The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Ministry moves to check job stagnation

    The Federal Ministry of Education is considering creating additional offices to accommodate staff who are stagnated at the same level for years.

    A stakeholders’ meeting under the chaired by Minister of Education, Prof. Rukayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i , has agreed that the ministry should expedite action on its effort to create additional vacancies through the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).

    Following the 21-day ultimatum given by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) to the Federal Ministry of Education to resolve the outstanding labour issues, stakeholders met with the Labour Minister.

    In the communidirector, Human Resources Management, Education ministry and  Comrade A. B. Lawal, Secretary-General, ASCSN, the meeting agreed that the Permanent Secretary of Education should provide a quarterly schedule of meetings between the Ministry and ASCSN leaders, which would be chaired by either the Minister or him.

    On the non-placement of staff after promotion and the non-payment of promotion arrears, it was resolved that the task force put in place to address the issues should conclude its assignment latest by the end of by next month.

  • Arik partners NAWOJ on skill training

    Members of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) have completed a week-long training in London designed to broaden their horizons and hone their skills.

    Arik Air had partnered the association by facilitating their trip to and fro the United Kingdom (UK) with a 50 per cent rebate on tickets to all the journalists who attended the training.

    The airline’s spokesman, Mr Banji Ola, said Arik is a progressive airline that is always ready to assist workers to build their capacities.

    Held at the Goldsmith International Business School in London, the training had to do with writing for the web and effective news gathering from the web.It was organised by NAWOJ Lagos State Chapter. Classes were facilitated by several veteran journalists, including Audrey Laurencelle, Sala Kamkosi Banda and Ladi Tokosi.

    Participants took time off classes to visit the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Dr Dalhatu Tafida, who commended NAWOJ for seeking to improve the abilities of its members.

    He said:“Most of the time, when you see Nigerians here, they are sponsored, but you sponsored yourselves to London, the home of journalism.’’

    Led by Chair of NAWOJ, Lagos State Chapter, Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu of The Nation, the 28-woman team included members from both the print and electronic media.

     

  • Job crisis far from over, says ILO

    Job crisis far from over, says ILO

    The Director-General, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Ryder, has said the dire job situation is an indication that the global crisis is far from over.

    Stressing the need to tackle employment crisis, the ILO boss, who spoke at the just-concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, warned that there cannot be growth without jobs.

    In a statement by the organisation, posted on ILO website, Ryder who, was asked about the jobs and growth conundrum during a panel discussion, said: “That simple logic … was not apparent to policy makers who started applying austerity in Europe to tackle the financial crisis.

    “If you had said that and had been listened to, three or four years ago, perhaps you might have been able to avoid some of the excesses of the jobs crisis right now.

    “It’s not the only element of the economic malaise we face but it is the quintessential centre of it all.” Talking about Spain’s unemployment rate, which has hit a record-high of 26 per cent, Ryder said: “The figures that came out this week are absolutely appalling … You can’t see the upturn.

    “But I do think that while we’re all, understandably, focused on Spain right now, we’re faced with a continuing global jobs crisis.”

    He warned that while the intensity of the financial crisis may appear to be receding, jobs’ markets are giving completely different signals.

    ”We lost over four million jobs – four million more unemployed in 2012. For 2013 it is another five million and it carries on. The horizon is not in sight,” he said.

    He had also emphasised that point in an interview earlier with Sky News television.

    “I think we shouldn’t go too quickly into the notion that the crisis is over.

    “For the people in the jobs’ queue, the crisis is very much with us and the queue is getting longer,” he said.

    Participants at the panel discussion, who included Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Jim Hagemann Snabe of the German software corporation, agreed on the need for the private sector to invest in education to help address skills mismatches. Technological changes “are going to require new skills sets,” Ryder said, adding that enterprises should play their part in training people.

    “Policies that work are policies that actually mix together formal education and work experience – that old idea of apprenticeship.” Ryder also said international agreements are needed to facilitate the migration of jobseekers.

    He pointed out that the crisis had brought about significant changes in terms of workforce mobility, citing the example of Spaniards seeking work elsewhere in Europe or in Latin America, and Portuguese workers getting jobs in Angola.

  • Judiciary workers give govt 21 days strike notice

    The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has given a 21-day strike notice to the Federal Government over non-implementation of the Consolidated Salary Structure for Judiciary Workers (CONJUSS).

    The notice is contained in a communiqué by Mr Marwan Mustapha, the union’s National President and Mr Issah Adetola, the General Secretary in Abuja.

    They said the decision was reached at the end of the union’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in Minna.

    They said unless steps were taken to implement the CONJUSS, the union had no choice but to shut the courts.

