The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • ‘At 100, we ‘ve had success, challenges’

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) will celebrate its centenary anniversay this year. In this interview with TONY AKOWE in Abuja, its Country Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Comrade Danis  Zulu, speaks on the establishment of the agency, its relationship with Nigeria and the challenges ahead.

    As Country Director of the ILO in Nigeria, what has been the impact of the world body on Nigeria?

    Nigeria is a member state of the ILO. Three persons from Nigeria representing Labour, government and employers are members of the ILO governing  body, which is the highest decision making body in the organisation. So, we look up to Nigeria to provide the lead in terms of social justice and the promotion of decent work across the continent. Nigeria has done quite a lot in terms of the protection of workers’ right. Nigeria has been through the trade union movement and has been supporting the trade union movement of other countries in capacity building and  ensuring that they support their workers in terms of the governance system that are put in place to ensure accountability on the part of the trade unions.

    What has been Nigeria’s contribution to ILO’s work?

    Nigeria has also been working with other member states looking at how it can improve decent work at the ECOWAS level where Nigeria plays an important role within the scope of ILO governing body. The country is also taking the lead in terms of leading other African countries to make a mark on the different decisions that are made at the governing body level. Nigeria has been in the fore front of all these initiatives. We have also collaborated with Nigeria in a number of areas including working with the statistics office to see how we can measure employment in a much more reasonable way. I know that the statistics office hasbeen  producing reports very regularly especially around employment and you will noticed on the website that they give statistics in the ILO formula, which we normally recommend to member states and they have their own derivation of the formula. The fact still remained that there is transparency there as they show the different ways of measuring. In 2017, we supported the government with putting in place an employment policy because employment is critical for a country like Nigeria. Unfortunately, for the past few years, we have seen a growth in unemployment especially among the youths, but we still remained convinced about government’s commitment to addressing this problem. We see that hopefully in the near future, the problem of unemployment will be addressed to the extent that it will no longer be a challenge for our young people here.

    We are also looking at various issues at the moment,  including working with government and  social partners on industrial relations policy. Hopefully, we will see less conflicts amongst  the social partners in Nigeria. We will see more progressive strategies and measures being made to improved the industrial relations environment in Nigeria for productivity and the great economy. So there are a lot of things we have done and we have supported both workers movement through the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress as well as employers through the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association in building capacity for them to undertake the mandate that they have on their constituency.

    As the ILO marks its centenary this year, what have been the challenges and the gains of the world body and what does the future look like?

    For us, it is a very important conference because it marks our centenary as one of the  UN agencies, because the ILO was formed in 1919, in response to the challenge of that time; the challenge that was brought by the industrial revolution which show increase in the violation of workers’ rights. Therefore, it was deemed that the ILO should be formed as an agency that would work with government, workers and employers to ensure social justices and also for the protection of workers right. So for us, it is 100 years of hard work, 100 years of mass improvement in terms of the observances of workers’ right, 100 years of development in the world of work.

    How is the ILO responding to the changing world of work?

    The world of work that we knew in 1919 has evolve to different work standards and different ways of doing work and the introduction of all sort of international labour standards, which prescribed how workers and employers should behave. We have seen an increase in the number of women accessing workplaces that were previously a no go area for them and this has brought about a change in legislation. For instance, there are legislations that permit women to do all types of work, which was not the case previously. We have seen a lot of work around the elimination of worse forms of  child labour. As a result of the increase in poverty, a lot of these children have been forced to work. But we are working with member states including Nigeria to see how we can eliminate these worse forms of child labour.

    Looking back at the past 100 years, do you think that if ILO had not been around things would have been different?

    Yes. We live in a very dynamic world these days. One of the things that we are looking at is the theme in the forthcoming conference and  the decisions on the future of work. For instance, one of the things that we are saying which will be very evident in the future, is that the relationship that we know today between an employer and employee will change because of technology, demographic trends, and other development indices,  like people working from home.

    So, the question is how do we respond to those issues in terms of the protection of workers’ right? If you are a worker working from home with no direct interaction with the employer, how do we ensure that either party is happy with the relationship? So, we really have to look forward and prepare ourselves for the changes that would happen. As you see already, in a number of countries, banks are laying off employees because of technology driven banking. We have ATM and you can do online banking. How do we support member states to ensure  that these workers, who lose their jobs get their rights? How do we ensure that we prepare the young ones as they go into acquiring education that will equipp them for the future of work?

