Category: Labour

The rising automation of the workforce and adoption of robotic technology may be enhancing productivity and profitability in the industrial and services sectors. But its potential effect on job losses remains a concern for stakeholders, TOBA AGBOOLA reports.

With technology changing the way businesses operate, by creating a shift from manual to automated processes, thereby reducing the number of workers, the unemployment rate in the country is sure going to surge. This, among other reasons, explains why stakeholders and labour organisations are expressing concerns about the impact of technology adoption, particularly robots, would have on the labour market.

Across sectors, in recent times, robots are being handed jobs hitherto done by humans. These tasks include testing or inspecting products, picking and packaging, or assembling small electronic sets.

According to experts, as robots become smarter, faster and cheaper, they are increasingly taking on more “human” capabilities and traits, such as sensing, dexterity, memory and trainability.

At the 10th Triennial National Delegates Conference of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) in Abuja, stakeholders were of the view  that employers are interested in recruiting cheap labour and procuring cheap raw-materials while restricting access to advanced production techniques for employees’ to develop their skills.

They said the introduction of digital innovations has led to a flurry of new actors and new tools entering the financial institutions.

Speaking at the programme, the National President, ASSBIFI, Comrade Oyinkansola Olasanoye, said this was a major threat not only to the institutions, but to the general public and the employees as most of the new actors are often less regulated and less labour-intense.

She said the rise of robot advisers in the financial service is another development that  merits further consideration, adding that  not only are these machines impartial, they exhibit the biases of their programmers and are able to gather all information a human salesperson can with soft skills, possiblly leading to sub-optional financial advice.

She said: “Customers are at new risks of machines programmed to direct their actions. The issues of fairness in competition is also a major concern as the digital world is a winner takes all business.

”The increase in financial inclusion as a result of the digitalisation of financial services, as more people have a mobile phone than a bank account, if not adequately regulated, will lead to a predatory behaviours and excessive transaction costs being imposed on these new and in experienced customers. In addition, new regulations have increased the cost of doing business and policy compliance costs.”

Olasanoye said the combined effect of all these innovations and their impact on financial stability and on the viability of traditional banks and insurance companies requires a careful balance between fostering innovation and ensuring a regulatory level playing field.

”The management of our banks and insurance institutions have responded to all these development in several ways including closing branches, cutting staff, re-focusing client relationship, developing and re-developing their digital offer and working to integrate the block chain technology. They have used the complexity and burden of these regulations as an excuse to become more fragile with several consequences. There would indeed be very little public support or political appetite for a new round bailout,” she said.

Chief Executive Officer, Precise Financial System Ltd, Dr Yele Okeremi who is also the guest speaker admonished labour unions to prepare for a different world of work that is emerging.

As the line between employer and employees grows thinner, Okeremi urged the Federal Government to get its workforce ready for the future of work that would rely on innovation and technology, and the one that would present fluid interchanges between an employer and an employee.

He explained: “Let anyone say whatever they want about automation taking jobs, that line of thought will not stop the world from deploying technology and innovation. My opinion is to ask how Nigeria can get her people ready for the automation technology.

Read Also: Benefits of artificial intelligence and robotics

“While technology may take away jobs, technology will also create jobs in other sectors of the economy. What we should be focusing on is, will we still be able to get future workers to be interested in the kinds of services that would be required in the future because the future will require knowledgeable workers whose bargaining powers as individuals would be huge that some of them would ask if they actually need a union? So, unions themselves would have to start reconsidering its value proposition in that new context or else they would completely transform into irrelevance. As it is for the unions, so it is for employers’ and organisations.”

He said major stakeholders must prepare for the world of work that is rapidly evolving.

He said: “The dynamics of the economy and the forces that are shaping globalisation are such that a future world of work would not be a future that would be synonymous with the type of employment we have now. When people come out to talk about contract staffing or outsourcing, then they are missing the point. This is because these are just forms of employment and the fact that they are forms of employment should not disqualify them as decent work.

”The future of work may not necessarily mean that somebody would have to report in a physical space to resume at 8am and close at 5pm. Indeed, we do not have the terminologies to describe some of the forms of employment that will emerge in the next 20 to 50 years. The reality is that it will certainly happen. The form it will take, nobody knows.”

Okeremi warned that the world of work would be so fluid in the future that there would be thin line between employer and employee.

