And some people benefitted from the subsidy because of the loopholes. Don’t be surprised that those at the top and powerful individuals were the ones benefitting from it. There were lots of leakages in the system.

As I said, fuel subsidy has long been the subject of abuse and corruption. It also encouraged smuggling into neighbouring Cameroon and Benin, where fuel can be sold for twice the price, and even more, as international oil prices rise.

Within days of subsidy removal and the adjustment of petrol prices in Nigeria, data from Global Petrol Prices, which tracks the retail prices of refined petroleum products, reveals sharp increases in petrol prices in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries.

In many parts of Nigeria, petrol is diverted to the black market before it is even delivered cheaply to the pump. Because Nigeria’s refineries are barely functional, the country is forced to sell its unprocessed stock on the global market and import the refined fuel it needs for domestic consumption.

Read Also : PENGASSAN seals 300 deals, registers 25 unions

However, now that the government is no more subsidising the product, what matters is the management of the money realised from the removal. What is the government using the proceeds for. This is very important. What is of interest to us is that more jobs will be created and we expect that whatever that will accrue from subsidy removal will be actually used for what it is meant for and not that politicians will unbutton their trousers while the rest of us tighten our trousers.

We also hope that by the time the Dangote Refinery commence full operation, it will a positive impact, most especially in price reduction.

Dangote Refinery is a very good investment. However, it has a debt to pay because people funded the refinery and he has profit he is looking forward to. So, in view of this, we’re going to settle him in naira or dollars. But it’s a good development for us.

Another side of it is that the adjustment in petrol prices with market rates will promote competition and efficiency in the oil market and drop prices. This is because prices would continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics.

As inflation is high and will rise further, more Nigerians will be pushed into poverty unless compensating measures to cushion the effects, at least partially, are put in place.

How can the government tackle oil theft?

This is a big challenge that as been in existence for long. This oil theft has done so much damage to the country. It has put Nigeria in dire straits. The cost to the economy is huge. The cost to the well-being of the citizenry is horrendous.

When you talk of oil theft, it is a big business and it is not what an ordinary or average Nigerian can be involved in. Those who are involved are the big men in the country.

Oil theft and losses is a threat to our economy and national security. They pose a serious threat to our oil economy and impact negatively on revenue of the nation and business prospects of investors in the oil and gas sector. If left unchecked this could fuel a public finance crisis that could paralyse the government and make our nation vulnerable. Oil contributes about 80 per cent of government foreign exchange and contributes six per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The large-scale theft of crude has undermined the government’s efforts to maximise these resources. Already, the country cannot meet up with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota because of the oil theft. It’s a big business and many powerful Nigerians are making billions from it. The government need to seriously deal with the situation

This is the time when oil producing nations enjoy unprecedented economic boom.This time around, the oil price bonanza is powered by the war between Ukraine and Russia. But, from this oil boom, we, Nigerians, are gaining nothing unlike in the past when we had more patriotic management of national assets and facilities.

Our gaining nothing is simply because of the huge theft. This kind of theft is hard to understand or to describe. It is more of heist than theft because the word theft cannot convey the level of brigandage involved.

The government recently noted that the huge crude oil theft was resulting in substantial losses in production and national income.  But the fact remains that the theft takes a huge toll from Nigerians. At other times, when there was economic boom for oil producing countries, especially the OPEC, which Nigeria is a member, Nigerians enjoyed and felt the boom in their various homes and hamlets. Not so today. This particular oil boom has translated to no boon simply because the handlers of that industry can only be described as kleptocrats.

Nigeria is the only oil producing nation that is suffering from the economic consequences of rise in oil prices. Imagine where the seller of a product is not happy that the prices of his commodities have gone up.

What is your opinion on the debt burden?

Nigeria’s borrowing appetite is one of the major reasons the country is in debt crisis. Indeed, the total debts, put at about N77 trillion, has negatively impacted the economy, pushing majority of citizens into abject poverty, unemployment and poor standard of living.