    So as the world of work revolve, we can only do much in ensuring that the four strategies which made up decent work are met. These include protecting rights, ensuring equitable access to employment opportunities for both men and women, ensuring that social protection are available to all workers and lastly and very importantly, the concept of social dialogue in the discussion between employees and employers as far they agreed to what sort of relationships that they should have.  It a huge task just the ILO or it social partners in Nigeria or the government to achieved a perfect world of work. But we can only strive to do as much as we can.

  • NSITF: over N2b claims paid since inception

    The Nigeria Industrial Social Trust Fund (NSITF) has paid N2.4 billion compensation to workers, who were victims of occupational hazards since inception.

    Speaking at the organisation’s celebration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work in Lagos, NSITF Regional Manager Mrs. Olufunke Aleshinloye said the organisation since the inception of ECA to March 2019, has paid N2,328,225,091.46 for 27,825 claims.

    According to her, the NSITF has 338 dependants on its monthly payroll, 448 disabled beneficiaries and 54 disabled employees provided with prosthesis.

    She urged employees and employers to buy into the vision of zero harm at workplaces to enhance productivity and national development.

    She said: “Since 2003, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) observes the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, capitalising on its traditional strength of tripartism among trade unions, employers’ organisations and government representatives alike.

    “The ILO acknowledges the shared responsibility of key stakeholders and encourages them to promote a preventive safety and health culture to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities for preventing deaths, injuries and diseases in the workplace, allowing workers to return safely to their homes at the end of working day,” she said.

    Mrs. Aleshinloye noted that the NSITF dream for the future of work was zero harm at workplaces, listing the steps toward achieving this to include, among others, training the minds of people to take ownership of safety; designing a safe system of work; enforcement of occupational safety and health standards in workplaces; keeping proper records and management’s commitment to safety and health.

    The NSITF in pursuit of the Employees’ Compensation Act, 2010, she said,  protects Nigerian workers in the private and public sectors from difficulties arising from workplace accidents by providing adequate and timely compensation for employees or their dependants for any death, injury, disease or disability arising from or in the course of employment.

    She stressed that safe and healthy workplaces provided the consistency and reliability needed to build a community and grow a business.

    To mark the day, members of the staff embarked on an awareness and sensitisation walk, from the office in Maryland, Lagos, towards the roundabout down to Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, sharing handbills containing vital information on safety and health to residents and passersby.

  • Health workers seek minimum wage implementation

    Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWU) in Lagos State have called for the implementation of the minimum wage, seeking its reflection in their salary structure.

    The call was made at the union’s celebration of Workers Day at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos State,

    MHWU Chairman, Federal Area Council, Lagos, Comrade Attah Isah said: “Since the President has signed the minimum wage passed by the National Assembly, we, as a union, want to know when it will be implemented and when it will reflect in the salary structure. We want to see the template of the minimum wage that has been approved.”

    He appealed that the money owed health workers be paid, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an administrator as the next Minister of Health, noting that such personnel is what is needed to attend to the affairs of the sector.

    “We have had enough troubles in the Ministry of Health. It is time we had peace and when there is peace there will be progress. Health workers need better and improved working conditions, as the health sector in the country is nothing to write home about,” he said.

    Former MHWU Chairman, Federal Medical Centre, Ebenezer Akande, thanked the President for the minimum wage. He, however, lamented on how health workers are treated in the country. “Health workers deserve better, the government takes care of the doctors as if they are the only ones that matters in the health sector, but the doctors cannot work without us. Doctors’ salary upward review has been approved twice, but ours not even once. How do they expect us to be happy doing the job and we have the larger percentage in the health sector. We want to be happy doing our job. The government has not been good to us, we want them to increase our salary too as they have done  for the doctors,” he said.

    MHWU National Auditor, Comrade Siwoku Olusegun, said the minimum wage approval is a call for celebration for all workers.

    He appealed to the Federal Government to come to their aid and pay their unpaid salary.

  • Stakeholders call for child labour elimination

    Stakeholders have been urged to unite in their efforts to eliminate child labour in the country.

    The charge was given by speakers at a seminar by the Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The final draft of the State Action Plan (SAP) on child labour elimination was presented at the event.

    Speaking on Impact of child labour responses in agro communities, the Head of Leaf, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), Oluwakayode Oshodi, decried the prevalence of child labour in the agricultural sector.

