The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Workers get three months to register with PFAs

    If the proposal before the National Assembly sees the light of the day, new employees will be given a period of three months to open Retirement Savings Account (RSA) with the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) of their choice.

    If they don’t, their contributions will be transferred to a temporary RSA opened for such employees.

    This is in appreciation of the fact that some employers who have been complying with the provisions of the Pension Act still have unremitted pension contributions due to the failure of some of their employees to open RSAs.

    It is believed that it would be unjust to hold such employers liable for the violation of the Pension Act because they have custody of the pension funds of some employees who were yet to open RSAs.

    Based on the guidelines on Transitional Contributions Fund issued by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), on assumption of duty, new workers are required to register with the PFA of their choice within a period of six months.

    This means that where any employee that should come under the Contributory Pension Scheme has received salary for a minimum of three months fails to open a RSA and submit particulars of such account to his employer for remitting his pension contributions, the contributions on such employees shall be managed by a PFA under the temporary RSA.

    Following an employee’s failure to open RSA, the employer will choose a PFA for remitting the pension contributions of such employees albeit temporarily.

    To ensure ease of administration while minimising reconciliation, the employer shall choose only one PFA for the purpose of administering the temporary RSA of its employees.

    The employer shall maintain a nominal record of the members of the temporary RSA, their contributions and update same as employee members of the fund open their RSAs.

    On the remittance of contributions, the draft guidelines provide that the employer shall remit the accumulated contributions in respect of all its employees that fall under the category outlined under this category to the PFA.

    Contributions belonging to employees that have left the services of the organisation without submitting their RSA details shall also be remitted along with those still in service.

  • June 12: Why NUPENG led the struggle, by Kokori

    June 12: Why NUPENG led the struggle, by Kokori

    Former General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Chief Frank Kokori, has lamented that the ‘compromising attitude’ of the organised labour during the June 12, 1993 crisis, which forced NUPENG to lead the struggle to defend the rights of the people.

    He spoke in Lagos while fielding questions from reporters at an event organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the annulled 1993 presidential elections.

    He accused the organised labour of refusing to rescue the people when it mattered most. He explained that the way the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was constituted then, its affiliates refused to join the struggle, so NUPENG decided to fight for the people.

    “Not that we enjoyed what we did, we just had to do it because the people and workers were being humiliated. Labour at the time was not ready to fight for the people. That was the cause of the great upheaval. That was the cause of the great resistance that led to our being locked up,”Kokori said.

    He decried the high unemplyment rate in the country, arguing that the various tertiary institutions were churning out unemployable graduates.

    He also lamented the upsurge in private universities for commercial purposes at the detriment of the educational standards, which kept dropping.

    Kokori urged the government to improve on power supply to boost human development and encourage self-employment. He expressed concern that the increase in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) announced recently by the Federal Government, did not reflect in the standard of living of the citizens.

    He warned that President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda would not succeed if the power problem is not solved once and for all.

    He said: “There is no way you can grow economically if you do not give your people power; power is one of the things we never had.”

    The President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr Femi Adeshina, urged the media to take up the challenge of fighting corruption.

    He said power had been hijacked by corrupt leaders who were given their mandate by Nigerians who voted them into power. “For how long are we going to afflict ourselves with bad leaders?” he asked.

  • NYSC seeks employers’ collaboration

    The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia, has urged employers to provide conducive atmosphere for corps members to promote discipline and good work ethics among them.

    He made the call at a sensitisation workshop for corps employers in Dutse.

    The event, tagged: “Harnessing the gains of Youth Service scheme through cordial Corps member/Employer Relationship”, was organised to enable corps members to contribute to the development of the society.

    Okore-Affia, represented by Mrs Stella Abba, a Director with NYSC, said the exercise was aimed at promoting cordial working relationship between employers and corps members.

    He said it was also to help develop an effective performance monitoring mechanism of youths and their activities.

    He stressed the need for employers to instil discipline and sense of patriotism, good moral values and ethics in NYSC members.

    “Corps members spend greater period of their service year with you as their employers.

    “It is imperative to take personal interest, not only in their welfare but in issues that will shape their destiny through counselling and discipline,” he said.

    The director-general said employers were expected to provide decent accommodation, security, transport allowances and good working environment for Corps members to put in their best.

    The state’s NYSC Director, Mr Ishaya Dede,warned Corps members against indiscriminate travelling outside their places of primary assignments, adding that those found wanting would be penalised.