Ostensibly, the loans were meant to bring about prosperity and ensure an improved standard of living for the citizens. But, unfortunately, that has not been the case, as poverty has soared uncontrollably in the last few years, despite the massive borrowing by the government.

To us, one of the ways the government can address this issue is through renegotiations. Let us also put on our thinking caps. Let everybody be involved and critically look into it.

What are your expectations from the government?

We have many expectation from the government. Let me start with the oil and gas sector. As you know, the oil and gas sector plays a very vital role in the development of the nation. If things are working well in the sector, the whole country would benefit from it. There are many challenges in the sector; is it the oil theft we want to talk about or the inconsistency in government’s policies. The government needs to come up with the right policy for the sector to survive.

The government must take steps to re-engineer the oil industry to maximise its benefits.

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which came into force last year, has laid out the structure for the new arrangement, but the provisions have to be enforced for the expected results to be realised. The steps must form part of the oil-industry policy framework. The new administration must also separate politics from professional expectations in the sector. We are a pressure group and we will continue to engage the government.

The new administration should assemble a good team that can proactively and systematically address the issues at stake.

Despite the signing of the PIA, a key challenge to its implementation could be the dearth of local capacity in the industry. The government needs to do a total overhauling of the refinery. We hope to meet with the new administration very soon so that we can present our demands.

How would you react to members’ agitation for welfare and rejection of casualisation?

Members’ welfare has always been our topmost priority. We don’t handle the issue of decent work with soft hand.  The owner of the business is a capitalist and, of course, he will need to maximise profit, even at the detriment of his staff members. That is what we will not allow because the workers are also part of the companies and their interest must also be protected. We have been engaging with the international and local companies in the oil and gas  sector. And so far there has been improvement.

We aim to ensure that workers in the oil and gas sector are unionised, and bring casualisation to the front burner.

We also recognise that even if you are a contract staff, you are better off when you come under the umbrella of PENGASSAN and NUPENG. In those days, casual workers were well paid. Even more than the permanent workers. They render their service and they leave. But the reverse is the case today. They are treated any how and because there is no job anywhere some of the workers have no option but continue to endure.

PENGASSAN and NUPENG are on this. This means that your cases can be properly managed and your causes can be adequately championed. So, PENGASSAN and NUPENG are collaborating on that front to ensure that we reduce casualisation to the barest minimum.

This is because the way we define it is quite different from the way the companies  see it. We see it as casualisation and contract staffing. But, they call it outsourcing because they said outsourcing is in the law which is true. And many companies are not unionised.

It is for this reason that we, PENGASSAN, together with NUPENG, are taking steps to unionise them. When you unionise everyone, the task will be easier. The day you are on the street, they will join you, but if not they will be in the factory working.

If we get 80 per cent or more of them unionised, then we can act. Most of them do not even have Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) but when they are unionised it will be easy for them to have something to relay to their employer. We are on the move for aggressive unionisation.

We will begin an aggressive training and awareness campaign to optimise our workers’ skills and be relevant when it eventually happens. So far, we have had a gale of promotions and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations that have led to improved conditions of service for members.

• •Sustain FG’s investment in FUAB

The National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWUN), , Dr. Biobelemoye Josiah, who is also the paramount ruler of Opu-Nembe Kingdom, Bassambiri, Bayelsa State, has commended President Bola Tinubu for promising to prioritise education among other sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

Biobelemoye urged the president to ensure the sustenance of the huge investment of the Federal Government in the newly-approved universities, of which the Federal University of Agriculture, Bassambiri (FUAB) is one.

Read Also: Students’ loan scheme: NANS seeks adequate funding of education sector

He noted that the tertiary institution was a beacon of development and enlightenment that would lead to urbanisation, growth and better economic activities in the kingdom. The sector, therefore should be encouraged by ensuring its success.

He also praised those who played roles in ensuring the approval of FUAB and for siting the university in his kingdom, Opu-Nembe kingdom.

