The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • NLC warns National Assembly over delay in passing PIB

    NLC warns National Assembly over delay in passing PIB

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the National Assembly over what it called the continued delay in passing the Petroleun Industry Bill (PIB).

    Its Vice President, Comrade Issa Aremu, said the lawmakers should not wait till NLC pickets the National Assembly before they passed the bill.

    “Should the lawmakers fail to pass the bill before the next general elections, all the efforts at lobbying for the passage would result to nothing.

    “We shall add our voices to the existing mass pressure. Don’t forget that there has been series  of demonstrations by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). NLC will add its voice to ensure that PIB becomes a law,”he said.

    Speaking at an Interactive Enlightenment Workshop on PIB in Abuja, Aremu described the bill as one of the progressive laws that  can be bequeathed to the country.

    Looking at the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum  (Downstream) Hon. Dakuku Peterside, he said: “It is good that chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) is here. I think they will not wait for us to picket them before they can pass this bill.”

    Aremu said the bill could culminate in the creation of 19  companies from the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), adding that it also provides for local content.

    His words: “In other words, the PIB will lead to the engagement of  Nigerians from different professional background. Local content means we must have the value for Nigerians to operate in the sector instead of being dominated by foreigners. So any law that will engage Nigerian technicians and accountants is a progressive law.  We will support it  as much as possible.

    The  PIB is designed to strengthen the capacity of indigenous companies in the oil and gas sector to compete with international companies.

    Peterside said although the bill is tailored to tackle corruption even though it would not solve all problems of the oil sector.

    According to him, if the PIB becomes law, it would tackle the perennial environmental challenges in the Niger Delta- the base  of oil production in Nigeria. Three years after the passage of the bill, he said, gas flaring, which is a major environmental threat to lives, farming and fishing in the oil producing

  • Pay our terminal benefits, steel workers tell govt

    Nine years after the privatisation of Delta Steel Company Limited, workers in the steel sector have condemned Federal Government’s inability to pay the N5.2billion terminal benefits of the disengaged workers of the company. The workers also called on government and the company to expedite the negotiation processes that will allow the core investors jump start the company to enable over four thousand workers resume their normal duties.

    The workers acting under the aegis of Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSSAN) at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and  Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to as a matter of urgency, order the settlement of the outstanding benefits so as to save lives.

    In a communique jointly signed by its National President, Comrade Maliki Otori and General Secretary, Comrade Titus Orimijupa, the union expressed sadness over the continued closure of the company nine years after its privatisation.

    The union however commended the president’s developmental programme for Ajaokuta Steel Company, the National Iron Ore Mining Company, National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency, Kaduna, and the Metallurgical Training Institute, Onistha.

    “We call on the Federal Government to improve on these companies’ budgetary provisions to enable them step up activities on their statutory responsibilities”, the communique read.

  • Group tackles NEITI over N1.7b fund

    A civil society group, Civil Society Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has expressed worries over the continued funding of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITTI) to the tune of N1.7 billion without corresponding remediation over the years.

    Its Senior Programme Officer,  Mr. Kolawole Banwo, said the group was concerned that NEITI process had been reduced to churning out various forms of reports while remediation action, which entailed the implementation of recommendations from the reports to correct the deficiencies identified had remained elusive.

    He noted that beyond NEITI audit reports, there had been several other reports, which have only served to confirm and reinforce the NEITI reports. Kolawole said: “The Harts Group was contracted for the 1999-2004 audits at the cost of $2.3 million (about N345 million). The two audits for 2009-2011 cost about N364 million. By the end of the on-going 2012 audits, we would have expended well over N1 billion on NEITI audits alone.

    “This is without the costs of the KPMG report commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and the several presidential probe panels and the National Assembly panels set up post-2012 fuel subsidy crisis,” Banwo said, recalling that some major outcome of NEITI reports, aside winning laurels, also uncovered $9.7 billion loss to the nation out of which $2.4 billion had been recovered.