  • Labour slams govt over Diaspora housing scheme

    The organised labour has condemned the Federal Government’s initiative to assist Nigerians in the Diaspora to own houses at home.

    The Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Mr Ya’u Kumo said in Washington, United States, that about 17 million Nigerians, living outside the country, desire to own houses at home, but had challenges, and that the government would help them achieve their dream.

    But the Acting General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Emma Ugboaja, said though the plan is good, the housing problems of Nigerians at home should be addressed first.

    Ugboaja said: “Ya’u Kumo said about 17 million Nigerians, living outside the country, had the desire to own houses at home but had challenges.

    “It is a vision that should be executed when the government completes housing projects for those living in the country.’’

    He said it would be right for the government to satisfy the housing needs of Nigerians living at home first, since they were the primary contributors to the National Housing Scheme (NHS).

    He also said the mortgage bank was collaborating with the NLC in building houses for workers in Abuja.

    He noted that lack of sufficient accommodation had never stopped Nigerians living abroad from returning home.

    The President, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, Mr Tunde Abdulrahman,   said the plan was good. He advised that Nigerians abroad should contribute to the NHS.

    He regretted that many civil servants had contributed to the housing scheme for many years without being able to access loans to construct houses of their own.

    He urged the Federal Government to monitor such a scheme to ensure its effective implementation.

    The General Secretary, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Mr Alade Lawal, said it was worrisome that up to 17 million Nigerians abroad needed houses.

    He advised the government to meet the housing needs of Nigerians at home.

    Lawal urged the government to verify the figure before building houses for those abroad.

  • TUC president: Two contestants step down

    There is a new twist in the race to the office of the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) soon to be vacated by Mr Peter Esele as some of the major contestants have stepped down.

    Three senior staff union presidents were initially billed to slug it out at the polls.

    The aspirants, President of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, (ASSBIFI), Comrade Sunday Olusoji Salako and Comrade Babatunde Abdulrahman, President of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (FOBTOB) offered to step down for Babatunde Ogun, President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

    According to sources, the three union presidents met in Lagos and harmonised the various contestable positions ahead of this week’s Ninth Triennial Delegates’Conference/election of the group which holds this Thursday.

    Under the umbrella of the Harmony Group, Salako is seeking to become first Deputy President-General, while Abdulrahman is contesting to become the TUC Treasurer.

    With this development, the race for the presidency of TUC has been narrowed down to Ogun and Kaigama Boboi, President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN).

    At a ceremony to present the 13 candidates under the Harmony Group, Ogun said if elected, the priority of the group would be to deliver TUC secretariat structure with facilities and responsive personnel to move the union to the next level.

    He promised to make TUC focused with data, research and analysis in line with the dynamics of global economic realities, adding that he would make TUC a centre that trains, develops and impacts on legislation, policy review and drive, among others.

     

  • Anxiety over Pension Act amendment

    Workers are worried over the on-going process by legislators to amend the Pension Act 2004. They are afraid that their hard-earned contributory pension may get into wrong hands should the Act be amended.

    Also, plans to channel the pension funds into infrastruture development is giving the workers nightmare. The funds hit about N2.94 trillion in September last year.

    A Director in the Federal Ministry of Works, who craves anonymity, told The Nation over the weekend that the Pension Reform Act 2004 was the best thing to have happened to workers. The reform took place under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    He lamented that civil service rules were being set aside in desperation of the Federal Government to tamper with the pension funds, ostensibly to prosecute the 2015 electioneering process under the guise of channeling it into infrastructure development.

    The director recalled that the mismanaged pension funds got into wrong hands because they were not covered by the Pension Act 2004.

    He blamed the inability of the government to deal decisively with alleged looters of pension funds on its complicity in the fraud.

    According to him, the former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, battling allegations of collusion with other top government officials to mismanage the pensions of public sector workers may be set free.

    Speaking on the ongoing amendment, a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Hon. Mustapha Bala Dawaki, said: “It’s unfortunate that this government is mutilating and bastardising such an all-important law just because of one individual. Why should they personify government institutions?”

    His comments refer to a provision of the Bill that seeks to change the provision in the original Act providing that the PenCom director-general’s office must be occupied by someone with working experience of between 15 and 20 years.

    General Secretary of the National Union of Chemical Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Mettalic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), Comrade Douglas Adiele, said the pension fund is for security of those who have worked and retired, warning the Federal Government to stay off it. “If this pension fund wasn’t on ground, won’t the Federal Government think of ways of financing the development of infrstructure in the country?” he asked.