    He attributed it to the limited understanding of the impact of child labour by the rural folks, which underscores the need for training and heightening their awareness on the malaise.

    “The agricultural sector is one where child labour is prevalent. There is a thin line between helping a parent and exposing a child to child labour,” he said.

    He noted that parents who engage their children and wards in child labour see it as a short-term and cost-saving benefit failing to realise the long-term effects.

    Speaking on BATN efforts to eradicate child labour, he said the company always ensured that its farming partners and stakeholders understood the impact of their decisions on child labour. BATN also conducts regular spot checks on their farms to ascertain compliance with its child labour policy.

    “We ask farmers to share with us evidence of the child’s school attendance and take steps to reward members who are compliant through our annual Farmers’ Productivity Awards,” he added.

    The Chairman, Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour (SSCCL) and controller, Federal Ministry of Labour, Mr. Ogunbiyi Adewole,said the meeting was to validate the final draft on the state action plan on child labour elimination. He noted that the ministry and state government were working with stakeholders to achieve the mandate.

    The Secretary, Oyo SSCCL, Marcus Williams, while giving a summary of the State Action Plan (SAP) on child labour, said it provides the roadmap for the National Policy on the Elimination of Child Labour in Oyo State.

    He listed the key thematic areas of the plan as policy, legal framework and assessment; child protection; awareness campaign; monitoring and evaluation, among others.

    On best practice on child labour elimination, Williams identified gradual integration of victims and rehabilitation as pivotal to the achievement of positive results.

    “There is a lot that goes into re-integration of victims. Gradual integration is very important in the elimination of child labour. Therefore, stakeholders need to understand the dynamics of gradual integration and must work together in this regard,” he added.

  • Oil workers to Buhari: end fuel importation

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to  end the nation’s reliance on imported petroleum products.

    The oil workers promised to give the President the necessary support  to put an end to the shame of importing products for local consumption.

    NUPENG President Comrade Williams Akporeha made the call  at a press briefing in Lagos. He  said the union would resist any policy that would impact negatively on the oil and gas industry.

    He said the over dependence on petroleum products import has made the country vulnerable to antics and manipulations of local and foreign manipulators.

    ‘’NEC-In-Session, (National Executive Council of NUPENG), the highest organ of our Union on Friday April 26, 2019 requested for urgent revitalisation of Nigeria’s ailing refineries to pave way for sufficient local supply of petroleum products across the nation.

    ‘’NEC-In-Session in its wisdom equally encouraged state governments from the oil rich Niger Delta region to invest in building oil refineries to cater for domestic, commercial and industrial use by the citizenry, ’he added.

    Criticising the anti-labour postures of International Oil Companies (IOCs), Akporeha decried the violation of contract workers’ rights in Shell Nigeria.

    ‘’The gross violation of workers right reached an unfortunate head when Shell contractors brazenly refused to implement an agreement they willingly entered into with the workers since November 2018,’’he added.

    Akporeha expressed disgust over the refusal of the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Company (NLNG ) and its contractors to recognise the union.

    ‘’It is important to let you know that even after the Ministry of Labour’s intervention and the Court ruling in favour of the workers affirming their inalienable rights to associate and bargain collectively,  NLNG and its contractors still remain recalcitrant. Some of these contractors include WAEP, MIDIS Nigeria Limited, Rypac, D. A. Enterprise,’’ he added

    Commending Buhari and the National Assembly for the new national minimum wage law, the labour leader urged employers to ensure the immediate implementation of the new minimum wage.

    His words: “We offer our hands of fellowship to all workers who might need support in the unforeseen situation of any employer including state governments that may be thinking of cutting corners with regards to the implementation of the new minimum wage.”

    ‘’We know as a matter of fact that there is no state in Nigeria that does not have the capacity to conveniently implement this modest benchmark for workers in their respective states. It is, therefore, imperative for the government to focus on how to deepen good governance and restrain from fiscal wastages’’.

    Read also: Why Anambra, Enugu, Kogi can’t be declared oil bearing states, by DPR

    In a related event, the union urged Buhari to ignore the counsel of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to remove fuel subsidy.

    Akporeha described the IMF’s counsel as poisonous and capable of destabilising and creating unnecessary tension in the economy and body polity.

    He said: “While maintaining our uncompromising standpoint on national patriotism and also pushing for good governance particularly in the sector that affects our members and their businesses, we use this medium to condemn the hoax which suggested that Federal Government was planning to remove fuel subsidy.

