The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Labour may down tools over welfare

    Labour may down tools over welfare

     •Civil servants condemn Assembly fracas

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has threatened to call its members in the federal public service out on strike if the Federal Government continues to dilly dally over the union’s demands for government to address the avalanche of welfare issues affecting its teeming members.

    This fresh strike is coming barely one month after the union paralysed activities at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspectorate Offices, and the 104 Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) for four weeks over non-payment of promotion arrears and other allowances.

    In a press statement issued in Lagos and signed by its Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, the union drew the attention of the general public to the fact that the Federal Government had refused to enter into meaningful dialogue with the association to address lingering labour issues captured in 12 memoranda and placed before the  Government since March this year.

    ‘‘Since March, 2014, all efforts by the union to bring the Federal Government to the negotiating table to discuss the labour issues contained in the 12  memoranda have been frustrated by strategic government agencies including the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) saddled with the responsibility of handling welfare issues of workers,’’ the union said.

    According to Lawal, the issues in dispute include the non-payment of promotion arrears and other entitled allowances of workers, demand for the upward wage review in the civil service, payment of civil servants rent allowance en-bloc, payment of end-of-year incentives to all public servants, upward review of retirement age in the civil service, payment of special allowance to civil servants engaged in teaching including those teaching in the Federal Unity Colleges.

    Other grievances are non-payment of first 28 days allowance in lieu of hotel accommodation, the vexed issue of conducting promotion examinations in the public service at mid night, non-payment of allowances in respect of 2010 mandatory training programme organised by the OHCSF, payment of responsibility allowance to officers in the Directorate cadre in the Civil Service, among others.

    Lawal regretted that several meetings called since March, 2014 by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity to resolve these volatile labour issues had been aborted by deliberate absence at the parleys of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

    ‘‘It is not quite clear why these government agencies are frustrating the negotiation process. Could it be that they subtly want to push thousands of workers in the public service into the streets to complicate the security challenges posed by the insurgents?’’ he asked.

    The ASCSN urged President Goodluck Jonathan to direct relevant government agencies to enter into serious dialogue with the union on the labour issues listed above which had been outstanding for several years.

    ‘‘It must be emphasised that the patience of thousands of employees in the public service has been exhausted on these issues and they may resort to self-help without further notice. This is the more reason why the Federal Government should come to the negotiation table with the union immediately before the entire public service is engulfed in industrial crisis the country can least afford now,’’ he said.

    The union also condemned in very strong terms the invasion of the National Assembly (NASS) by men of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agents to prevent lawmakers from having access to their chambers.

    In a statement issued in Lagos and signed by its National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, the union stated that the action of the security agents negated democratic ideals. ‘‘No matter the disagreement between the executive arm of government and some members of the House of Representatives, there is no need to use force to prevent the lawmakers from entering the premises of the National Assembly,’’ Kaigama said.

    He said the show of shame by the Nigeria Police Force and other security agents in preventing the number four citizen of this country along with other federal lawmakers from entering the assembly complex by firing canisters of tear gas at them all in a bid to prevent the House from re-convening to deliberate  on the request of Mr. President for an extension of the state of emergency rule in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states was highly condemnable and  makes a mockery of the nation’s democracy.

    It argued that the defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was not enough for the fundamental human rights of the legislators to be trampled upon by the executive arm of government.

    The union  urged politicians to respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which they swore to uphold. “This is a nation that is governed by laws and aside from that, we have our values which should normally dictate and govern our operations. Our respective actions must therefore, be driven by the provisions of the constitution and they must always be in agreement with the rule of law”

  • Maritime workers to down tools over tariff reversal

    Maritime workers to down tools over tariff reversal

    Ports Operations will be shut down from next Monday, if the Federal Government fails to withdraw its directive to terminal operators to revert to their 2009 tariff, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has warned.

    The union noted that following the directive, terminal operators and Stevedoring contractors refused to negotiate dockworkers’ condition of service, which is due for re-negotiation this year.