    Besides, it provided detailed report that gave Nigerians information on events in the oil and gas sector that was hitherto unknown and increased revenue to government since the commencement of the transparency body’s implementation. In spite of this feat, he said the group was concerned that Nicholas Shaxson’s rhetorical remarks about NEITI reports being just glorious audits as far back as 2009, may have been confirmed to be true five years after.

    On the position of the group, he said it was time to move beyond reports to remediation, stressing that in the group’s previous shadow reports of NEITI process, CISLAC had insisted that it was time to go beyond validation and move from audit to action.

    While insisting that remediation is the missing gap in the implementation of NEITI in the country and it is the ultimate goal, he asked, “Of what use are reports if all they do is reveal scandalous losses and corruption of monumental proportion? “How useful is it for Nigerians to know that over $7 million are unaccounted for? That there are no metering facilities and we depend on buyers to determine how much resources are extracted from our shores?

    “That the NNPC sells crude oil under terms set by it and using interest rates set by it as though it is above the law?”

    Banwo also blamed the awkward process on the docility of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team, arguing that the body, which should have taken the responsibility to ensure things were properly done was docile due to lack of commitment.

    Meanwhile, the National Assembly has expressed its determination to ensure that findings in the annual oil and gas industry audit report of NEITI are extensively implemented.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Account, Senator Ahmed Lawan, disclosed this in Abuja at a round-table meeting on remediation issues raised in various oil and gas industry audit reports of NEITI.

    The lawmakers say the move had become necessary following the need to enthrone good governance in the management of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources. “All of us, regardless of our political persuasion, must support the full implementation of the NEITI reports. I believe in NEITI reports. It is a fact that our oil wells have not brought the desired good and wellbeing for our citizens,” Lawan said.

    He explained that for the fact that the country’s oil wells have not serviced the wellbeing of the people; the full implementation of NEITI’s audit report should be considered an instrument to bring the full benefits that are embedded in the country’s oil and gas industry.

    “If the statistics say the Nigerian economy is the fastest growing economy or whatever, the fact remains that we are performing very poorly in terms of governance,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “If good governance were to exist and deliver to Nigerians what is right to us in oil and gas then NEITI reports must be taken very serious. We want a better accountability, better probity and transparency in oil and gas industry particularly.”

  • NDE programme offers 740 permanent jobs

    The Graduate Attachment Programme (GAP) of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) will provide 740 permanent jobs for graduates, its Director-General, Abubakar Mohammed has said.

    Mohammed, who spoke at the flag off of the programme in Abuja, urged employers of labour to take advantage of the opportunities it provides by employing trained graduates to reduce rising unemployment in the country.

    He recalled that GAP was conceived in 2006, adding that employers of labour were invited to provide opportunities of attachment for fresh graduates in their companies as a way of fighting unemployment.

    “GAP has a life of its own and means a lot to the Nigerian graduates who are victims of unemployment. To them, it symbolises the feature that characterises the unemployed graduates’ world – the interval between the world of school and the world of work, empty interval between the world of unemployment and employment and that void that separates frustration and fulfillment,” he said.

    According to him, the programme provides an opportunity for beneficiaries to make themselves indispensable to the employer through their contributions to the value chain.

    Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolomemen lauded the initiative, describing it as a vehicle through which beneficiaries can acquire necessary work skills and become useful to themselves and the entire society.

  • Labour urges repeal of Akpabio’s pension law

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, to bow to public opinion and abrogate its new pension law instead of seeking its review.

    ASCSN Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, regretted that majority of the citizens live below poverty line.

    “We demand that the pension law should be repealed entirely because the whopping pension benefits for the government officials would wreck the economy of the state,” he said in a statement.

    The ASCSN contended that it was bad enough that the law is designed for the benefit of few privileged individuals.

    ASCSN posited that Akpabio’s pension law is not only obscene but offends the sensibility of right-thinking members of the society.