    “Our over dependence on petroleum products importation has unfortunately made us to be very vulnerable to antics and manipulations of local and foreign manipulators. As stakeholders in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, we are not aware of such plan. Sadly, this unhealthy speculation led to panic buying and created slight hitches in the country’s downstream sector.’’

  • Oyo NLC: No excuse for governors not to pay N30,000 minimum wage

    In another development, the new Chairman of the Oyo State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Comrade Bayo Titilola-Sodo, has said that there is no excuse for governors not to start paying the N30,000 minimum wage immediately.

    Speaking after the election at the NLC delegates conference at the Adamasingba Stadium, Ibadan, Titilola-Sodo said the minimum wage was law binding on the 36 governors.

    He said: “The implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage should be immediate without further delay. The President has signed it, it is a law and the law is binding on all the 36 state governors.

    “It is a law, it requires no persuasion, it covers all the states of the Federation. The outgoing governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, promised to pay N30,000 minimum wage. The governor-elect, Seyi Makinde, also promised us even before the election.

    Read also: NLC to Ngige: inaugurate NSITF Board or else…

    “So, we would hold both of them to their words,” he said.

    On what to expect from the new NLC executives in the next three years, Titilayo-Sodo said: “I want a situation where workers are paid their salaries as and when due; a situation where workers enjoy their benefits as and when due.

    “A situation where nepotism and favourism are not allowed; a situation where workers are not victimised, where justice prevails and act of the day, where sanity is brought into the system unlike the present situation.”

    Other elected executives are: Adedeji Taofeek; Vice chairman 1, Martins Bayonle; Vice chairman 2, Rukayat Afonja; Chairperson, Ademola Babalola;Treasurer, Oladele Olusegun and Folorunsho Olujimi, Auditor 1 and Auditor 2.

  • Labour urges governors to pay pension arrears

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on state governments owing pensioners to pay them as soon as possible to reduce their hardship.

    Its National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, made the call in Kano during NLC state delegates’ conference.

    Wabba, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Nasiru Dangwandu, said the call was necessary because some state governors had failed to pay retirees their entitlements.

    Lauding President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent to the new minimum wage bill 2019, tWabba said it would be a testimony to good governance if governors ensured payment of such arrears to beneficiaries.

    According to Wabba, NLC is committed to improving the welfare of workers.

    He pledged that NLC would double its efforts toward achieving the objective.

    He said: “But we completely rejected the proposed increase of Value Added Tax as a means of funding the 2019 budget.

    “We warned that any increase in the VAT or PAYE would not only rob workers of the minimal relief from the increase in the minimum wage, but would also leave our economy in dire straits.”

    Wabba urged the government to consider progressive ways of financing the budget and to adopt progressive taxation to capture more people in the tax net, in addition to ensuring that luxury items are properly taxed.

    He urged employers to begin the payment of the new minimum wage immediately.

    The state chairman of the NLC in Kano, Comrade Kabir Minjibir, said the union had recorded tremendous success in its effort to ensure welfare and rights of workers.

     

     

  • Minimum wage ‘ll give workers sense of belonging, says TUC

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has said the new N30,000 minimum wage will give workers a sense of belonging.

    In a statement TUC commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Minimum Wage Bill into law.

    Its President, Bobboi Kaigama and Secretary-General, Musa-Lawal Ozigi, said the new wage will in no small measure give workers a sense of belonging, saying the organised labour appreciated its approval, but that its gains have been eroded by inflation as prices of commodities have gone up when employees were yet to receive the new wage.

    Read also: Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara, Benue ready for N30,000 minimum wage

    “The N30,000 monthly National Minimum Wage that we are asking for a family of six, amounts to less than N50 per meal per person. It is exclusive of utility bills, school fees and many others.

    “Given our extended family system as Africans, we are also expected to assist parents, in-laws, relations and friends, who have lost their jobs,” the TUC said.

    The union called on the 9th Assembly to prevail on governors to pay workers their salaries and pension to retirees as and when due to avoid crisis in the industrial sector, adding that it appreciated the government, the lawmakers and Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) for seeing reason with workers.

  • NUBIFIE urges N/Assemby to curb anti-labour practices in banks

    Financial sector workers have urged the incoming 9th National Assembly to look into the problem of casualisation and other anti-labour practices in the banking sector.