    They said failure to comply with the notice could lead to an industrial crisis in the federal courts.

    It condemned the actions government agencies and stakeholders, saying that they frustrate the implementation of the scheme.

    “National officers will be overseeing the full compliance of JUSUN members during the strike, until the government fully complies with the salary structure,“ the communique said.

    NEC urged states that are yet to comply with the payment of CONJUSS to do so to avoid disruption of judicial services in their states.

    “This is because JUSUN will pursue the implementation of the salary structure in all the states of the federation,“ it said.

    The NEC commended Justice Suleiman Dikko, the new Chief of Nasarawa State, for resolving the lingering face-off between the branch executive and the management.

    NEC reaffirmed the position of the union’s amended constitution on the tenure of the national and state executive committee of JUSUN for four years, adding that it instructed its branches to comply.

    Mustapha, in an earlier statement, warned that the union should not be held responsible for any breach of industrial harmony in the sector in 2013.

    He had lamented the fact that government was taking the union’s peaceful and sensitive nature for weakness.

    He said that several agreements signed with the union had been jettisoned by government.

    He said: “We want to congratulate Nigerians for seeing us through 2012 in spite of several challenges faced.

    It said it believed that the year would be better. It appealed to the government to step up on its promises to Nigerians by ensuring the protection of their lives and properties.

    “Another burning issue is the non-implementation of the CONJUSS to federal courts which has been foot-dragging for a while.

    ‘’We are afraid that we cannot guarantee industrial peace in all the courts across the country in 2013, if nothing is done to solve this issue,”he added.

  • Over 2,000 applicants jostle for judicial jobs

    NO fewer than 2,000 job seekers have besieged the Federal Judicial Service Commission in Abuja to get its application forms. The deadline for collection and submission is February 28.

    The applicants were seen in long queues last Thursday waiting to get the forms.

    According to some of them, this has been the situation in the last two weeks and it might continue till the closing date.

    Some of the applicants decried the poor process of collection of forms, saying there was only one point for it.

    A Computer Science graduate of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Olaoye Ademola, lamented the stress of queuing for a job one might not even get because of ethnicity.

    ‘’The selection for employment is supposed to be stress-free because some of the people one sees on the queue can’t even raise enough money to feed. God forbid bad thing, should any one collapse and die here, that will just be the end of the story, he said.

    Another applicant, Sekinat Kehinde, a graduate of Mathematics /Accounting, said she had been seeking employment in the past five years wwithout successs. She hoped teh government would bail out the unemployed through the creation of more jobs.

    Kehinde, who could not get a form, said she could not struggle for it as others were doing.

    An official of the Commission, who did not want his name in print, said it would create more outlets for the forms.

  • Kebbi promotes 4,560 teachers

    The Kebbi Universal Basic Education Board has promoted 4,560 primary school teachers.

    The Secretary of the board, Alhaji Sodangi Bello, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi that the promotions were meant for deserving teachers to boost their performance.

    He said the promotion was delayed because the board was waiting for the final report of the recent verification of school teachers.

    Bello said majority of the teachers had started enjoying the payment following their promotions.

    He said the board would enhance teachers’ welfare to make the teaching more attractive.

    Bello said the board had, in the last two years, sponsored 1,200 teachers for further training to enable them to acquire the National Certificate of Education (NCE) and degree in higher institutions.

    He said the board and stakeholders in education, also organised capacity building training aimed at enhancing performance and productivity of teachers and students. He warned teachers against absenteeism, lateness, truancy and unlawful practices.

    He said: “We (Board) will not spare erring teachers as effective methods of supervision and inspection have been put in place to check such offences.”

    He commended the state and local governments for prompt release of counterpart funding for salaries and other entitlements of teachers.

  • Pensioners’ nationwide protest begins Feb 25

    The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has announced plans for nationwide protests scheduled to begin on February 25.

    The National President of NUP, Alhaji Ali Abatcha, told reports that a meeting by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, ended in a deadlock.

    He said the meeting was attended by representatives of the Head of Service of the Federation, the Ministry of Justice and others.

    Abatcha said the union is seeking the release of the one per cent check-off dues which members voluntarily contributed but seized by the Pension Reform Task Team.

    He said: “The meeting ended in a deadlock because none of our demands was met.We are also demanding the 53 per cent increment, which civil servants have been enjoying for the past three years, among others.

    “The Minister told us to come back by February 13 so that the Salaries, Income and Wages Commission can explain why the circular is yet to be released. For the check-off dues, the Ministry of Justice said we don’t have the right to levy our members but we told them it is not levy but voluntary contribution.