With the dissolution of governing boards of over 153 agencies, parastatals and government-owned companies, experts say it is imperative for President Bola Tinubu to allow competence in the appointments of board members. TOBA AGBOOLA reports.

With the dissolution of governing boards of over 153 agencies, parastatals, institutions and government-owned companies by President Bola Tinubu, about 1,500 vacancies are opened across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The dissolved boards were among the 209 constituted by former President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2017.

Data from the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies shows that the country has over 719 federal agencies alone.

In a statement, the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, had said only boards of commissions and councils listed in the third schedule, Part one Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution were excluded from the president’s directive.

The Nigeria Judicial Council, Code of Conduct Bureau, Council of State, Federal Character Commission; Federal Civil Service Commission; Independent National Electoral Commission, National Population Commission, Police Service Commission, and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission were part of the agencies that were excluded.

Tinubu, at a meeting with Senators on June 7, had indicated that those who lost elections and other members of the party would not be left out in appointments.

He said: “The elephant is big enough for all members, and indeed Nigerians, to have a share of the renewed hope in due course.”

However, experts, who listed the attributes of successful board membership, stated that political patronage should not be considered above competence.

According to them, competence is critical and if Nigeria has not started taking it into consideration, this is the time to do so.

Tinubu, during his electioneering campaign, promised to form a government of national competence.

According to experts, any move to compensate party members with board positions, would not allow the president to fill strategic positions in governments with technocrats, and as such, achieve his policy of boosting governance with the right people.

The experts said this was one opportunity for him to ensure that to the nation has experts on the boards.

Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, Dele Alimi, said whenever vacancies were opened in government, they considered political patronage, and that’s what they had been doing over the years.

The move, he said, had impacted negatively on the efficiency and effectiveness of public parastatals and agencies. Most times, political patronage was considered above competence and capabilities.

Alimi said when political consideration was being put out, competence, ability and diversity as enshrined in the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) should also be considered. More importantly, it was regulatory agencies of government that put the code there.

He argued that this was the right time for the government to  walk the talk.

Another aspect, Alimi mentioned, that had to be taken into consideration is the enabling law establishing some of the agencies.

Read Also: Govt revokes lands allocated by MDAs

He said the pre-NCCG Code pre-Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 for most of the parastatals should be reviewed. According to him, many things have changed in terms of boards’ appointment and leadership with the Code and Act.

“For instance, there is the presence of independent directors on boards, even as the public enterprises are not Plcs. What the regulatory authorities preach, other organisations should try and be able to conform and this is one of the areas the government needs to look at.

“So, if the government needs to go back to the National Assembly and review those laws establishing those agencies to ensure that the boards can be made to be filled with competent people and also meet the requirements of the law, they should do it. Even if it means delaying those appointments a little to ensure Nigeria can conform to the laws establishing those organisations.

“Truth is you cannot 100 per cent avoid political patronage, but let’s assume that within them, there may be experts in various areas. However, my take is political patronage should not be considered above competence. Competence is critical and if we have not started before, this is the time to start,” Alimi said.

The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, agreed that for the boards to meet their objectives, their composition needs to reflect merit, competence, innovation, character and deep knowledge of the sector in which they operate.

Onyekpere said the composition of such boards could not be a ‘job for the boys’, if public corporations were to deliver on their mandates.

“There should be a public notice of the intention to appoint persons to the boards. The names of prospective appointees should be published so that anyone that has information on the unsuitability of nominees for public office will be requested to submit the same to a committee of persons of impeccable character and integrity who will review the petitions and make recommendations to Mr. President.

“The Federal Government should set deliverables with milestones and targets and a verifying monitoring and evaluation plan for the boards. Their performances should also be reviewed annually to ensure that their leadership is on target while dead woods are weeded out,” Onyekpere said.

A group, the Pan-African Economic and Financial Security Initiative, urged Tinubu to completely overhaul government agencies and parastatals, calling for the sack of the managing directors and chief executive officers of the dissolved boards. It alleged that the continued stay of such officers had led to looting of public funds and crippling of  government agencies across the country.

