The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Fed Govt to employers: provide decent work

    The Federal Government has charged employers to provide decent conditions for their employees.

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, made the call in Abuja when he received the executives of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) led by Comrade Osakpamwan Eriyo.

    He charged the association to tailor its employment conditions on the provisions of the Decent Work Agenda of International Labour Organisation (ILO).

    “Try to provide decent work because the ILO agenda now is Agenda for Decent Work,” he said.

    The minister urged the group to do a proper documentation of its employees by creating a database, adding that it would simplify their recruitment, as well as assist the government in managing security.

    Acknowledging the support of the association, Ngige stated that the government had put in place a lot of infrastructure, especially a good network of roads, across the country to boost the transport sector.

    RTEAN National President  Eriyo pledged the association’s support to the government.

    Eriyo, represented by the Deputy National President, Alhaji Musa Mohammed, noted that group had experienced peace, unity and progress under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

  • UNIDO to entrepreneurs: deploy right technologies for business growth

    The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has urged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt appropriate technologies in growing their businesses.

    Its National Project Coordinator  in Nigeria, Mr. Francis Okoh, made the call at the National Economic Dialogue organised by Business to Business (B2B) Nigeria in Abuja.

    The event, which held at the weekend, was themed “Digitising the Nigeria SMEs space for profitability’’.

    Okoh said some of the SMEs failed due to their inability to deploy the right technologies at the development stage.

    According to him, before setting up a business, it is important to think of the business idea and the technology to deploy at the initial stage because not all technologies can develop businesses.

    “For SMEs to make progress, we must mainstream technology in our operations. Businesses have continued to slow down due to manual way of operations.

    “Information is the life wire of any organisation, but unfortunately, some people use the phone only to make calls instead of exploring other features to grow their businesses,’’ Okoh said.

    He emphasised the need for increased sensitisation on the importance of enhancing businesses with the right technologies. He urged the private sector to pull resources to support SMEs in the country.

    Okoh said UNIDO was partnering 12 universities and 45 secondary schools across the country to engage students on practical ways of doing businesses with the right technologies.

    “Recently, we trained 1000 people in that regard in Nigeria, more so 74 million unemployed youths worldwide need access to educative resources,’’ he added.

    The UNIDO chief said the organisation was developing 30 interactive learning modules covering business and information technology skills needed to grow SMEs in Nigeria.

    Convener of the dialogue, Mr. Mustapha Popoola, said there was need to maximise the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure to facilitate the rapid growth of SMEs.

    He said Nigeria needed to digitise some of the information, and by so doing, generate more revenue for the government.

  • Wabba decries social inequality in tax

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described the tax systems as less progressive.

    Speaking at the 18th Congress of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) held in Italy, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said 84 per cent of the world’s people say minimum wage is not enough to live on. He noted that more than 70 per cent of the world’s people have little or no social protection.

    Wabba, who is also the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) President, noted that curbing inequality, would require pressure on employers–especially through collective bargaining, and on politicians, who must regulate the global economy and create the space for unions to bargain with employers.

    He urged the union to reinvigorate the social contract that allowed unions to create a better life for working people.

    Wabba said: “We insisted on the regulation of economic power and the redistribution of wealth and influence. We must make sure that working people are put first, not profits. All of that will require political struggle, but it must also mean social dialogue and bargaining. Bargaining for equality and redistribution, bargaining for justice and just transition, bargaining for shorter working weeks, better pensions, safer working lives. These conditions don’t exist in too many countries and there we expect tri-partite dialogue but in it is a sense Government must respect ILO standards and protect their people.”

    Wabba said fundamental rights were under attack in many countries, adding that the current and future  of the global economy are in the wrong hands.

    “The global economic system and current model of globalisation disproportionately benefit capital owners. The consequences for billions of people are poverty, insecurity and the loss of hope and trust.

    ‘’Given paucity of investments to produce a recovery that benefits workers, workers and their unions are extremely challenged. What can we do to help ourselves and to help working people and their families

    “Given the resurgence of neoliberalism, dictatorship, even fascism, our world is fractured and people feel very insecure. The extremes we battled in the last century and defeated are again the battles of today.

    “While we must analyse the challenges we face honestly and critically, we must also commit ourselves to action to create better work and a better world. I believe you call that “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will,” he said.

    The ITUC has over 200 million members who are affiliated to about 331 national centres globally.

  • ‘Cost of new passport too high’

    The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has described as too high the N70,000 price tag for the new International Passport.