He said: “A time will come when it will be difficult to define whether someone is an employer or is an employee. So, our issue is simply is the imperative for a strong regulation, a strong inspection that will ensure that wherever employment emerges, that work is considered to be decent. For me, that should be the focus and not on whether somebody is on a regular, pensionable employment or on a short contract. That is what we know now, but there are other forms of employment that are on their way.”

The General Secretary, Non-Academic Staff Union and Associated Institutions (NASU), Peters Adeyemi, said while the fears that automation may lead to job losses in Africa and other developing countries, massive job losses have not been recorded in developed countries that have deployed robotics in most economic areas.

He said: “The usage of automation to do jobs that human beings were hitherto doing, is a phenomenon that is already happening in Europe and some parts of Asia. But don’t forget that Europe has moved so much ahead of Africa in terms of employment and unemployment rate. There are some countries in Europe where the rate of employment is virtually zero.

“So, this issue of automation taking over the jobs human beings are doing has been on for years and there has not been statistics or data to show that even in the developed economies where automation is happening that jobs are already being lost. I must quickly add that that is not to say that automation is not a threat to jobs globally.

”In our own situation, we must admit that automation will pose a threat though not an immediate threat because things that are needed to ensure automation runs smoothly are not on ground here.”

Adeyemi also pointed out that lack of stable electricity would hugely inhibit the functionality of an automated industrial space.

He posited that although government seems not to be ready to automate the industrial space, such a move would lead to mass unemployment and aggravate insecurity in the country.

Fresh from concluding the minimum wage consequential adjustment negotiations with the Federal Government, the Organised Labour is warming up for a fresh battle with states over the recent condition given by governors for the implementation of the new minimum wage, TOBA AGBOOLA writes

Although the Organised Labour and the Federal Government had reached an agreement on the consequential adjustment on the new minimum wage, with the directing that the implementation should commence on or before December 31, many states appear not to agree with this.

To some states, what happens  between the Federal Government and its workers does not apply to them because Nigeria operates a federal system.

Rising from its meeting during the week, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) said the agreement between the Federal Government and labour on consequential adjustments on the new minimum wage was not binding on states.

Clarifying the forum’s position and the Federal Economic Council’s (FEC) decision, NGF Chairman Kayode Fayemi said the consequential increments in the implementation of the N30,000 Minimum Wage Act would depend on the capacity of each state.

Fayemi, who is  Ekiti State governor, said each state had its State Executive Council (SEC), which is the highest decision making body.

“The forum as the representative body of the states keenly followed what happened in the negotiations that led to that template.

“As far as we are concerned, the best the forum can do is to stick with what has been agreed with the states. States are part of the tripartite negotiations. States agreed to that N30,000 minimum wage increase.

“States also know that there will be consequential adjustment but that will be determined by what happened on the state-by-state basis because there are different number of workers and different issues at the state level.

“Every state has its own trade union joint negotiating committee and they will undertake this discussion with their state governments.

While some labour leaders are optimistic that their governors would pay, others are not sure on the amount to be paid and when the payment would take off.

But Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba said the issue had gone beyond  if any one wants to agree or not, saying it has become a law.

”First, we wish to state that the NGF is not a negotiating body but merely a political organisation for the convenience of state governors.

“The tripartite committee from inception sent letters to each state government to send in their memoranda as their contributions to the new national minimum wage negotiating process. 21 states sent in their memoranda, quoting figures.

”The new minimum wage was a product of intense negotiations that lasted almost one year. The governors had six representatives on the Tripartite Committee – one state governor represented each of the geo-political zones.

“The representatives of the state governors were part of the work of the negotiating committee from beginning to the end. So, they cant say that they are not part of it,’’ Wabba said.

He said the union’s state chapters would get the guidelines for the negotiations with their various state governments on the consequential adjustments on the new minimum wage by next week.

The labour leader said governors should remember that they swore an oath to abide by the laws of the land, adding that the national minimum wage was now a law which they must implement.

A member of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission and General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Issa Aremu, said: “It is law, and from the stand point of labour, it is an impeachable offence.

“Any governor that fails to pay is violating the law and he should be sanctioned. There is no way about it. If a governor fails or refuses to pay, the workers also should refuse to work.’’

Also, the General Secretary Association Senior Civil Servant of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Alade Lawal, said the union had invited  its representatives from each state, adding that the representatives would be guided on how to go about it.

He said the union expected that states would use the decision arrived at the federal level during negotiations with the state councils.

Read Also: Intrigues behind new minimum wage agreement

Lawal said the NGF didn’t have a say on what should be paid to workers. He said some states were expected to pay more than the decision at the federal level.