    He warned that if the Federal Government was allowed to tamper with the fund as it is planning to do, the pensioners may not see their money when it is time for them to use it.

    He urged the lawmakers to support the cause of the workers by rejecting the amendment, adding that anything to the contrary will amount to collaborating with the executive to ruin the future of the workers.

    Adiele said the Pension Act 2004 has brought in transparency into pension funds management and administration, arguing that since the funds were already being lawfully invested, the government should not expose the funds to the dangers of mismanagement and embezzlement by government officials.

  • Labour, govt bicker over dividends of democracy

    Labour, govt bicker over dividends of democracy

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has scored the Federal Government low on job creation and that for those in employment, job security is an issue. However, the Minister of Information and Communication, Mr Labaran Maku, disagrees. He said the Jonathan administration is doing well. DUPE OLAOYE-OSINKOLU reports.

    Union leaders have lamented the loss of jobs and the government’s inability to create new ones.

    The President, National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather And Non Mettalic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), Comrade Boniface Isok, recalled how epileptic power supply killed many businesses.

    For example, this compelled the relocation of Michelin Tyre and Dunlop Tyre from Nigeria to South Africa and Ghana, he said.

    The relocation of these companies erased jobs, he said. He said the greatest challenge for the nation’s democracy is unemployment. He lamented the continued loss of jobs in the chemical sector, which has made his union lose many members.

    In their own assessment of democracy, civil servants under the aegis of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), spoke through their Secretary-General, Comrade Bashir Alade Lawal. They said the greatest challenge of democracy is the refusal of the ruling elite to play according to the rules.

    “The culture of impunity persists and the workers are not seen and regarded as one of the social partners that have a significant role to play in moving the country forward. Engaging government on issues affecting workers is becoming very difficult as our rulers feel reluctant to come to the negotiating table. They see themselves as sole proprietor of our common patrimony and anybody outside the clique, a stranger that should be kept at bay. That explains why most of the problems bedevilling the country are defying solutions,” said ASCSN.

    The President, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Babatunde Ogun, said the greatest challenge of democracy is lack of its understanding by the political class. He said this is why many of them give in to greed and corruption.

    “Our nation is bedevilled with corruption and selfishness. Lack of unity within the rank and files. This has greatly affected governance, our legislators have not paid any attention to decent work tenets that can protect all workers but interested only in how to remain in office and make more money, labour has not gained much under the so called democracy and our legal systems. The oil and gas sector has done quite well, but lack of policy and political intrigues and policy cum agreement summersault has not allowed the industry to attain the desired result,” he said.

    The Minister of Information and Communication, Labaran Maku, however, disagreed with the labour leaders. He said the programme of the Transformation Agenda of Mr President is targeted at job creation, the economic environment and also social activities to create job for the youths and women.

    “Mr President has taken the bull by the horn. We believe that for our country to develop, we must create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths. The programme of the Transformation Agenda of Mr President is targeted at job creation the economic environment and also social activities to create job for the youths and women.

    “In the first phase of the Community Services Women and Youth Employment Project, we have over 3,400 women and youths who were formerly unemployed but are now gainfully employed by the scheme with additional 2,000 more to join within the next few months and this is not going on in Delta State alone, but in all the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory. In the past 15 to 20 years, no government has been able to do this on a sustainable base. Now we have a president that is determined to tackle the challenges of unemployment.

    “This programme is also designed to solve problems at the community level, the community is also benefiting from the programme through community services, such as tree planting, traffic control, street cleaning and sanitation, among others.

    Also, the Labour Minister, Chief Emeka Wogu, also said the government has delivered on it promises. “In January 2011, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan promised to alleviate the impact of the fall out of the partial removal of fuel subsidy, he has fulfilled these promises. Evidence before us today confirm that he has done so through the Community Service, Women and Youth Employment (CSWYE) Project, one of the project components under the Social Safety Net Programme (SSNP), which is just one out of the eight programmes under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) of the Federal Government,” he said.

  • NLC names labour secretariat after Imoudu, Bafyau

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has named its two houses in Lagos and Abuja after two of its late leaders, .

    NLC President, Abdulwaheed Omar, who made this known at a briefing in Abuja, said the decision was taken at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the congress.

    He said the congress named its sub-secretariat in Lagos after its first leader, the late Pa Michael Imoudu while it renamed the national secretariat in Abuja, Paschal Bafyau Labour House, after its former president who died last year.