    In a statement,TUC President Comrade Bobboi Kaigama said: “Sometimes one wonders where our privileged Nigerians think from. For over two years, we have been fighting for a new wage of N30, 000 without any meaningful breakthrough. Only last week, we read that the Council of State, which was never a part of the tripartite committee set up by the Federal Government, pegged the new wage at N27, 000.

    “By implication if this anti-masses conspiracy is allowed to scale through, it then means a civil servant would have to save his salary for three months to pay for a passport. What about feeding, rent, school fees and other utilities bills? This will not work.

    “Come to think of it, we have not even received the new wage, yet the government and its agencies are already devising numerous avenues to get the money back. Who knows what Customs, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), among others, have in the offing?”

    Kaigama said most Nigerians, who could not get the National Identify Card, prefer to use the International passport for transactions, adding  that the opportunity is about to be scuttled because of greed and avarice.

    Kaigama said if the government’s objective is to stop Nigerians from travelling, that may not work as they have failed to make the country habitable by creating jobs, infrastructure, good schools and healthcare, among others.

    Kaigama expressed sadness that Ghana was doing far better in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) than Nigeria, saying: “Telling us whenever we ask for a wage increase that the price of crude has dropped is unfair. Crude is not our only source of revenue. Nigerians all over the world in their millions renew their international passports weekly, if not daily. Where is the money? We expect that in this era of integrity, there should be accountability.

    “The Congress condemned what the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has proposed, and may adopt any measure we consider right to ensure that the new international passport does not exceed N50, 000,” Kaigama said.

  • Auto worker reject proposed imported vehicles’duty slash

    Automobile workers have warned that reduction of duties on imported vehicles would hamper manpower development in the sector.

    The General Secretary, Automobile, Boatyard, Transportation, Equipment and Allied Senior Staff Association (AUTOBATE), Sola Olorunfemi, said slashing the duties would ruin the sector.

    Olorunfemi argued that import duties reduction would increase unemployment, adding that foreign companies, such as TATA and Mandilas, could be forced to quit Nigeria.

    On January 24, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), called for a reduction in import duties to curb the products’ smuggling.

    Olorunfemi noted that the government should endeavour to resuscitate steel industry to provide materials for local vehicle manufacturing plants.

    He, however, said the workers were making the call against the backdrop of calls by key stakeholders for the Federal Government to slash duties on vehicles imported.

    It would be recalled that the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) recently called on the government to reduce import duties to 15 per cent from the prevailing 25 per cent put in place by the Federal Government.

     

  • Labour: we’re monitoring lawmakers

    • Urges committee to fast-track minimum wage implementation

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is monitoring the transmission of an Executive Bill on the new minimum wage from the Presidency to the National Assembly, its General Secretary Peter Ozo-Eson has said.

    There has been fear of a fresh crisis in the negotiation between the organised labour and the Federal Government on the new minimum wage.

    This followed a disclosure by a source at the National Assembly that lawmakers would go on another recess on or before the presentation of the bill on January 23.

    The recess, it was gathered, would enable the lawmakers prepare for the next month’s elections.

    Ozo-Eson told The Nation that workers would kick if work on the minimum wage was not completed before the agreed time.

    Also, a National Executive Council (NEC) member of the NLC and labour representative on the National Income and Wages Commission, Comrade Issa Aremu, called on the newly inaugurated Bismarck Rewane-led Technical Advisory Committee on the Implementation of a National Minimum Wage to facilitate the implementation of the negotiated N30,000.

    Aremu said it was reassuring that President Muhammadu Buhari reaffirmed his commitment to the new wage during his discussion with organised labour and that it should send the Executive Bill on the matter to the National Assembly before January 23.

    Aremu, the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate in Kwara State, noted that while the Bismarck-led Technical Committee was made up of eminent experts, it was desirable that the representatives of organised labour were parties to the implementation of what he called critical labour market issues like minimum wage and slavery review for other categories of workers earning above the minimum.

    “Indeed, ideally the best statutory committee to drive the mandate of the Bismarck Committee would have been National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC),” he said.

    According to him, the 25-year-old Commission provides technical input to the work of Tripartite Committees on the determination and fixing of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), made up of government, the organised labour and employers.

    The Commission, he recalled, performed this role when the Tripartite Committee in 2000 fixed it fixed   the wage at N5,500 and in 2011 when it fixed  the wage at N18,000 monthly.

    “The Executive Chairman of the Commission, Richard Ebule, served as a member/secretary to the Tripartite Committee inaugurated by Mr. President on 27th November, 2017, which midwived the New minimum wage of N30,000.