According to the group, though Nigerians welcomed the dissolution of the boards of MDAs, they, however, doubted the intention of Tinubu in removing governing boards’ members that provided checks and balance while leaving managing directors and chief executive officers with  powers that have turned them into turn dictators to do whatever they wanted, with no accountability.

The National Coordinator of the Group, Samuel Chukwu, in a statement, at a briefing in Abuja, urged Tinubu to immediately sack some of the CEOs to allow the most qualified civil service director to take over the agencies until the President constitute a  board that will deliver his mandates.

A Human Resource (HR) expert, ‘Tunde Olagunju, said meritocracy should come first in defining the country’s role and not be based on ethnic or loyalty.

Olagunju, who is also the Head, Human Resources and Administration, Kenna Partners, said when meritocracy is established from accountability and trust in those that have worked with the president on what they can do, that could then be an advantage.

He recalled that during Tinubu’s administration as governor, he was able to connect with technocrats.

Similarly, the Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Wale Oyerinde, said Nigerians expected Tinubu to appoint competent hands in the various boards.

“While we know that a lot of people contributed to the president’s election, competence and a track record of achievements in the private or public sector, should come first, irrespective of where the person comes from.

“What we expect is that competent people should be appointed into those boards; that is the expectation of Nigerians and we believe that the president will do the needful. We expect round pegs should be put in round holes, individuals with a track record of success or achievement. They should be appointed as ministers too, among others,” he suggested.

Founder, Leap Africa, Ndidi Nwuneli said to become a board member, directors must possess the qualities of being strategic, having oversight and must be able to carry out effective service delivery.

She said being strategic involves setting the organisation’s purpose, values, objectives and direction.

She said the director must manage top appointments strategy and policy formulation, as well as shape culture and uphold values.

Nwuneli, who is also the co-founder of Sahel Consulting Agriculture Limited, said directors must ensure effective execution, ensure cost-effective management of corporate resources, and oversee financial management of the organisations, as well as self-evaluation and others.

For effective service, she said directors must  advise management, report to stakeholders and represent the organisations externally.

Nwuneli added that before deciding to become a board member, directors must ask themselves why they wanted to serve on a board, and the value they want to add.

The President, National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), Comrade Goke Olatunji, in this interview with TOBA AGBOOLA, explains how the economy has impacted workers and their expectations from the new administration.

What are your expectations from the new administration?

Our expectation from them is to do the right thing, particularly in areas that have been against the interest of workers.They have to ensure that those areas are adjusted. For instance, the minimum wage of N30,000 is nothing to write home about. In addition, they must look at the economy to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.

The expectation is high.They have to consider the masses who have suffered for too long in  their plans. We expect the incoming government to hit the ground running. I will say that the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, is ready for them. The NLC will be there as usual to be the voice of the people having seen the sufferings of the average Nigerian. We will ensure that Nigerians get what they deserve from the new government, which is good governance and accountability.

How will you access govt’s policies in the sector?

It is not that governments are not coming up with good policies, but the major problem is implementation. All hands must be on deck to make things work. Policy inconsistency is another problem. The government should come out with a policy that will encourage foreign investors. This is very important for us to move forward. We want the government to take issue of security seriously. There is nowhere that is secure in Nigeria, and no foreign company will want to invest in a place that is not secured. The government must address this.

Also, the government must chose the right people for every positions. It must go for the technocrat. I am also emphasising it that the next government must put the right peg in the right hole. Any government official that is not ready to work should be removed.

Comment on the problem of brain drain

As I said earlier, the incoming government needs to do a lot to improve the economy. People are leaving in droves because it is not easy to live in Nigeria. This is because our Naira has been devalued and the exchange rate is high. Even to afford three-square meals a day is not easy. Some have even resorted to going to people’s homes to beg for food. That is the harsh reality of life in Nigeria.

How are you tackling the issue of casualisation?