    According to the union, record from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Akwa Ibom State generates about N1 billion internally monthly and wondered where Governor Akpabio would expect the state to generate funds to pay the huge benefits and meet other financial commitment of the state if there is a drop in federal allocation to the state.

    “The main argument for jumbo pay of political office holders was that they are not entitled to pension.  Now, they award to themselves whopping gratuity and pension designed to massage their insatiable greed. The worse part of it is that these are the same set of individuals complaining that N18,000 minimum wage per month is on the high side, “ the union lamented.

    While urging the governor to repeal and not review the law, the workers advised other state governments such as Rivers, Lagos, Borno, Gombe, Kano, that had passed similar legislations to abrogate them without further delay.

    The group also enjoined the trade union movement, civil society groups, prominent citizens, religious leaders, and all men and women of goodwill to stand up against the emerging pension laws in the states which are designed to hand over the entire budgets to the governors, their deputies and their cronies.

     

  • NULGE supports autonomy for local govts

    The National President, Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, has said for the third tier of government to be active and proactive in its activities, it must be free and autonomous.

    He said a platform must be created    to organise them to harness all available human and material resources within their domains for the enhancement of their standard of living.

    “I think our position is well known to all Nigerians and it has not changed from our long time of struggles to emancipate the local government system from the tyranny of the state governors.

    “Our position is that we really want the local governments to be free; we need local governments that will address the aspiration and yearnings of our rural people. We need local governments that will deliver; local governments that can stand the test of time; local governments where the issue of unemployment can be addressed through tapping local talents.

    Khaleel said for the LGAs to achieve their objectives, there must be an inclusive and a democratic system of governance where the people or communities that make up the councils must be the helm of affairs and be seen to have a stake in the system.

    He added: “We want local governments where every member of the community will be a stakeholder committed to the development and aspiration of his area.

    On the National Conference, he said the best way to address Nigeria’s problems was having inclusive local governments, stating that every member of the community will understand his roles and importance in the administration of the government.

    His words: “The best way to address Nigeria’s problems is by having inclusive local governments. This means that every member of the community will realise his importance and  his role in administering the local government, not a caricature system of local government that we have been experiencing since 1999 till date.”

    He continued: “The system of local government that will work for this country is the only answer to the problems of our divisive nature; diversity in ethnicity, religion and in many other ways. The essence of creating local governments is to address the differences. “And even the structures we have as state governments cannot adequately address and manage the aspirations and yearnings of different groups within a particular state. Those differences will be better addressed under the system of local government where smaller communities are merged.

    “This is our focus and we really believe that for any government to work properly or deliver, you  must have an articulate public service structure, that is why as part of our agitations, the civil service of the local government, we believe, must also have some degree of independence by way of having a constitutional framework that would guarantee the existence and independence of the local government service commission that will manage the activities of civil service of the local government.”

    Meanwhile, NULGE has rejected the recommendations by the Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government for Local Government Areas to be turned into administrative units rather than a federal entity.

    President of Yobe State chapter of NULGE, Comrade Musa El-Badawy, said the local governments should continue to remain a federating unit as recognised by the 1999 Constitution. He pointed out that turning them into an administrative unit would subject the system to the excruciating control of the state assemblies.

    El-Badawy urged the committee not to temper with the views of Nigerians who were overwhelmingly in support of local government autonomy at a recent public session held by the National Assembly in the federal constituencies.

    “The union knows that the issue of local government is an almost settled matter through various past efforts. The National Conference can only build on this and adopt it for a grand norm in Nigeria and not to sabotage or put the country in a reverse gear through its positions,” he said.

     

  • Fed Govt urged to stop anti-workers’ activities

    The Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSA) has called on the Federal Government to ensure the enforcement of laws and regulations that will boost local manufacturing of drugs and discourage importation of fake drugs. The union also canvassed a level playing ground for effective competition amongst local manufacturers.