    “Similarly, the NEC-in-session also named the national secretariat’s auditorium after the union’s slain deputy general secretary, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, who was killed on May 5, last year.

    Oyerinde was working with Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State on secondment from the NLC when he was murdered.

    The NLC chief said the congress called on governors to respect their forum’s election.

    He said: “The congress irrevocably stands for certain values it will not compromise for anything, and urged the governors to restore dignity to their office.“We are opposed to impunity at all levels and the undermining of national security and unity. We have respect for process and its outcome. We stand for justice.”

    He further said NLC’s NEC also called on the governors to “get back to work and stop overheating the polity”, advising them not to jeopardise Nigerians’ hard-earned democracy. The labour leader urged the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to quickly fix whatever must have gone wrong as they are custodians of the people’s mandate and grand beneficiaries of the nation’s democracy.

    Omar said the NEC also called on the government to ensure adequate power supply to meet the national needs.

    “This should be through the design and execution of seamless transition in its power reform programme,” he said.

    On security, the NLC leader said the congress re-affirmed its belief in the sovereignty of Nigeria and supported the declaration of state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

    He said some thing should be done to protect the civilian population, with channels for dialogue with the Boko Haram insurgents kept open.On minimum wage for teachers, Omar said the congress would not fail to mobilise workers in the states, which had not paid the 27.5 per cent enhanced allowance for teachers.

    “The congress gives its unalloyed support to the proposed action on the matter by members of the National Union of Teachers,” he said.

  • Leather Institute workers flay DG’s reappointment

    • I have served institute to the best of my ability, says DG

    The Joint Workers Union of the Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria has protested the renewal of the tenure of the institution’s Director-General, Dr Isuwa Adamu.

    The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) are accusing him of misappropriation and maladministration.

    The allegations were contained in a 21-page letter signed by ASUP and SSANIP chairmen, Mr Julius Jekada and Mr Job Weyi, addressed to the Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Okon-Bassey.

    In the petition, the workers also accused the director-general of illegal awards of contracts.

    According to them, Adamu ‘misappropriated’ millions of naira contrary to Rule 316 (1) and (11) of the institution’s financial regulations.

    They accused him of failing to remit internally generated revenue to the government and approve imprest to relevant officers for over a year.

    Other allegations include alleged recruitment of unqualified staff in violation of the National Board for Technical Education regulations and victimisation of staff.

    Adamu, who confirmed that a copy of the petition was sent to him by the unions, dismissed the allegations, saying that they were aimed at tarnishing his image.

    “We have authorities saddled investigating such issues.

    “On the financial scam, I can’t say I have or I have not misappropriated funds. Let the authorities concerned investigate. However, I am glad to inform you that I have served this institute to the best of my ability,” he said.

  • Pensioners hail Pensions Complaints Resolution Committee

    SOME pensioners have praised the new 25-member Pension Complaints Resolution Committee set up by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Alhaji Bukar Aji.

    Pa Balogun Idowu, a civil service retiree, told The Nation that it was a welcome development. He added that it was long overdue considering the hardship that old citizens experience before they receive their pensions.

    Mrs Alarape Abdul Raman, who retired from the Federal Ministry of Works, said the committee came at the right time. She, however, urged its members to be focused.

    The Director,Communication of the Civil Service, Mr Tope Ajakaiye, said the committee was set up to resolve the over 10,000 complaints on pension payments and related issues.

    He said the committee, which has three months to complete the assignment, is headed by Mr Zesley Zafi, the Director, Employee Relations and Welfare in the office of the HOCSF.

    He added that the committee has members from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as well as the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

    “It also has members from the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) and the office of the HOCSF,” he added.

    “Reform measures introduced, especially since the advent of civilian administration in Nigeria in 1999, have thrown up new challenges as recent events have shown.

    “Since the HOCSF Office assumed responsibility for direct monthly payment of pensions in November, last year, the exercise had progressed. But that was not without difficulties,” hesaid.

    He noted that there had been various complaints from pensioners, some of which include omission of pensioners’ names from the payroll, and non-payment of gratuity and death benefits.

    “Others are the harmonisation of the six per cent and 15 per cent increase for some pensioners, short/irregular payment of pension and payment of long-standing arrears for both federal and state pensioners with federal share and non-enrolment for monthly pension, among others.’’

    Ajakaiye, therefore, reassured pensioners and Nigerians that during the tenure the administration, pension administration would be run transparently.

    “It is in the realisation of this objective that the new committee was constituted to deal decisively with these complaints and bring succour to our senior citizens,” he said.