The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Govt to set up 774 skills’ centres

    The Federal Government is planning to establish a model Skills’ Acquisition Centre in all the 774 local government areas in the country to encourage self-reliance among the unemployed youths.

    The Minister for Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukuwuemeka Wogu, made this known during the inauguration of a skill centre in Rimaye in Kankia Local Government Area, Katsina State.

    He said the centre would help to arrest the rural-urban drift and reduce poverty among grassroots people.

    Wogu expressed the optimism that the products of such centres would be able to compete favourably in the available markets worldwide.

    He said job creation was one of the cardinal principles of the administration, adding that job creation should not be left to the government .

    According to the minister, the establishment of the centre at Rimaye is an invitation to other stakeholders to contribute their quotas in job creation.

    Wogu said the administration had put in place policies and programmes to tackle unemployment.

    He noted that more than three million jobs had been created over the years by the NDE alone.

    Wogu praised the efforts of the state and local governments to support the new centre.

  • Omole orders probe of ‘fraud’ at research institute

    • Institute gets new director

    ALMOST one year after workers of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, went on strike to protest the non-payment of their hazard allowances and alleged embezzlement of the fund voted for the payment, the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Bamitale Omole, who supervises institute, has waded into the matter.

    He has set up a panel to investigate the alleged fraud, and a monitoring committee to look at the panel’s report.

    He, however, told The Nation on the telephone that there was no reason for the strike.

    As part of efforts to resolve the crisis, a new Director Prof. James Adediran has been appointed to manage the institute’s affairs.

    He promised to resolve the labour issues that have grounded activities of the institute.

    Adediran, who assumed office last Monday, said his appointment was a major step towards resolving the lingering crisis.

    The ‘indictment’ by a panel of the former Director, Prof. B. A. Ogunbodede, the Chief Accountant, Mr. Z. K. Tejumola and Accountant, Mr. C. O. Adenose, of alleged fraud, financial impropriety and misappropriation of the IAR&T’s fund, particularly N177,571,609.50 posted in the institute’s Cash Book as payment of hazard allowance to workers is causing ripples, especially as it is claimed that the money was transferred to the IAR&T Staff Club Account (a non-statutory account) as staff deductions.

    But the insitute’s Head of Public Relations, Mr Amusat Adeniyi, said the former director, Prof. Ogunbodede, stepped down based on “alleged financial impropriety that is now being investigated by the EFCC.”

    Adeniyi recalled that the IAR&T had been comatose in the last 11 months because of the demand of the institute’s labour unions.

    He expressed the belief that workers would return to work as soon as the leadership of the unions met with the new director.

    “Everybody is ready to resume. But it has to follow a formal procedure,” Adeniyi added.

    Speaking for one of the aggrieved unions, General Secretary of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU), Comrade Peters Adeyemi, told The Nation that the appointment of a new helmsman “is likely to pacify the aggrieved workers because everyone was embarrassed by the action of the former director.”

    He added that the appointment was a plus, that the workers would reconsider the ongoing strike and give the new director a chance. Adeyemi said his union would not welcome the new director with a crisis because of the alleged fraud was not committed during his tenure.

    Efforts to reach Ogunbodede failed because he did not pick telephone calls made to him.

    The new director said other issues demanded by the unions would be resolved, adding that it is a challenge to the new administration.

    “The crisis has not been completely resolved because there are other issues on ground which I have started tackling since yesterday (Tuesday),” he said.

    Adediran said he had discussed the issues with Prof. Omole.

    “I have started to take action in order to resolve the problems and I believe in about two weeks, we will give you good news,” the director said.

    The labour unions went on strike to protest the non-payment of their hazard allowances. It claimed that N177.5 million withdrawn from the institute’s account during the tenure of Ogunbodede for the payment of staff hazard allowance was unaccounted for.

    The unions involved in the dispute included the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the National Association of Academic Technologists.

    Others were the Academic Staff Union of Universities and Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals and Research and Allied Institutions.

  • Youth employment’ll end insecurity, says Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has identified youth employment as one way of ending the problem of insecurity in the nation.