    The union, in a petition to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umaru, dated November 10, and signed by its Secretary-General, Mr. Aham Ubani,  said: “Our attention has been drawn to the recent directive from Shippers’ Council to seaport terminal operators instructing them to revert to their 2009 tariff as a panacea to achieving an acceptable lower overall cost of doing business in our sea ports.”

    The petition titled: “Demand for Withdrawal of Shippers Council’s Directive on Reversion of Sea Port Terminals Charge Tariff to 2009 Rate” copy of which was made available to The Nation, read in part: “We acknowledge the need to make our seaports less expensive as one of the critical factors in making our ports the preferred ports within the sub-region. We, however, wish to observe that the prevailing high cost of doing business in our ports needs to be addressed holistically if the desired goal is to be achieved in its entirety.”

    Ubani noted that the under listed cost factors need to be addressed realistically. The petition listed poor access roads to the port, which gives rise to higher cost of trucking goods in and out of the ports, presence and practice of illegal tolls/extortions by various agencies operating in the ports both legally and illegally, activities of some customs men and officers as adding to the operational cost of ports.

    It also decried the effect of congestion, which gives rise to demurrage and additional increase on the cost of clearing goods in the port, as well as delay in effecting custom examination and the attitude of most customs officers, who act as lords who must be worshipped by agents rather than serving the needs of the customers as diligent civil servants, among others.

    “We are alarmed that an institution with or without known legal authority to perform the duties of port regulator could evolve such biased directive targeting terminal operations costs alone with dire consequences on our members–the Dockworkers and operational efficiency without informed consultation with relevant stakeholders on all the above elements and their cost burden implications on the seaports,” the Union said.

    MWUN noted the non-consideration of the present customers price index and current rate of inflation, saying that they felt aggrieved by the consequences of the directive as manifested in the refusal of employers (i.e. terminal operators and stevedoring contractors) to negotiate the dockworkers condition of service, which is due for re-negotiation this year.

    “Our members, the dockworkers, have become restive and may resort to self-help nation wide with effect from Monday 17th November, if the terminal operators still refuse to negotiate on the grounds of being incapacitated by the directive,” the Union said.

  • Mixed reactions trail removal of wages from Exclusive List

    Mixed reactions trail removal of wages from Exclusive List

    Mixed reactions have trailed the decision of lawmakers to expunge wages issues from the exclusive legislative list. While the  Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) are against the move, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) sees nothing wrong with it, TOBA AGBOOLA writes.

    Attempts by the National Assembly (NASS) to remove wage-related issues from the exclusive legislative list and put them on the concurrent legislative list in the on-going fourth amendment to the 1999 Constitution, have been greeted by mixed reactions.

    The organised labour, under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),  Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) have perfected plans to resist what they described as an act of treachery to further drive the Nigerian workers to the extreme and pave the way for all forms of violent reactions.

    While the TUC, last week,  moved to Lagos to perfect its onslaught against the NASS, the leadership of the NLC converged in Abuja to fine tune strategies to thwart the move.

    NLC’s President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar called on the whole workers in the country to be red-alert  over the attempt by what he called “political hawks” to take food from their mouths. Omar, who insisted that the battle must be won added: “We at  the Congress see the removal of Wages from the Exclusive List as an act of treachery masterminded by conservative governors and their cohorts in the NASS, which will do the polity no good.”

    Omar warned that the consequences that would befall the nation’s economy would be unimaginable because of the decision of the NASS on minimum wages. He said: “We advise the lawmakers to hearken to the voice of reason and the voice of the people by urgently retracing their steps because the consequences of their action could be dire for the nation.”

    Its General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, also stated that the treacherous decision was masterminded by conservative governors. “We wish to state in no uncertain terms that the Congress will mobilise its members to resist this move,” he said. Ozo-Eson, who argued that the minimum wage laws are in force in approximately 90 per cent of countries in the world today, emphasised that Congress will not be cowed by the remaining 10 per cent of Nigerians opposed to the laws.