    “We will not accept a situation where genuine pensioners suffer for their entitlements, which aren’t paid, while the chairman of the task team claims to be saving money for government.”

  • ‘How workers frustrate NHIS implementation in states’

    Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has accused workers of frustrating state government’s willingness to implement the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    Uduaghan, who made this known in Asaba, while contributing to discussions at the First National Health conference organised by Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), said the workers do this through their refusal to embrace the scheme.

    According to him, NHIS may not be replicated in the states, unless the workers agree to contribute to it.

    He said he was aware that a legislation to compel every employer and employee in the country to be enrolled on the scheme was in the offing, adding that beyond a law, advocacy was needed to make the scheme operational at the state level.

    According to him, relevant government authorities need to carry out serious advocacy and enlightenment on NHIS beyond just enactment of an act to compel workers to register in it.

    He said NMA had a big role to play in the acceptability of the scheme.

    Uduaghan urged NMA leadership to organise sessions to educate their members on the need to embrace the programme by agreeing to contribute from their salaries.

    The governor noted that workers in the state were quick to accept contributing to the Retirement Pension Scheme “not just because it is lawful, but because it has direct financial benefit to them.

    “With the pension, the workers quickly accepted to contribute because they know that they will get the money when they retire,” he said.

    On ways to achieve universal health coverage in the country, he called for training of physicians on preventive medicine, especially for those working in degraded environment.

    “The environment in states in the Niger Delta has been adversely affected, with water, air, soil and everything polluted,’’ he said.

    He noted that in such areas, ailments among the people were more in their psyche.

    The governor, therefore, said they need not just regular curative medication but more of counselling on preventive methods.

  • Ex-Deputy Governor urges govt to create jobs through agric

    A  former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mr Abiodun Ogunleye, has advised the Federal Government to promote agriculture, through better funding, to tackle unemployment in the country.

    Ogunleye gave the advice in Ikorodu in Lagos, at the fourth edition of the free computer training organised for youths in the area by a state lawmaker, Mr Sanai Agunbiade.

    He said agriculture could be the largest employer of labour in the country, adding that the neglect of the sector by successive governments had contributed to the economic woes experienced in the country.

    “’When a country that has large scale arable land cannot feed itself, it is a big shame and calls for urgent attention,’’ he said.

    The former deputy governor in the Tinubu administration, said agriculture would have to take the “centre stage’’ to eventually eradicate poverty in Nigeria.

    He commended the lawmaker for the yearly event, which, according to him, was to empower youths in Ikorodu and its environs.

    Earlier, Agunbiade (ACN-Ikorodu I), said that Information Technology is dominating the world, adding that the training will afford the beneficiaries the opportunity to earn a living.

    Mr Taiwo Hassan, one of the beneficiaries, praised the lawmakers for giving youths in the area the opportunity to acquire skill in computer appreciation.

  • Fidson rewards workers for excellence

    Fidson Healthcare Plc has taken another step in its effort to ignite the passion for excellence among its employees with a newly instituted staff award.

    Named the Acknowledge and Celebrate Excellence (ACE) award, the maiden edition was attended by the company’s staff, who came to the venue from different parts of the country, wearing dark suits and ties.

    The Managing Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Dr Fidelis Ayebae, congratulated the staff on their commitment to duties in 2012, adding that the six recipients of the award, displayed exceptional performance.

    “We are here to acknowledge and celebrate the best among the best – our teammates who have shown exceptional capabilities in the course of a very challenging financial year in 2012. You nominated them for this award. You have shown exceptional team spirit by nominating them. They are being celebrated today because you not only played with them, but you played for them. You have lighted their candles. They sparkle today because of the light you shone on them. You are all worthy men and women of excellence”, he said.

    Six staff won in different categories of the awards. They are Mrs Adejoke Alli, Corporate Impact; Mr Kunle Ajayi and Femi Ajala joint winners in the Customer Services Excellence category; Mr Rotimi Afolaogun in the Leadership Excellence category; Mr Abubakar Elemeje Process Improvement while Mr Sunday Adeyeye the Role Model Award.

    Mrs Joke Alli, the Training, Learning and Development Manager, was nominated for the ACE, for starting the department from the scratch.

    Mr Kunle Ajayi, Credit Controller and Femi Ajala, Product Manager received the award for their exemplary performance in customer service.

    Rotimi Afolaogun, Divisional Manager (North and West) also won an award for his outstanding leadership qualities. According to the citation, he transformed the northern sales team from mediocrity to excellence and winning the Best Region Award consistently in the past two years.

    He was said to have instilled confidence and zeal in his team during a period of intense crisis in the north and leading them to expand the organisation’s business in the region.