    Speaking during a visit of the management of the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC), Oshiomhole said: “Government alone will never be able to provide all the jobs the citizens require.”

    “The challenge facing the nation, more than anything else, is youth unemployment. It is now settled in development literature that the government will never be able to provide all the jobs the citizens require. It is also increasingly appreciated by Nigerians that the best jobs are not in the public sector, whether in terms of pay, compensation, or security of employment.

    “Any responsible government will be delighted to deal with a company like Coca-Cola, considering the reputation that the firm has established over the years.”

    “For us in Edo, your activities here are something that we cherish a lot, and I am happy to learn from you that you are going to dialogue with us on your plans for investment and expansion. I can assure you even before I know the details that whatever it is that you want us to do, including providing land and constructing road, we will do them and provide any other incentive you require.”

    “In my first term, we focused on infrastructure and in my second term, I am determined to focus on what we must do to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the state, encouraging businesses to expand and new businesses to locate. I want to thank you for the confidence you have shown in our state.”

    Earlier, the Managing Director of NBC, Ben Langat, commended the governor for the giant strides in infrastructural development.

    “We would like to thank you very much because of your programme, which has enabled businesses to thrive in Edo State. We have seen a lot of things that are happening. The infrastructural upgrade that we see, road expansion, construction and renovation of schools as well as the health sector, are instructive,” he said.

    He also said the company has 592 workers, out of which 200 are Edo indigenes, adding they make up about 10 per cent of its work force.

  • NIC to set up centre

    The National Industrial Court (NIC) is set to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADR), its President, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, has said.

    He said this in Abuja, while addressing the bar during the hearing of a case filed by former pension boss, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, challenging his dismissal from office.

    He said the centre would be saddled with settling disputes lodged in the court through alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

    “If a case is filed at the court and all parties filed their processes, it can be referred to the centre for possible out-of-court settlement.

    “After a case is filed and the parties in the suit have properly joined issues, they will be sent to the ADR Centre, and if they fail to settle, they will return to the court for hearing to commence,” he said.

    He said the centre would be an important means of resolving industrial disputes in the country, urging counsel to always embrace out-of-court settlement of industrial disputes.

  • Unemployment hits pilots, engineers

    There  is high unemployment among indigenous aviation professionals, especially pilots and aircraft engineers, the Quality Assurance and Safety Manager of the International Aviation College, Ilorin, Captain Adamu Mshelia, has said.

    He said the new Civil Aviation Policy should address employment of qualified Nigerians before extending similar opportunities to foreigners, adding that figures from the pilots union showed that more than 80 Nigerian pilots were unemployed.

    Mshelia, a former Safety Inspector, and retired acting Director of Licensing, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), told The Nation that pilots are being trained by the Federal and states governments through the amnesty programme.

    “There is growing unemployment among Nigerian aviation professionals, especially pilots and aircraft engineers,’’ he said.

    He said unless the pilots are engaged, there is no way they would garner the requisite experience, adding that getting the flying licence is one thing, and getting the experience which is the prerequisite for employment is another.

    “There is no legislation, which gives opportunity for employment of Nigerians with same qualification with foreigners,” he said, adding that some airlines prefer the employment of expatriates to Nigerians because wealthy Nigerians buy aircraft with foreign registration and use pilots and engineers from the country of registry.

    “Forbes Magazine gave the figure of private jets in Nigeria as 160, but the Civil Aviation Authority put the figures at 61, out of which only 10 are registered in Nigeria. The rest are registered mostly in South Africa, USA, Europe and even some third world countries.

    “The 61 or so aircraft are mostly flown by pilots from the country of registry and maintained by engineers from that country. That translates to over 150 pilots and engineers jobs that would have been filled by Nigerians.

    “The Nigerian is denied the experience that he badly needs to be considered for airline jobs,” he said.

  • NECA chief seeks payment of redundancy benefits

    EMPLOYERS have ben urged to pay their employees redundancy benefits to promote industrial harmony and growth.

    Speaking during the launch of Code of Conduct for Private Employment Agencies, the General-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Olusegun Osinowo, said the inauguration of the code would end the unwholesome practices by some employment agencies against outsourced staff.