“The state governments are only playing games. They were represented in the minimum wage discussions. They cannot come round to deny their responsibilities.

‘’They are simply courting simply courting labour anger and we are ready for them. Guidelines have not been released by the federal government but certainly we have assurances that  the templates will soon be out,” he said.

However, Lawal said any state which would  not keep to the agreement reached with labour should be ready for labour’s reaction.

In the same vein, the General Secretary, NLC, Comrade Emman Ugbuaja, said the minimum wage had become a law and nobody could tamper with it. He said what the governors said was a fact, adding that states were expected to pay according to their capacities.

“Of course, there are some states that have the capacity to even pay more than what we agreed on at the federal Level. Each state’s capacity would determine how much it would pay,” Ugbuaja said.

However, while some states were  ready to pay the new wage, before the Federal Government and Organised Labour concluded negotiations, investigation revealed that no fewer than 10 states were owing workers backlog of benefits including salaries.

Going by the checks, the potential battle ground states are Zamfara, Taraba, Kogi, Osun, Ondo, Ogun and Ekiti. Many of the states are still battling to pay the old N18,000 minimum wage promptly or are owing backlog of benefits.

For Abia State, investigation revealed that the state owes its civil servants, including teachers, up to six months’arrears.

Similarly, Adamawa State is said to owe some categories of workers, such as  secretariat staff, nurses, midwives and secondary school teachers various months of salaries and other benefits.

While Benue owes its workers no less than five months, its Imo  counterpart owes shortfalls from the previous government.

In Ondo State, one month arrears left by the previous administration is still pending. Its Ekiti counterpart  owes council workers six months, and civil servants three months’ arrears. Also in Osun, the government is owing civil servants on Level Eight to 13, nine months’arrears, and those on Level 14 to 16 14 months’ arrears.

A report by an independent firm, BudgiT, states that 33  state governments cannot finance their recurrent expenditure without allocation from the Federation Account.

The Federation Account, according to nigerianstat.gov.ng, is the central pocket through which the three tiers of governments maintain their workforce and fund developmental projects.

 

BudgiT said in the report released in Abuja that going by its findings, many states would be in jeopardy if the federal allocation were to reduce owing to oil price fluctuations.

The report titled: State of States 2019, explains that only three state governments – Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom – could finance their recurrent expenditure independently, without allocation.

On the outcome of its findings, its Lead Researcher, Orji Uche, said only 19 states could meet their expenditure with internally generated revenue  (IGR) and allocation. The report wonders why a state, such as Delta, was running huge recurrent expenditure reaching up to N200 billion.  It also wondered why despite its population, Bayelsa still had a recurrent bill as high as N137 billion, compared with Ebonyi, which had a recurrent bill of N30 billion; Sokoto, N38 billion; Jigawa N43 billion and Yobe N35 billion.

It was learnt that the labour unions in many states are yet to meet their state governments to work out modalities on the date of implementation.

Rather, some of the state labour unions are relying on pledges by their state governments that they would pay the new wage without  any agreement on the amount and the take-off date.

Labour experts have urged the Federal Government to come up with favourable policies to scale up performance to enhance the inclusive growth of the economy. They said any unfavourable policy would amount to collecting with the left hand what government has given to workers with the right hand, TOBA AGBOOLA reports.

The slow economic growth rate is worsened by poor infrastructure, low consumer purchasing power,  restriction of foreign exchange (forex) for importation of certain raw materials by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and multiple taxation by federal, state and local government agencies.

The scenario has further deteriorated by the spate of insecurity.

But there is a way out: more favourable policies from the Federal Government, the Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Employers’ Federation (CANMPEF) has said.

Its President, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, said at CAMPEF 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM), in spite of the efforts of the Federal Government to support the Organised Private Sector (OPS), the challenges have been overwhelming.

He recalled that ahead of the last general election, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released a report, which showed that Nigeria’s economy recovered and expanded by 1.93 per cent last year, higher than 0.82 per cent recorded the previous year.

“While we are appreciative of the steady recovery in the economy, its yet fragile state is a clear indication that additional policies that support existing efforts should be implemented urgently to scale up performance and inclusive growth of the economy,” he said.

He lamented that impediments, whether in the area of policies, infrastructural problems  and others have continued to stall the progress of the manufacturing sector.

Edwin listed current challenges confronting the sector to include, among others, unscheduled/frequent visits to member companies’ work premises by the Ogun State Environmental Protective Agency and introduction of payment on imported containers by National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) as environmental imported clearance charge.