    Its Deputy President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, while paying tribute to the House of Representatives, that did not contemplate removing wages from the Exclusive List, challenged the Senate to be ready for actions from the labour movement. “We recall that last year, our national campaign and mobilisation on this subject matter was suspended at the instance of the leadership of the Senate, which promised to revisit the issue now that they are better informed. “It is also worth recalling that the just concluded National Conference retained wages on the Exclusive List in deference to argument in favour of putting it on the Concurrent List,” Ajaero said.

    In the same vein, the TUC’s President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, stated that the attempts by some elements within the Upper House to truncate the economic stability of the nation, needs swift mass action. He said TUC is worried that the Senate is feigning ignorance of the principle and concept of the minimum wage as practised in decent societies all over the world. Kaigama, who argued that the timing of the Senate’s decision was so close to the preparation for general elections next year, saw it as an attempt to provoke a national industrial crisis. He warned that unless the Senate wisely reverses its decision, Nigerian workers would not hesitate to resort to that option.

    In Kaigama’s words: “We have explained as often as necessary that the basic rationale for the fixing of a minimum wage is to ensure that employees, particularly the unorganised and unskilled, are not exploited by their employers to the extent that their pay becomes so low that it creates a pool of the working poor. The Senate’s position will doubtlessly encourage the state governments to start paying starvation wages to their workers, whereas the current minimum wage of N18,000 cannot even meet the immediate needs of the poor masses. This is sure to heat up the polity and lead to predictably, unsavoury consequences.”

    However, NECA disagrees insisting that there is nothing wrong in the decision of the lawmakers to move the minimum wage issue to the concurrent list. According to its Director General, Mr Segun Oshinowo, the ability to pay by employers, whether as government or as a private sector enterprise, is a key factor in employment relationship and sustenance of industrial harmony.

    He said: “We commend this bold initiative by the NASS, as this is the right thing to do. It is, however, important for it to explain how all this will work out so that the state governments would not walk away with the belief that they would not be bound by the National Minimum Wage as and when the Federal Government legislates on this.”

    He said as the voice of private sector employers, NECA equally have an interest in the issue. He stated there is need for everybody to be consistently reminded that Nigeria is operating a federal constitution, which ordinarily should ascribe significant power and responsibilities to the federating units, including the right and power of the component units to define and determine the minimum wage. He said NECA therefore, does not see anything wrong in the intention of the lawmakers to move minimum wage to the concurrent list.

    Deputy Speaker/Chairman, House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Amendment, Emeka Ihedioha, last week, tried to clarify the status of the issue in the constitution amendment by insisting that labour has not been removed from the Exclusive Legislative List.

    He said it has become necessary to clarify that the conference report of the Constitution Review Committee recently adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives did not remove labour from the Exclusive Legislative List.

    According to Ihedioha, the Senate had earlier put Labour on the Concurrent List but the House retained it in the Exclusive List. He stressed that during the harmonisation of the reports from the two chambers, the Conference Committee adopted the House version and retained labour on the Exclusive List.

    He added that both the Senate and the House of Representatives have now adopted the Conference Committee Report, which retained labour on the Exclusive Legislative List because “we are at a loss as to where the false and misleading information on this matter emanated from,”.

  • 1,917 civil servants pass directorate exams

    1,917 civil servants pass directorate exams

    A total of 1,917 civil servants passed a directorate level promotion examination recently conducted in the civil service, Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Deaconess Joan Ayo has said. Ayo stated this at a press briefing in Abuja where she pointed out that a total of 3, 273 wrote the examination. She said those who passed have already been promoted, stressing that the exercise would be conducted annually to discourage stagnation in the civil service.

    Candidates were drawn from the administrative officers’ pool of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Office of the Accountant General, Auditor General and Surveyor General of the Federation and professionals in other agencies of government as well as state counsels in the ministry of justice.

    The FCSC chairman said Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Nigeria Institute of Management along with proven retired and serving officers served as resource persons to set and mark the “professional questions, while FCSC commissioners set and marked the civil service and current affairs questions.”