    He regretted that the high rate unemployment has made it easier for employment agencies to exploit their outsourced staff. He said though employers have a right to determine the terms of employment for their staff, and how their businesses are to be run, the employees also have rights that have to be respected to promote a harmonious working environment in workplace.

    The Human Capital Association of Nigeria (HuCaPAN), in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other agencies, helped in formulating the code.

    Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Clement Illo, said the industrial harmony goes beyond the law, advising employers to also comply with other non-contractual elements of the employment contract to ensure there is peace in workplace.

    Representative of the European Union (EU), David Macrae, said the implementation of the code, funded by the union, would help in growing the economy and that the code would help to check unfair labour practices.

    Representative of the ILO, Pius Udo, said the code would assist in bringing lasting peace and harmony between employers and employees. He said private employment agencies need to follow international best practices that ensure that rights and privileges of staff are respected by employers.

     

  • ‘Assist vulnerable children’

    Women in PENGASSAN (WIP), the female wing of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), has called on the governments to create special funds to take care of less-privileged children.

    Its National Chairperson, Comrade Ijeoma Dom-Nwachukwu, stated this when the group visited the SOS Children Village in Isolo, Lagos.

    “Government at all levels should do what is necessary to alleviate the sufferings of these little ones that found themselves as orphans not by their own making. I do not think it is something too much for the government to annually put up something for this people to run this place,” she said.

    Comrade Dom-Nwachukwu, who lamented at the high number of vulnerable children in the country, promised that the association would do more in the future to alleviate the plights of the children having seen the situation on ground.

    “In fact, coming here has actually given us the energy to do more. We have discovered that we were not really doing that much. I wonder how the management of the SOS villages in Nigeria cope with so many children and the little things that come their way. In future, we hope to do better than we have just done,” she said.

    The Lagos Zonal Chairperson of WIP, Comrade Bola Ohikere, noted that the gesture is to demonstrate that PENGASSAN also cares about social issues but not only for the welfare of its members and the oil and gas industry.

    The women, who were conducted round the village to see the children, donated LG chest freezer, nine bags of rice, four bags of Tempo detergent, six cartons of Indomie noodles, toiletries and bags of clothes to it.

    Responding, a Director of a humanitarian organisation, Societal Socialese, SOS, Children’s Village, Lagos, Mr B. A. Buraimoh, appreciated PENGASSAN women’s concern, for the vulnerable children in the society.

    He noted that the problem of vulnerable children in Nigeria is a huge one that requires the attention of citizens, adding that his organisation has adopted some programmes to cater for those children.

     

     

     

     

  • Wogu to open skills centre

    The National Directorate of Employment’s (NDE’s) new skills acquisition centre in Rimaye, Katsina State will be inaugurated tomorrow by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu.

    A statement by the Head of Information and Public Relations, Edmund Onwuliri, said the new centre is a continuation of efforts by the NDE to create self-employment through training.

    The statement added that computer operation and engineering, welding and fabrication, plumbing, electrical installation, fashion designing and mobile phone repairs would be taught at the centre.

    The centre is expected to handle 250 trainees in each session.

     

  • Police target N100,000 minimum wage

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, has said N100,000 was being proposed as the minimum salary for the least police officer.

    He spoke at a lecture for police officers in Jos, Plateau State. He  Abubakar, who was represnted at the event by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Zone Four, Mr Mike Zoukomor, said: “The money you are being paid is not enough. That is why the police is working towards increasing the money.

    “We are doing our best to ensure that your morale is high. You must, therefore, put in your best at ensuring that the society is free of any form of crime.”

    He urged policemen to exhibit the highest sense of discipline and professionalism in carrying out their duties.

    “You must ensure that you do not extort money from members of the public and you must be polite in dealing with them as well.

    “If you are caught stealing or found taking hard drugs, you would be severely punished, because you are supposed to show good example.

    “Things like drunkenness will not be tolerated. Police officers must not be seen as drunks,” he warned.

    Plateau Commissioner of Police, Mr Chris Olakpe, advised the officers and men to put into practice the advice of the IG.

