Category: Labour

Unemployment and underemployment are major factors that drive poverty. Most employers are capitalising on the high rate of unemployment in the country to maltreat their workers. Many foreign firms are exhibiting tyrannical characteristics. TOBA AGBOOLA writes.

Expand Grand Limited (E&G) took everything from me—my sense of humanity, sanity, confidence, and trust,” Felix, an ex-sales executive at the company said of his time working there.

Speaking further, Felix said: “We worked around the clock. The company’s CEO would send you messages by 2am and expect a response asap. No rest. We went to bed every night praying our jobs would still be there when we woke up the next morning.”

On November 22, 2021, Felix’s prayer, which seemed to work for over three years, didn’t work. He was abruptly fired from his job. He fell into depression, and everything stopped making sense. He stopped going out, and his relationship with friends and family suffered. Even though he said working at E&G for over three years was torture; it was all he had at the time.

Extend Grand Limited (E&G)  is a manufacturing company based in Ibadan with it’s headquarters in Germany. The company is also a subsidiary of another big German manufacturing company. The company is into household production such as detergents and powder, among others

In the HR’s termination email to Felix, he was fired because of a “lack of cultural fit and poor performance”.

But Felix wondered: “How could I have been culturally unfit and incompetent after working for you for over three years? Why did it take you that long to clock my incompetence?”

According to Felix, despite the daily verbal assaults he endured in the hands of his boss, all he wanted to do was to be the best salesperson in the company and make his employer proud. He hadn’t done much work in sales prior to E&G, so he put in more work. Within five months, according to him, he had the second-highest number of clients on their sheets at the time. He closed some of the biggest clients. Some of them with over N15 or N20 million.

Despite his achievements, however, Felix did not succeed in making his boss proud.

 “There was no free day from boss’ verbal abuse. If he wasn’t calling me a useless person, he was threatening to fire me,” Felix said.

Felix described his time there as the darkest period of his life.

The rate at which some foreign entrepreneurs and investors, especially in the manufacturing subsector, violate the rights of their workers and the Nigerian labour laws, is alarming.

It is fast-becoming a common occurrence to see labourers/workers deformed by industrial machines; getting the stipulated entitlements that could cushion the adverse effects of the accidents on victims is difficult and frustrating.

Most of the firms found culpable, it was gathered, include Chinese and Lebanese companies, as well as some Nigerian firms in acts of unhealthy work practices.

Many foreign companies in Nigeria have been accused of going against labour laws and treating their Nigerian workers with disdain.

 Labour experts described as alarming, the way foreign firms violate the rights of their workers and labour laws.

They said it was fast becoming a common occurrence to see labourers/workers deformed by industrial machines, while getting the stipulated entitlements that could cushion the adverse effects of the accidents on victims was also difficult and frustrating.

General Secretary, the Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON), Gbenga Komolafe, who said the issue had been a recurring one, linked it to labour abuse, degradation and labour relations.

He gave instances of workers losing their limbs and lives due to non-provision of personal equipment by these firms; and also cases where the workers, who are mostly casuals, are being overworked, exceeding 14 hours.

He traced it to the ‘over-flex-civilisation’ of labour relations that had been taunted in the last two decades, stating that it makes it possible for companies to have perpetual casuals.

According to him, as casuals, they cannot be unionised. “Unions cannot provide basic protection, cannot play oversight roles on whether they are working on the right kind of decisions. This is labour degradation, which manifests overtime, using complex cases to take up on all of them,” he said.

He said the union had taken up countless cases of issues at the National Industrial Court (NIC) on domestic workers over bad abuse and arbitrary dismissals. He said the union had continued to campaign against casualisation, which he said has taken a huge chunk of workers.

“All these are happening because there is no labour protection. We can’t organise them because they are not our members. Because they are not ‘workers’, a union cannot unionise them.

“We ask that the laxity in labour law that legitimises them should be amended. We will continue to fight for union rights should be for all workers.

“It is part of the agenda of political reforms that workers get better representation in governance. All workers should have basic protection, secured work environment and basic protection of the union while at work,” he said.

Read Also: Impact of flooding on agriculture

On the kind of punishment or sanctions that should be meted on them, he gave an instance of an expatriate, who referred to one of his employees as a slave, he said the union took it up and justice was served and the expatriate was sent out of the country.

For some of the informal sector workers that are not unionised and have been maltreated by these foreigners, he urged them to report at the office of the public defender, Federal Ministry of Labour and other intervention centres on human rights abuse.