To the federation, this is synonymous with payments made to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on the same transaction.

“Also, on the Land Use Charge review, the OPS engaged the Lagos State Government, and so far, there has been a downward review of the charge,” he said.

Edwin, who was re-elected president of the federation, said the leadership would make a representation to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, whom he said was a businessman before becoming the governor.

“The problems we are facing are enormous. Within a year, we paid N24 billion on demurrage, all because of bad roads leading to the ports,” he added

He reiterated that the challenges were the reasons members of the OPS  kicked against Nigeria signing the African Free Trade Agreement (AFCTFA).

“So far, the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) treaty has not been successful, that was why we were afraid of AFCTFA agreement initially. We are the one operating in Nigeria and  for us to move products from Ghana, we pay phenomenal taxation in form of road tax to Togo and other countries within the region,” he said.

Guest Speaker Dr. Joshua Bamfo, who spoke on: Government policies: Enhancing the manufacturing sector, warned that the AFCTFA would not be beneficial to Nigeria if the nation’s infrastructure remained in their present state.

“Power supply has to be resolved  if Nigeria is to compete favourably in AFCTFA; if not, other countries will take the benefits,” he said.

The federation’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Femi Oke, said the economy had remained challenging in the last five years, as private sector lending remained low and forex inflows mostly short term.

He said records showed that the manufacturing sector was one of the worst hit in the economy with a marginal growth in GDP of 0.81 per cent.

Also speaking with The Nation, the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to refrain from introducing counter-productive economic policies and decisions that would erode the wage gain achieved by workers.

He urged him not to increase personal income tax, electricity tariff and prices of petroleum products after agreeing on minimum wage for all levels of workers.

“Any further increase in the prices of petroleum products, electricity tariffs, and personal income taxes would amount to collecting with the left hand what is giving to workers with the right hand. The leadership of organised labour will resist such a move.”

Ayuba also  demanded fair treatment to be able to participate in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCTFA) from the advantageous position.

He took a swipe at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international trade bodies which reject Nigerian goods under the pretext that they are not well packaged. He queried the rationale behind free trade touted by the world bodies at the detriment of Nigeria.

He recalled that the NLC supported the OPS to ensure that Nigeria did not sign the AFCTFA agreement without input from stakeholders. This delayed the signing till this year as against last year.

He said: “We are demanding fair trade with whoever we are trading with. There must be reciprocity in free trade. If they are bringing their products, they must be able to accept ours.

“When Nigeria wants to export yams, they will say they are too big, our beans and other products are not good for their markets. All these are to discredit Nigeria, while they continue to take advantage of our population.”

Wabba maintained that there should never be a one-sided trade, where others would continue to make Nigeria a consuming nation by bringing their finished products without reciprocation from Nigeria.

He tasked the Federal Government not to rest on its oars until it has recovered the debts owed it by international oil companies (IOCs).

Wabba said the government should ensure that those behind this criminal neglect are prosecuted.

The NLC  chief  called  for a tax system that captures many businesses and rich people in its net.

“Instead of taxing the poor to extinction, rich people must be compelled by the government to pay more taxes in commensuration to their income,” he said.

He maintained that there could never be decent wages and investmest in public infrastructure and social services when the country have a lot of public funds in private pockets.

Wabba said the OPS  should ensure that Nigeria got her place in the world,  fight any policy or politician working against the well-being of the people.

On the agreement between the Federal Government and workers, the labour union president described the signing of the agreement as a victory for Nigerian workers.

He said:“We wish to emphasise that the hard-won salary adjustment will benefit all categories of workers including those in the military and para-military services. Apart from workers, the recent salary increase will also benefit ordinary citizens, especially those in the informal sector as the increase in the available disposable income of workers will translate into a stronger purchasing power for our people.”

The President, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), Comrade Michael Ndukaku, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to shun any counsel  capable of destabilising the economy.

Siting as example, the advise by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), calling on the President Muhammadu Buhari to remove fuel subsidy, some months back, Ndukaku said the IMF advice on how to recover Nigerian economy was worrisome as it had become counterproductive.

He said: “Any economic policy that is devoid of human feelings can lead to more social dislocations and upheavals, which will later become counterproductive as currently experienced.”

He also cautioned that imposing more stringent reforms in domestic revenue mobilisation, including increase in VAT and securing more domestic oil revenues through subsidy removal, was an attempt to destabilise the nation.

He appealed to Buhari understand the hardship the people were going through in the collective journey to economic recovery.