Casualisation has continued to be a problem in Nigeria. It  is very  practised by virtually all employers. Even those casual workers, if you ask them not to do it, they would ask if you were going to feed them. It is as bad as that because of the growing unemployment rate in the country. However, we are still tackling the issue in our sector to our very best. The common term used by the employers who are registered with the Federal Ministry of Labour are outsourcing and contract. What we are doing, however, is to make sure that we organise them by introducing unions to them because there is no law that says we should not organise workers.

Read Also: Ojerinde, family members arraigned over alleged sale of govt property

Tell us about your experience the pandemic.

Our plan is to intensify more efforts in the area of organising. Our sector experienced a lot of closure and redundancy, but we equally have some new companies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of companies were shut. This had an effect on their profit margin. No production, no sales. We, as a union, could not demand anything for our members during those period. There are some benefits that workers enjoyed when they go to work, like free lunch, overtime, and company products – all these were stopped. But we thank God that we have surmounted that. The pandemic really dealt with us. Today, we cannot count more than 300 companies in our industry nationwide. Before we had over 600. Some of them could not come back. Some have relocated outside Nigeria to neighbouring countries like Ghana, Sierra leone. These are companies like Michelin, and Dunlop.

However, we have been able to organise more companies and that is why we are still standing and, I will say, overcoming our challenges gradually.

What is the state of the union?

It is not all about me. Unionism is teamwork. With God on our side, we have been able to achieve a lot. We carried out a proper maintenance of our secretariat and that of the guesthouse. Also, work is ongoing in our shopping complex. We have adopted the use of renewable energy, solar.

We organise training programmes for members almost yearly. All member of my Central Working Committee possess leadership qualities as a result of training.

• •Wants govt to declare state of emergency

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has appealed for improved welfare.

The oil workers said over the years, they have continued to bear the brunt of bad government’s policies.

To this end, they called on President Bola Tinubu to address the challenges to guarantee industrial peace in the sector.

The union made these known in a statement by its President and General Secretary of the union, Prince Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale.

 They said: “It is very important to bring to your attention the dehumanising state of employment and working conditions of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry, most especially the blue-collar workers. There is increasing degeneration, indecency and precariousness of employment and working conditions in the industry. This can also be said to be one of the causes of the increasing frustration, crime, violence and restiveness among the youth who are continuously feeling alienated in their fatherland.

“The implementation of Local Content Law, which the Unions in the industry fought vigorously for in the interest of young graduates/technicians/school leavers has been turned into cesspit of corruption with the Board’s only interest being to make more millionaires of portfolio-carrying businessmen.

Read Also: NUPENG threatens strike over alleged security harassment

“The Board seems uninterested in addressing the crude behaviour and exploitative employment tactics of those unscrupulous indigenous employers and multi-nationals who are, unfortunately, exploiting and turning the local contents law into slavery and precarious employment rather than a source of fulfilling employment and empowerment for the teeming qualified young Nigerians in their fatherland.”

Akporeha called on the Federal Government to declare emergency in the sector.

“We are urgently calling on the new administration to declare a state of emergency in the oil and gas sector  to properly situate the employment in the industry in such a way that will engender technical expertise and skills enhancement for young graduates/technicians/school leavers and further help to reduce the wave of brain drain, insecurity and penchant for fraudulent activities among the youth in the country.

“It is our firm belief that Nigeria has enough human capacity to develop and enhance its technological capabilities,” he said.

The union also implore the government of Tinubu to save Nigeria from the shame and global ridicule of open thefts and sales of the nation’s crude oil in the international markets while the country is reeling in helplessness, hardship and poverty.

On the Petroleum Industry Bill implementation (PIB), the union said  Tinubu needs no further introduction to the tumultuous journey that led to its eventual signing into an Act by former President Muhammadu Buhari with the objectives of having a petroleum industry that will be accountable, rewarding and transparent in financials, governance and responsiveness to the needs and yearnings of communities and stakeholders.

“These desirable objectives can only be achieved with strict adherence in implementation to the spirit and letters of the Act. We, therefore, plead with the President and his team to give a new narrative to wrong notions that governments are no respecter of their laws, “ he said.