Komolafe urged that Nigeria should create a standard on domestic employment so that whenever an employer deviates, there would be punishment for the person.

He said: “You cannot recruit someone and mortgage the person’s salary. They should make it public so that the employee will know his right. Mortgaging someone’s salary is illegal. Domestic workers should know that the employer cannot pay them anything less than N30,000 monthly.”

To tame foreigners’ abuse in Nigeria, he said there should be a regulation, “make it punishable either for an expatriate or Nigerian. It should be sponsored as an administration and as an Executive Bill to protect the weakest people in the country.”

On employers capitalising on the country’s underemployment rate to maltreat workers, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Adewale Oyerinde, said when an employer decides to play otherwise, there are provisions in the labour laws that address such through the Ministry of Labour and factory inspectors.

According to him, it is the responsibility of the employees to speak up about employers not meeting their obligations, adding that labour should not be treated as an entity.

“For us, we advise that the employees become more vocal, don’t sit down and die in silence or go through work conditions that are detrimental to health or terms and condition of employment. He should seek guidance from relevant authorities,” he added.

The Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, who noted that businesses were not working due to economic policies and failure of governance, said: “If companies can’t make a profit, it will be difficult to pay salaries. Government that is the highest employer of labour cannot employ and can’t get the enabling environment for people to set up their businesses to make money. The workers you are sacking are the victims even when they are making profits, they still want to maximise the profit and that makes it difficult.

 “While they are sacking, they are putting pressure on the few they are retaining. If one person has to do the job of three people, it will affect his health. That is why there is the issue of sudden death on daily basis.”

A Public Affairs Analyst, Jide Ojo, said because of a growing glut in the unemployment market, it was very easy for multinationals and foreign firms to maltreat workers.

 Stating that the Federal Government is compromising Labour laws, he revealed that many of the Chinese firms operating in Nigeria overshoot their expatriate quota, through the Federal Ministry of Interior. He accused labour leaders of compromising the unions, adding that they sell out after being bribed out by these companies.

“Reliable source quoted that people accused of jail terms in China are being brought to Nigeria to serve their prison term as field workers and labourers. They are serving a jail term. Instead of keeping them inside the jail, they will bring them to Africa as a means of serving their jail term and make them work on the field under the disguise that they are technical staff.   “The expatriate quota is controlled by the Ministry of Interior, through the Nigeria Immigration Service, after they grease palms of some of their seniors, they look the other way. Those who are supposed to be occupying the space of senior management positions are not there. We are losers.

“We have not been able to broaden our productivity base. If there were more jobs created and strict enforcement of the labour laws, many of the multinationals operating in Nigeria will not be able to toil with the terms and conditions as enshrined in the nation’s labour laws. But there are compromises along the value chain at the level of ministry and agencies that are supposed to enforce the laws,” he said.

Deposit money banks sacked 1,936 workers last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The affected workers included  executives, senior, junior and contract staff, the ‘Selected Banking Sector Data’ of the NBS stated.

The workers were drawn from commercial, merchant and non-interest banks. While a large number of the workforce was sacked, others resigned.

According to the data, banks’ workforce fell to 93,090. This was worse in 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of businesses, including banks.

When the economy was reopened, after the over three months’ lockdown in 2020, some banks shut their branches, while others reduced work hours.

However, as at the end of 2020, the sector still maintained a staff  strength of 95,026.

Read Also: CBN, AMCON announce sale of Polaris Bank

Findings also showed that staff strength declined, the lowest in the last four years.

In 2018, bank had the highest staff with 104,669. It fell in 2019 to 103,610 and 95,026 in 2020.

A breakdown of the data for last year showed that in the first quarter, banks’ workforce was 94,681 before sliding to 92,780. It dropped further to 92,699 in the third quarter and rose slightly to 93,090 workers.

Yearly, executive staff fell to 249  from the 257 recorded in 2020, while senior staff fell to 16,738 compared to 17,381 employed in 2020. Junior staff fell from 37,590 workers in December 2020 to 36,514 last December.

Contract staff were the highest employee of banks, but they recorded a decline to 39,589 in 2021 from 39,798 in 2020.

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has alerted the nation of looming strikes in the health and judiciary sectors as well as civil service over un-reviewed wages.

It called on the government and other employers to pay living wages to workers in line with the global trends to address economic challenges.

Speaking with reporters in Lagos, Its President, Ayuba Wabba,  lamented that the judiciary, medical and health salary structures, including the core civil service had not been reviewed since 2013, contrary to their agreements for a review in three years.