    President, CANMPSSA, Comrade Abdul Gafar Mohammed, who made the call at a press conference organised by the association, also stressed the need for Federal Government to put in place policies that would stop the unfair labour practices encountered by workers in the sector

    He said: “There is urgent need for government to ensure the enforcement of laws and regulations that would boost local manufacturing of drugs in the country by discouraging importation of fake drugs as well as ensure policies that would stop the unfair labour practices encountered by workers in the sector”

    According to Mohammed, there are prevalent unhealthy industrial practices in most companies in the sector that need the attention of the Federal Government for industrial peace to prevail

    “The prevalent unhealthy industrial practices in most of our member companies has given rise to a need for us to adopt a new strategy to effectively combat the high rise in unfair labour practices.

    “The problem of casualisation, outsourcing and termination of employment without fulfilling the procedures and, in most cases without the necessary financial entitlement must stop for peace to reign in the sector.

    “The right to unionise as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention as domesticated by laws are mostly trampled upon by some employers of labour in the sector”, he  said.

    Arguing that the struggle had been geared towards improving the welfare and well-being of the association’s members, Mohammed said: “We have various cases of undue harassment; intimidation and witch hunting of labour representatives and branch executives in order to intimidate them to abandon the struggle for emancipation of workers.

    “We call on the government to enforce policies that would ensure safe work place, decent work agenda, gender sensitivity, training and sustaining the right to freely associate in the sector.”

    The labour leader emphasised that government had not given all the important sector the due attention such as import waivers, tax relieves/exemptions, intervention funds.

    “We have very unpleasant government policies as relate to pharmaceutical industries as most of the industries are operating under poor road network, epileptic power supply, insecurity, high and unstable foreign exchange, unpredictable and very fluid financial situations general infrastructural decay that had added to the cost of production,” Mohammed said.

  • NECA, labour bicker over refineries privatisation

    The controversy generated by the privatisation of the refineries has thrown up a lot of issues on the transparency of the privatisation programme of the government. The umbrella body for employers in the country, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), and oil workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), are singing discordant tunes over the privatisation of the four refineries. TOBA AGBOOLA reports

    The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and oil workers, under the aegies of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and the Natural Gas (NUPENG) are in the trenches over the privatisation of the near-moribund, state-run refineries. While NECA is in support of the scheme, oil workers are against it because of the inherent job loss by their members.

    But NECA Director-General Mr. Segun Oshinowo insists that it is the only way for the refineries to perform optimally in the long run.

    He said: “If we had gone that way, the whole issue of our dependency on foreign source for fuel supply would have, to a large extent, been addressed effectively. So, the same courage and determination which this government has demonstrated in privatising the electricity sector should be extended to the refineries so that we can save financial resources that are wasted on turn around maintenance (TAM) every now and then for which we have not actually got appropriate benefits. I will want this administration to consider that as a worthwhile legacy to bequeath to Nigeria.”

    He said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would address the issue of the refineries.

    Oshinowo said: “How long have we been on PIB? Why can’t the privatisation of those refineries acquire a life of their own outside PIB? Which one will be faster to handle, privatising outside the PIB or waiting for the PIB that has been on the table for so long? I think we have to face certain serious policy issues in this country.

    “For us, and talking from my personal perspective, I do not see any reason the government should still be involved in the refineries.”

    However, NUPENG and PENGASSAN have rejected the planned privatisation of the refineries. In separate reactions, both unions faulted the programme, urging the government to, instead of an outright sale, the Federal Government should adopt the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model with the National Oil Company (NOC) or the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as owners of the four refineries holding minority share, while core investors/local participants hold the working majority. Workers, trade unions, and the host communities should also hold minority shares.

    Specifically, NUPENG wondered why government would suddenly wake up to talk about selling the four public refineriesthis year, warning that any decision on the refineries without the involvement of the organised labour would be resisted with everything at labour’s disposal.

    NUPENG’s  General Secretary, Mr. Isaac Aberare, said workers are worried about the  proposal by the Federal Government to sell the nation’s four refineries next year.