    The workers, under the umbrella of the National Union of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), lamented that most new generation banks have no regard for labour laws.

    NUBIFIE President Comrade Abakpa Anthony said the banks rather than employ permanent staff, who are more experienced and better qualified, prefer to employ workers with low qualifications as casuals.

    He lamented that as casuals, the workers are often denied their rights and freedom to unionise  and fight for their right.

    He said: “Casualisation is satanic. It is a way of outsourcing people’s destiny, when they are still alive. A casual is just like making one a refugee in one’s country, mortgaging people’s future.

    “We have continued to engage the CEOs who do not know the implication on the Nigerian workers.”

    The NUBIFIE president said the union has also protested at the National Assembly twice,, but unfortunately we’re disappointed the way the issue was handled.

    “We would have loved a situation where the union and the banks we reported to the National Assembly were given same hearing on the same day. But that was not the situation.The day the CEOs were invited, we were not there and to us it was like shifting the goal post. If they really want to treat it, they  should have called us together.

    “What the National Assembly did was to send the banks’ questions, based on our report, which they would have not have answered truthfully. But unfortunately we were not there to tell them that their information were falsified and that is why we want the new NASS members to revisit it.”

    Abakpa maintained that it is workers’ inalienable rights to belong to unions irrespective of their status and should not be denied by the employers.

    He, however, noted that the union has been able to make some progress at getting some rights for the casuals in the sector.

     

  • ECOWAS to tackle illegal migration through job creation

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is developing initiatives to increase job creation to address illegal migration in the sub-region.

    This formed part of discussions at the opening session of the just concluded meeting of a Joint Committee of ECOWAS in Conakry, Guinea.

    The meeting urged the ECOWAS Commission to organise campaigns to sensitise youths on the economic goals of the region and understand the role to play.

    The theme for the delocalised meeting is: “Job Creation in the ECOWAS region through entrepreneurship and the development of SMEs”.

    Members of parliament also said it was pertinent for member states to intensify efforts to ensure that projects in the region were geared towards sustainable regional integration.

    According to ECOWAS, a number of irregular migrants from Africa to Europe via different migratory routes had been recorded since the peak of migration in 2014, with more deaths in the Mediterranean Sea.

    ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, Moustapha Cisse Lo, urged members of the committees to ensure that they come up with recommendations aimed at boosting job creation.

    Read also: Sida, FAO, ECOWAS partner to protect West Africa’s forests

    He said this would be done through promoting the development of small and medium enterprises.

    The speaker also said the meeting would renew the parliament’s commitment to develop strategies for economic integration, adding that the consideration and adoption of the draft report and the committees’ recommendations would be done at ECOWAS parliament plenary session  to be held in Nigeria in May.

    An ECOWAS representative, Mrs. Liliane Alapini said issues of unemployment are at the heart of the region’s integration pursuit.

    Alapini said the non-implementation of policies on job creation and unemployment was also responsible for the rate of illegal migration in West Africa.

    She urged the committees present to strengthen policies on small and medium enterprises in the region.

    The Guinean Minister of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Tibou Camara, said  unemployment is “a time bomb” that must be tackled to ensure economic growth and development in the region.

    The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Country Representative, Mr Ansoumane Berete said industrialisation was paramount to poverty eradication in the ECOWAS region.

    He assured of UNIDO’s continued support to skills development of young entrepreneurs through proper training.

    Another representative of the parliament, Mr Alpha Fischer said the meeting would also develop modalities to facilitate youths’ vocational training in the region.

    “This meeting will advocate and promote skills acquisition of youths to enable them stay in their countries rather than venture into illegal migration.

    “This meeting will deal with job creation and training of our youth so that they can overcome the temptation of being trapped in the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

    According to Fischer, the meeting would equip members of parliament to play a major role in job creation and also commend UNIDO for its contribution to development in the region.

    Risk Analysis for 2018 concluded that the sea, especially along the Mediterranean routes, would remain the most active path for illegal crossing of the European Union (EU) external borders, but also one of the most dangerous for migrants.

    This, according to Relief Web, a leading humanitarian information source on global crises and disasters and a specialised digital service of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

    In addition, according to statistics from Missing Migrants Project of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 98 deaths of migrants in Africa have been recorded since the beginning of 2019.

    This is compared to 107 deaths recorded in 2018 under the period in review.