“There are many sectors and some of them, because they are not allowed to advance their issues, have remained silent, but it is eating them up very deep.

“Out of these is the judiciary. I know, since 2009, the salary and remuneration of the judiciary have not been reviewed. It has been very difficult for them to discharge their responsibilities, without fear or favour and with job satisfaction. Imagine the challenges that have actually affected the economy from 2009 to date, including spiral inflation. If you are earning X amount as of 2009, how do you survive in this situation?

“The medical and health salary structure also was reviewed last in 2009. It is almost 13 years, and they are due for review. The health service structure and other salary structures, including even the core civil service, have not been reviewed. The provision of those agreements provided that every three years those agreements should be reviewed, but nothing has been done up till now.

“I think we should have learnt some lessons from what has happened recently in the tertiary institutions and proactively look at those other sectors that have similar challenges that needed to also be addressed at this point in time.

Read Also: Fed Govt won’t tolerate strikes during transition period, Ngige warns unions

“I mentioned just a few of them, which was last reviewed in 2009. It is a wake-up call and we must do the needful and act before it is too late. Workers are becoming very restive because the challenges in the economy are affecting every worker that is on fixed wages. It is high time we proactively looked at those issues instead of reacting  when unions raise the issues.”

On the need for the cost of living allowance, Wabba said: “I can say without mincing words, if you look at the figures, particularly inflation, unemployment, and the challenge in the social sector, it is clear that our economy is not doing well. Basically, we have no reason for the economy not to do well because we are a country that is well-endowed. Yes, people may say, the challenge is global, but solutions have to be found locally. Many countries around the world are finding solutions locally to respond to global challenges.

“The challenge in the economy and the high-wire inflation trend is a global phenomenon. But every country is responding locally to the challenge. As President of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which represents not less than 205 million workers in 163 countries, I have visited many countries. The last one was Tunisia where I had the rare privilege of having a one-on-one with the President of Tunisia. From the conversation, I have been able to understand that they responded effectively and increased salary across board by seven per cent.

“Ghana did the same and so the trend globally is a salary review to address the high cost of living, including the cost of living allowance with between seven and 15 per cent. These countries and South Africa have taken steps to respond to the challenges in the economy. They have also made sure that workers do not suffer the consequences of the challenges in the economy. This is what is expected.

“Unions do not need to be shouting, or issuing strike notices if we are on the same page to look at issues and how to respond to them effectively. Workers don’t become slaves and be at the receiving end, if something is not proactively done to address their challenges.’’

The Steel and Engineering Workers’ Union of Nigeria Auto and Precision Sector (SEWUN) has urged the Federal Government to scrap the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for failing in the privatisation in automobile sector, which has led to the collapse of many companies.

The union alleged that the dissolution was pertinent as the exercise was a fraud in which auto manufacturing companies were sold to people without expertise or technical skills to either manufacture or assemble vehicles.

National President, SEWUN  Auto and Precision Sector, Comrade Elijah Adigun, said this at the union’s yearly industrial relations conference in Ibadan.

Its theme was “Human Resource Management, Conflict Resolution, Industrial Relations and Labour Legislation Issues”’.

According to him, the BPE has done more harm than good to the country. He queried the sale of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited in Kaduna, Volkswagen Nigeria Limited in Lagos, Annamco in Enugu and Leyland Bussan Motor in Ibadan, among others.

He alleged that the BPE sold the companies to their friends and family members, who, in turn, sold the assets of the companies, left skeletal services, and abandoned the employees.

“In fact, the exercise was a fraud and colossal failure. It is incredible that the Nigerians watched akimbo while those put in place to see to the revitalisation of these companies and create massive jobs connived with officials of the BPE to ripped the country off and milk it dry.

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“Unfortunately, some of these personnel are clamouring to rule Nigeria and we are still watching instead of exposing them all.

“These companies had a combined workforce of more than 20,000 but, today, you can hardly find up to 200 in the companies put together. This is the situation that one of the candidates is telling us that he wants to replicate. Wonderful!

“We are in for a hard time if such mindset wins,” he said.

He urged the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration not only to recover the companies but also to expose and charge anyone found guilty to court to seek redress for the people.

According to him, this is the  legacy the government will leave behind, otherwise, the country will continue to drift.

Adigun lamented how the sector is poorly impacted by the economy, thereby making their job difficult.