    She said to maintain the integrity of the process, strict measures were employed including the introduction of biometric accreditation by the Department of State Security, customised answer sheets, invitation of the police, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the National Security and Civil Defence Corps for monitoring.

  • HOS urges partnership with CBN on capacity building

    HOS urges partnership with CBN on capacity building

    Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOS), Mr Danladi Kifasi has called for partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in capacity building and skills development for public servants in the country.

    Kifasi, who paid a courtesy call on the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele in his office in Abuja, said collaboration between relevant stakeholders and development institutions has become necessary in order to help build a modern public service that would provide world class service for sustainable national development.

    He observed that most civil servants lack the requisite skills to compete favourably with their counterparts in developed countries, which necessitated the need to leverage on CBN as one of the key institutions that provides effective and efficient service delivery to Nigerians and the entire African continent.

    Responding, Emefiele said part of the mandate of the apex bank is to impact positively on the lives of Nigerians in terms of job creation and capacity building. He said the call for collaboration was timely as the bank had put in place a world class international training institute with state-of-the-art facilities for capacity building for all Nigerians.

     

  • Labour praises Amosun on infrastructure

    Labour praises Amosun on infrastructure

    Organised Labour   has praised Senator Ibikunle Amosun for what it described as a giant stride in the area of infrastructure in Ogun State.

    The National President of the Chemical and Non Metallic Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSAN), Comrade Abdul Gafar Mohammed at the opening of the union’s 19th Annual National Management / Industrial Relations seminar in Abeokuta said the governor has turned the fortune of the state around within the shortest time he took over the mantle of leadership in the state.

    “As an organised labour, we do not have any political affinity, but we aligned with leaders who are performing. I have been living in Ogun State for the past 20 to 22 years, and people living in the state know that the governor is performing”, he said.

    He noted that but for Governor Amosun’s road construction in Ota, a local government headquarter in the state, he would have sold his property and relocated.

    He said: “But now due to the governor’s infrastructure development, I ride home safe and sound without any stress.

    “I actually do not understand the kind of politics we practise in this country, when you see people that have ruled and now condemning the governor who is performing,  the landmark is feasible for all to see.”

  • ‘Govt not committed to stopping casualisation’

    The National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), has accused the Federal Government of not doing enough to stop casualisation among employers in the country.

    It said government has also failed to ensure compliance with the terms of contracts for capital projects, adding that Chinese companies should be made to adhere to the expatriate quota policy in the industry.

    It accused the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity of lack of will power to call to order employers who are enslaving Nigerians under the guise of casualisation and outsourcing.

    President, NUCECFWW, Comrade Amechi Asugwuni, who made the accusations at a press conference in Lagos, explained that the trend is dangerous to the economic survival of the nation.

    He said the level of casualisation in the construction sector by foreign companies is worrisome. “We are more concerned that the Federal Government has not done enough in checking the abuse of expatriate quota by Daewoo Nigeria Limited, Alcon Nigeria and other Chinese construction companies despite several regulations that could be leveraged to curb the phenomenon, such as the regulation that stipulates that before any organisation can import workers, such position must be advertised for Nigerians,” he said.

    Comrade Asugwuni, said casualisation has denied workers the right to permanent employment and freedom of association, adding that government has failed to put in place the right policies and programmes that would promote good working environment for workers in the country. He threatened that the union will proceed on an industrial action as soon as the leadership of the congress so directs.

    The NUCECFWW President said one of the ills of unfair labour practices in the construction industry, which is of great concern to the union is casualisation, which has denied its members the right to freedom of association and to become permanent members of staff.

    He said government is not putting in place the right policies and programmes that will promote good working environment for workers in the country.

    He argued that Section 7 (1) of the Labour Act, Cap 198 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 provides that: “Not later than three months after the beginning of a worker’s period of employment with an employer, the employer shall give to the worker a written statement, specifying the terms and conditions of employment, which include the nature of the employment, if the contract is for a fixed term, and the date when the contract expires.