    “The IG has told us that it is what you sow that you would reap. You must continue to work very hard and do the right thing,” he said.

    The commissioner promised that the men and officers of the command would continue to protect lives and property in the state.

  • ILO seeks action against occupational diseases

    • Govt, workers disagree on safety regulation enforcement

    THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called for an ‘urgent and vigorous’ campaign to tackle the growing number of work-related diseases, which claim an estimated two million lives per year.

    In Nigeria, workers in the chemical sector say the government is not doing enough to protect factory workers, as many employers disobey the constitutional safety and precaution rules that guides the establishment of factories in the country.

    In a message on this year’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work, ILO Director-General, Mr Guy Rider, said: “Occupational disease impoverishes workers and their families and may undermine whole communities when they lose their most productive workers.

    “Meanwhile, the productivity of enterprises is reduced and the financial burden on the state increases as the cost of health care rises. Where social protection is weak or absent, many workers as well as their families, lack the care and support they need.”

    He called for the prevention of diseases, saying it is more effective and less costly than treatment and rehabilitation.

    He said the ILO was calling for a “paradigm of prevention with comprehensive and coherent action targeting occupational diseases, not only injuries.”

    The Head of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), Brent Wilton, said: “The ILO is well placed to lead a concerted and holistic effort to address OSH challenges by providing integrated web-based information that is practical and easily accessible to workplace actors, prevention and treatment centres, employers’ and workers’ organisations, enforcing authorities and labour inspectorates.

    ‘’We have an opportunity to ensure that countries are better equipped to avert the risk of facing the same OSH challenges by learning from shared experiences, he said.

    General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Sharan Burrow, said: “Our societies must not accept that workers can lose their health to make a living. And we must not forget that occupational diseases put a huge burden on families and the public purse – a burden that is preventable.

    “Harnessing the knowledge of workers, backed by their unions, is crucial for preventing death and illness. Protection, including through respect for workers’ rights to trade union representation, and government legislation and enforcement following ILO standards and guidance should be expanded.”

    In a report, the ILO said despite the fact that occupational diseases kill six times more when compared to other diseases, accidents attract greater attention. Of the estimated 2.34 million annual work-related deaths, the vast majority   — approximately 2.02 million — are due to work-related diseases. This represents a daily average of 5,500 deaths.

    The ILO also estimates that 160 million cases of non-fatal work-related diseases occur yearly.

    Technological and social changes, along with global economic conditions, are aggravating health hazards and creating new risks. Well-known occupational diseases, such as pneumoconiosis and asbestos-related diseases, remain widespread, while relatively new occupational diseases, such as mental and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are on the rise.

    Occupational diseases carry an enormous cost – for workers and their families, as well as for economic and social development. The ILO estimates that occupational accidents and diseases result in an annual four per cent loss in global gross domestic product (GDP), or about US$2.8 trillion, in direct and indirect costs of injuries and diseases.

    Good quality data is of key importance, providing the basis for an effective prevention strategy. Yet, globally, more than half of all countries do not provide statistics for occupational diseases. Only a few countries collect sex-disaggregated data. This makes it difficult not only to identify specific types of occupational injuries and diseases that affect men and women, but also hinders the development of effective preventive measures for all, ILO said.

    “Significantly reducing the incidence of occupational disease is not simple, it may not be easy and it will not happen overnight, but progress is certainly feasible. So, let us, in our respective areas of responsibility, set clear OSH goals, establish a road map and most critically, act and persevere so that, together, we succeed in turning the tide on the epidemic and make good progress on this dimension of decent work,” Ryder said.

    The Labour Minister, however, Chief ‘Emeka Wogu, said the Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity is doing a lot by way of factory inspection to ensure safety in the workplace.

    The General Secretary, National Union of Chemical Footwear Rubber Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), Douglas Adiele, said employers were not fulfilling their legal obligations.

    He, however, said some employers were pulling their weight in that area, while others just neglect the safety precautions.

    “The Ministry of Labour is not doing enough. They have an inspectorate division. But are they doing enough? There are regulations, but to what extent has this regulation been enforced?” he added.