He said: “There is no forex to import the needed raw materials for production and, in some cases, cost of procurement and production have tremendously skyrocketed as a result of galloping inflation occasioned by forex challenges.”

“High energy costs, increasing interest rates and other forms of negativities have led to redundancies, particularly in the automobile and precision electrical industries. Some of our cable manufacturing companies are idling away because there is no raw material to effect production.”

Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has urged the federal and state governments to tackle the devastating flood across the country.

TIts President, Festus Osifo said the congress was worried by the menace that has  claimed hundreds of lives, farms and roads and destroyed properties worth billions of naira without a commensurate national mobilisation.

“The congress wishes to commiserate with the working people and their families over these losses caused by the floods, which have swept through 33 of the 36 states of the country and have also left schools, hospitals, police stations, offices and infrastructure submerged. Over 40,000 homes have been destroyed and the nation’s food security threatened,” he said.

TUC believes that such devastation should have elicited emergency responses to save lives and prevent the pains victims are experiencing, Osifo said.

He lamented that the workers and their families were vulnerable due to inactions of the government.

He said: “It is true that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency had warned against high amount of rainfall in September 2022, which may trigger floods in some states.  It is also a fact that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gave similar warnings, but governments did not put preventive or at best control measures in place but rather devoted all energies to political activities at the expense of governance.

“The Federal Government is blaming state governments for allegedly ignoring the letters of the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu informing them of the impending floods, is at this time unhelpful. What the country needs is a synergy by the three tiers of government to quickly come to the rescue of the displaced by immediately providing temporary shelter, warm clothing, food and medical supplies not just for the immediate, but also to combat the post-flood water borne diseases that have become inescapable.”

Read Also: Floods devastate over N2b farms, crops

According to him, a country suffers in many ways than one, when it refuses to elect serious leaders driven by development, “we must dredge the river Niger to its full depth potential, so as to form a deep basin to warehouse water bodies coming from Cameroon and Niger Republic.

“Dredging gives you so much tonnage of white sharp sand for construction and export, if that is done it means we won’t stupidly, insipidly and haplessly be begging our poor neighbours not to release their dams.When you dredge, there will automatically be a reasonable depth for River transportation and multiple wharfs in Lokoja, Onitsha.”

He appealed to corporate Nigeria to roll out flood funds of solidarity to assist the victims, while individuals can also take initiatives to come to the aid of those rendered homeless and helpless by the floods.

Osifo said the Federal Government should also take steps to ensure the release of water from the Kiri, Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro dams does not worsen the flood situation.

He stated: “Apart from taking climate change seriously and working on meeting minimum international requirements to tackle it, the government also needs to engage our neighbours on how flooding can be controlled. For instance, the media reports that the September 13, 2022 release of excess water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon was partly responsible for the serious level of flooding the country is experiencing.

“While taking these measures, the TUC appeals for a systematic flood prevention and control system so that such flooding tragedy does not become a seasonal re-occurring feature.

“We stand with the working people and indeed the entire Nigerians during this trying times.

This is the time to truly show that an injury to one is an injury to all.”

The President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba has said the Organised Labour is ready to put political leaders on the right path through its actions and negotiations.

At the inauguration of the guest house of the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non Metallic Products Employers (NUCFRLANMPE),  at Ijoko, Sango-Ota in Ogun, Wabba urged the federal and state governments to urgently look into the plight of Nigerian workers because of the spiraling inflation and grant them allowance to cushion the effect of the high cost of living.

He said workers were going through enormous challenges due the harsh economic situation which he said was compounded by poor and irregular wages.

Wabba said it was regrettable that despite all the strikes and protests undertaken by workers to improve the condition of things in the country, not much had been achieved.

He said though most countries in the world were going through similar economic challenges, the situation was better in those countries because their governments responded to the challenges by providing some allowances to their workers.

Wabba said: “Though the economic challenges are almost the same around the world but each country is responding specifically to address the challenges. Take for instance, the issue of wage. We demand for wage justice even in Nigeria because with inflation rate of two to three digits, that is now hovering around 20 percent and above, you can be sure that the workers on fixed wages will be at the recieving end.”

He said with the level of inflation and the attendant high cost of food items in the market, today, the official inflation rate had become doubtful. While lamenting the hardship the workers were passing through, Wabba said the level of indifference by government was alarming.

Read Also: NLC chief Wabba to Fed Govt: end ASUU strike now

According to Wabba, the difference between Nigerian workers and their counterparts in other parts of the world was that in some of the countries, the government had been providing what is called “cost of living allowance” to cushion the impact of economic difficulties

On the registration of two academic unions in universities, Wabba described it as a violation of the Labour Act.