    He said caution must be exercised in the proposed sale as all stakeholders must be involved, if the plan will see the light of day.

    He said the sale of the refineries is not the solution to the massive importation of petroleum products into the country. He argued that the problem is government’s refusal to do the TAM of these refineries over the years to make them function optimally.

    He said a  lot of intrigues, power play, selfish interest to protect the cabal importing fuel had come to play, leaving the equipment in the refineries to rot away.

    “NUPENG is of the belief that more refineries should be established in the model of the NLNG strategic partnership and more investors given tax holidays and land to enable them construct new ones just like the initiative of the Dangote refinery, instead of trying to sell the nation’s assets as scraps to their people.

    “The proposed plan should be done with utmost care because the union will not fold its hands and allow its members to be thrown into the labour market that is already saturated.

    “NUPENG and PENGASSAN must be involved in wide consultations on issues like this before going on air to pronounce their sales, in order to avoid industrial disharmony,” he said.

  • ‘For us to be active, we need to be autonomous’

    The National President of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, has said for the third tier of government to be active and proactive in it activities, it must be free and autonomous.

    Khaleel said a platform must be created    to organise them to harness all available human and material resources within their domains for the enhancement of their standard of living.

    “I think our position is well known to all Nigerians and it has not changed from our long time of struggles to emancipate the local government system from the tyranny of the state governors.

    “Our position is that we really want the local governments to be free; we need local governments that will address the aspiration and yearnings of our rural people. We need local governments that will deliver; local governments that can stand the test of time; local governments where the issue of unemployment can be addressed through tapping local talents.

    Khaleel said for the LGAs to achieve their objectives, there must be an inclusive and a democratic system of governance where the people or communities that make up the councils must be the helm of affairs and be seen to have a stake in the system.

    He added: “We want local governments where every member of the community will be a stakeholder committed to the development and aspiration of his area.

    On the National Conference, he said the best way to address Nigeria’s problems was having inclusive local governments, stating that every member of the community will understand his roles and importance in the administration of the government.

    His words: “The best way to address Nigeria’s problems is by having inclusive local governments. This means that every member of the community will realise his importance and  his role in administering the local government, not a caricature system of local government that we have been experiencing since 1999 till date.”

    He continued: The system of local government that will work for this country is the only answer to the problems of our divisive nature; diversity in ethnicity, religion and in many other ways. The essence of creating local governments is to address the differences. “And even the structures we have as state governments cannot adequately address and manage the aspirations and yearnings of different groups within a particular state. Those differences will be better addressed under the system of local government where smaller communities are merged.

    “This is our focus and we really believe that for any government to work properly or deliver, you  must have an articulate public service structure, that is why as part of our agitations, the civil service of the local government, we believe, must also have some degree of independence by way of having a constitutional framework that would guarantee the existence and independence of the local government service commission that will manage the activities of civil service of the local government”.

     

  • Govt to review group life policy for civil servants

    The Federal Government has concluded plans to review the Group Life Assurance Policy for  its civil servants to make them more effective.

    The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Goni Aji, spoke in Abuja, during an official meeting with the Underwriters on Group Life Assurance Scheme, for the federal civil servants.

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Yemi Adelakun, Aji lamented that civil servants are not benefiting as much as they should under the current Group Life Assurance Scheme.

    “The current scheme is not in line with global best practices, he said, listing “drawbacks in the current policy (to) include, arbitrary allotment of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to insurance companies without consideration for competiveness or value propositions.

    “Funds are not provided to pay premium in advance of cover as required by the insurance law of no premium no cover; current insurance scheme is done annually whereas group life assurance should be a long term policy.

    “Premium are currently based on total estimate of staff emolument in the annual budget rather than actual pay roll of the respective MDA.

    “Other lapses in the present policy are, no subsequent reconciliation of the estimated and actual premium to determine surplus or shortfall and the share of insurance companies are based on percentage of estimated budget emolument of allotted MDA and not scheduled emolument of civil servants covered by the insurance,” Aji said.