    Asugwuni said the time has come to take bold steps to correct the anomalies associated with casualisation as it will create an opportunity to address other issues of good working conditions for Nigerian workers.

    He listed Chinese construction companies that have allegedly not been observing all relevant labour laws in Nigeria to include China Engineering Construction Company (CECC), China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC), and CGC Nigeria Limited.

    He said the union was compelled to register its displeasure, and that it would down tools if nothing is done.

    However, efforts to get response from Daewoo Nigeria  Ltd and China Engineering Construction Company did not yield any result as they both failed to pick calls nor response to text messages.

  • Labour minister to intensify service delivery

    The Supervising Minister of Labour and Productivity, Kabir Taminu Turaki has pledged to intensify service delivery through the implementation of the Transformation Agenda in the labour sector.

    Turaki, who is also the Minister of Special Duties and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Continuing Dialogue for Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, gave the assurance while taking over the affairs of the ministry from its permanent secretary, Dr Clement Illoh on Friday.

    He called for team work among the management and staff of the ministry and its parastatals to move the labour sector forward in the interest of enduring peace and national development.

    He promised to build on the good work of his predecessor, Emeka Wogu.

  • Group to address women entrepreneurs’ challenge

    The Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), is set to hold its 13th annual conference aimed at examining the possibilities and opportunities in Nigeria while providing insights on the roles of citizens, particularly women, in achieving the identified prospects.

    WIMBIZ, whose objectives among others, are to educate and challenge women to maximise their potential, is also tilted towards elevating the attraction and retention of women in workplace. Themed: Nigeria Rising, Accelerating Transformation, the two-day conference, which is expected to attract over 800 women, will hold next week in Lagos.

    The Chairperson, WIMBIZ, Mrs Osayi Alile, said the conference will touch on education and agriculture, and as well seek new ways of creating jobs and wealth for women and young people and fast-forward their thinking to grow the nation.

    “This conference aims to make women more conscious of their potentials and to position them to become more global, by equipping them with skills and tools needed to harness and take advantage of the opportunities in the new Nigeria”, Mrs. Alile said.

    The keynote speaker at the conference is the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, while the Chairperson is Mrs. Leila Fowler, Founder, Top Grade Secondary School and Proprietress, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls.

    Speakers include, Mrs. Alero Otobo, CEO, Incubator Africa Ltd; Ms. Yewande Sadiku, Executive Producer, Half of a Yellow Sun; Mr. Mezuo Nwuneli, MD, Sahel Capital; and Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, MD, Bank of Industry, among others.

  • Association seeks sack of perm sec

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has suspended the four weeks old strike in the Federal Ministry of Education, calling for the removal of the Permanent Secretary, Mr. MacJohn Nwaobiala.

    In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by its Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, the union ssaid the suspension of the industrial action followed the release of N527,643,444.00 by the Federal Government, to pay the first batch of the promotion arrears to the workers of the ministry.

    “Besides, there have been appeals by well-meaning Nigerians, including the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Service Matters, who met with the union and the management of the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja. They emphasised the need for the ministry to pay its staff all outstanding entitlements,”  the statement added.

    On the call for the removal of Nwaobiala, Lawal pointed out that the negative attitude of the Permanent Secretary towards the welfare of workers and the ignoble role he played by treating welfare issues with levity provided the ingredients that fuelled the industrial action.

    He said had the Permanent Secretary done the needful, all the allowances, many of which had been outstanding since 2007, would have been paid.

    He said persistent strikes in the education sector have more than confirmed that the Permanent Secretary has lost his bearing and as such, the best option for the Government is to post him out of the Federal Ministry of Education before he completely destroys the sector.

    According to Lawal, a task force made up of representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Education has been set up to ensure that the N1.7 billion needed to complete the payment of promotion arrears and other allowances are released by the Budget Office of the Federation.

    outstanding salaries for newly employed and re-instatement allowance, will be paid immediately the sum of N1.7 billion is released to the Federal Ministry of Education by the Budget Office of the Federation”.