“I can confirm that the registration of the two order unions is a violation of our Labour Act. Particularly, Section 5, Sub-section 4, provides clearly that where already there is an existing union representing the interests of the union that is about to be registered, that union should not be registered.

“So I can tell you that if you put it through the middle of our Labour Act, it has failed clearly. The law also provides clearly that before you register a union, it will be published in the National Gazette.

He however, praised Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila for his intervention in the protracted crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government. He said: “I must commend those that are very proactive in trying to make sure that the true process of social dialogue to resolve the challenges are put in place.

 

NUCFRLANMPE President  Comrade Goke Olatunji said there was a strong synergy between the employers and the workers in the sector.

He said the economy was not favourable to employers and the workers, noting that one of the major challenges was the forex scarcity.

“Forex scarcity has been a major challenge in our sector. Despite our cry and complaint to the government, the situation is getting worst,” Olatunji said .

Contract staffing and outsourcing have been a feature of Nigeria’s labour market for decades, but it is more rife in the banking sector. This may, however, be a thing of the past as a new guideline for such staff recruitment has just been signed. TOBA AGBOOLA reports.

For Tony Umoh, a banker, climbing the corporate ranks of commercial banking in Nigeria has been a frustrating exercise.

Thirty-year-old Tony has worked as a teller with one of the biggest banks in Nigeria for close to 10 years.

Nine years on, he is at the same branch, working at the same entry-level, for the same meagre salary of N78,000 (about $100) a month. It is not Tony’s work ethic that is lacking, but the arrangement under which he works. He is not technically a full-time employee of the bank. The entire time he’s worked there, he’s been a contract staffer hired by an employment agency he has never dealt with directly.

Being a contract worker means Tony has no upward career path within the bank, or benefits such as insurance, a pension, or a severance package if he’s let go. If the bank’s management is not happy with his services, or they just want to cut expenses, they can let him go when his contract is due for renewal every two years.

However, the employment agency siphons off a portion of his pay each month as “commission”.

Tony often thinks of quitting his job as a bank teller and a contract staffer. But there are few prospects for him in the country as unemployment rate keeps surging.

For instance, recently, the official unemployment rate by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistic (NBS) rocketed to 33.3 per cent.

Over half of the country’s roughly 70 million-strong labour force was either jobless at the end of last year or not working a full-time job. Recent report by the NBS indicated that more than 75 per cent of bank workers in Nigeria were contract staffers as at the third quarter last year. The others are full-time employees with banks – roughly a third of whom are senior staffers.

In addition to Tony’s woes, Tony barely has the time to go in search of a job elsewhere. This is because after working 10 hours in the office,  he has little time to even explore the few opportunities which may be available to him.

He leaves the house as early as 5am or 6am and gets back by 6pm or so. There is no way or time for him to search for jobs after getting home tired

Though unionists and government officials say the issues surrounding contract bank workers were being addressed, succour has been slow to come.

However, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for this set of workers. This is because after 10 years of intense discussions and negotiations among stakeholders, the Federal Government has released for implementation Guidelines on Labour and Administration Issues in Contract Staffing/Outsourcing Non-Permanent Workers in Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions.

Read Also: Financial market experts advocate forex policy reforms

The employment guidelines, a product of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, (NECA), Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), among others, provide in clear forms good industrial relations principles and key terms and conditions of employment to be observed by stakeholders in the banks, insurance and financial institutions.

The guidelines, signed into law on September 8, 2022 by the  Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, pursuant to the powers conferred on the Minister by Section 88 (i) (e) and (g) of the Labour Act, Cap L1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004, was unveiled on September 29, at a ceremony in the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) Conference room, Abuja.

At a joint briefing in Lagos, leaders of ASSBIFI and NUBIFIE, while unveiling the new guidelines to reporters, disclosed features of the guidelines including entry requirement and minimum pay for non-permanent employees, career path and development, the right to unionise and to collective bargaining, trade dispute resolution procedures, disciplinary procedure, compliance with standards and labour requirement and exit procedure and benefits for the workers.

Speaking on behalf of the two unions, the President of ASSBIFI, Comrade Oyinkanola Olasanoye, said the “employment guidelines will improve job satisfaction and staff performance, reduce incidences of frauds traceable to discontented casual workers in the financial sector and generally reduce exploitation and other unfair labour practices capable of escalating industrial conflicts and crises in the work place. Also, it will regulate conditions of employment and standardise non-permanent employment, especially in the areas of career progression, salaries and wages, disciplinary measures, health and safety, corporate performance and productivity.

“The request for a guideline to regulate conditions of employment of non-permanent employees in the financial sector started a decade back, and with the active participation of representatives of the CBN, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, NECA, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, ASSBIFI and NUBIFIE. We are grateful to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris  Ngige, for accelerating the process which culminated in what we are presenting to you today, Employment Guidelines on “Labour Administration Issues in Contract Staffing/Outsourcing Non-Permanent Workers in Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions”.

“With the signing and approval of this Guideline by the Government, relevant stakeholders, especially employers in the banks, Insurance and Financial sector, are implored to cooperate and collaborate with focal agencies of Government and Unions concerned to achieve the objectives of this guideline and improve industrial relations practices and standards in Nigeria.

“Inferring from reliable but unempirical records available to us, most insider induced frauds, particularly in the banks are perpetuated by disgruntled casual employees. These employees do not have the training and orientations usually given to the regular employee, they do not have that sense of belonging because of their poor conditions of employment which open them to temptation.

“But today, with this guideline, the non-permanent employee can pursue a career line, unionise and draw from benefits of collective bargained agreements. Without doubts, the guidelines will bring fresh breath of life to many in the Sector, improve industrial relations, reduce incidence of fraud and increase productivity.”

Collaborating the ASSBIFI’s President, NUBIFIE’s President, Abakpa Anthony, among others, solicited the cooperation of stakeholders including the media for the publicity of the guidelines and bringing same  to the knowledge of all operators in the Sector, adding “We struggled to ensure the formulation and put into operation of this Guideline to check unfair labour practices, exploitation and grievances in the sector.”

 

Members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) have lamented the poor state of roads, calling on the Federal Government to fix them.

The union noted that the situation was a disadvantage for its members across the country.

Its President, Dr. Musa Muhammed Maitakobi, who is the treasurer of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), in an interview with The Nation tasked Federal Government to rise up to its responsibility of providing infrastructure that would stand the test of time.

According to him the problem cuts across every state in Nigeria, thereby making movement of goods and services difficult.

Read Also: RTEAN hails AbdulRazaq for empowering members

“For the past one week, trailers of our members have been stranded on the road between Bida – Lapai in Niger State. The road is impassable, it is totally bad and this is a road that is not more than 14 kilometers,” he said.

Maitakobi said government should see it as a serious challenge because it has gotten so bad that hardly could one trailer out of 10 that transporting goods from Lagos to Kano reach its destination without difficulty.

He said: “It is the same story for Port-Harcourt down to Enugu, Onitsha and most of these roads are not more than 10km. The same experience is what we face on Abuja to Kaduna. The place kidnappers use for their attack is not more than 20 kilometres.”

Maitakobi said besides the economic implication, the lives of their members and their workers who ply the roads are endangered and many of them have lost their lives and properties due to bandits on the bad roads.

 

 

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has urged Micro, Medium and Small-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) to adopt safety and health measures in workplaces.

At a workshop in Lagos on the theme “Strengthening the Capacity of Local MSMEs/Manufacturers to Produce High Quality PPEs and Healthcare-related Products”, the ILO representative, Ms Chinenye Anekwe, said the workshop was a COVID-19’s response project funded by the United Nations but implemented by ILO, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

She said the objective of the workshop was to improve the capacity of MSMEs and for manufacturers to ensure safety and health.

The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, said it was aimed at strengthening MSMEs in terms of occupational safety and healthy environment at the workplace.

Mojola said his commision found out that many MSMEs did not have safety measures in place; as a result, there were many accidents.

“This workshop is an initiative of the ILO and supported by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and other safety organisations on how safety can be deepen across the sector,” he stated.

He added that the workshop was an improvement on the online ‘train the trainer section’ that went through safety areas, premises, materials storage and machine safety and welfare of the staff and working environment of companies in control of substances hazardous to health and other safety issues.

He averred that they should enlighten the owners of buildings of MSMEs on the importance of safety.

On building collapse in Lagos State, he said there were several factors aside substandard products.

He reiterated that there was lack of direction of duties, where one person is the master of all.

He lamented that there was also excessive maximisation of profit.

Mojola reassured that they would continue to carry out sentisation programmes, adding that it was  working with a sister agency in charge of buildings.

He said whenever a building  collapses, defaulters should be prosecuted.