    “The Commission, as in previous occasions, also provided the Secretariat to the Committee. The Commission had provided technical inputs and compensation architecture that led to the creation of new pay structures for the public service,” he said.

  • Afolabi is NUPENG’s acting general secretary

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has appointed Olufemi Afolabi as its acting General Secretary.

    Afolabi was NUPENG’s Deputy General Secretary, Operations.

    He received the baton from Adamu Song on January 1, this year, who has retired.

    Afolabi is a 1991 Philosophy graduate of the University of Lagos. He obtained a Masters in Industrial and Labour Relations at University of Ibadan in 1997.

    He received a Post Graduate Certificate in Labour Policies Studies in 2004 from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.

    He has been in service for over two decades at NUPENG in Management, Training/Education, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Negotiations..

    Before his promotion, Afolabi was in charge of training and a founding member of the labour movement educators’ forum.

    Afolabi is an alumnus of numerous local and international management and professional programmes in Nigeria and other African countries, United States as well as other Southern and Northern American countries, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

    He has attended various seminars and training organised by International Labour Organisation (ILO).

  • Kwara health workers to begin indefinite strike

    The Joint Council of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Kwara State council will on Monday begin an indefinite strike across all the 16 local government areas in the state.

    This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the NANNM Chairmen, Joshua Adekanye and Muritala Olayinka Saheed, in Ilorin.

    According to the statement, “All the state health facilities/hospitals, including the ministry of environment and agriculture, should also join the strike as from Monday 21st January 2019 to press home the implementation of approved 10 per cent consolidated health salary structure for the workers at the councils.

    “This is as a result of the state government’s implementation of the approved 10 per cent CONHESS for state health workers since July 2018 and refusal to implement same for health workers at the local government level in the state.”

    The statement urged to health programmes members in family planning, immunisation, and HIV/AIDS to suspend their work during the industrial action.

  • Union decries non-payment of salaries by governors

    The WAEC/Libraries and other Trade Group Council of Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Associated Institutions (NASU) has bemoaned the non-payment of salaries by state governments.

    In a resolution by its Deputy President/Chairman of WAEC/Libraries and other trade union group of NASU, Michael Adegoke, and secretary, ‘Damola Adelekun, at the end of its meeting at the National Examinations Council (NECO) headquarters in Bida, Niger State, the body said the unpaid salaries and allowances had impacted negatively on the quality of life of its members.

    It added: “Council expressed worry over the untold hardships being experienced by some workers following the failure of some state governments to pay salaries as and when due, running into several months.

    “The Council insisted that payment of salaries is a statutory obligation, which must be fulfilled by the state governments. It condemned in very strong terms, the reluctance of some state governments to pay workers’ salaries and pension/gratuities as and when due, despite the supports extended to the states by the Federal Government in the form of bailout funds as well as the two tranches of Paris Club refunds.”

    The Council urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to release another tranche of the Paris Club refund to the state governments that owe workers until they had fully accounted for the Paris Club refunds collected.

    NASU called on the workers to team up with like-minded people  to vote out anti-workers in the government.

    The union expressed worry over the high rate of youth unemployment, adding that it is threatening the sustainability of the nation’s economic development and causing increase in the rate of crime and other social vices.

    It noted the increase in population coupled with the rate at which graduates were being churned out of tertiary institutions yearly without employment.

    The union, therefore, urged the government to create the enabling environment for the diversification of the economy. It appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to get  create jobs.

    NASU commended the  government for the fight against corruption, but  noted that corruption was still responsible for the  insolvable problem of poverty, disease, hunger and under development.

    The Council noted that the government had not been transparent enough in the fight against corruption and that every attempt by this government to end the problem had not yielded enough positive result.

    The Council further noted that if care was not taken, this administration that came in as a physician might leave office as a patient because of the prevailing corruption in the system.

    It, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure continuity in the fight against corruption by empowering relevant institutions to fight the cancer as he could not do it alone.

     

    The Council also called on all the anti-graft commissions and agencies as well as the Judiciary to intensify their efforts and make sure that culprits face severe punishment in order to serve as deterrent to others.

  • NECA express worry over mounting debts

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed its fears at the nation’s mounting debts, following the release of 2018 third quarter report of the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the 2019 budget assumptions.

    Speaking in Lagos, its Director-General, Mr. Timothy Olawale, said the figures showed that the Federal Government’s domestic debt profile rose to N15.814trillion last September, from N15.629 trillion in June 2018 (1.19 per cent increase).

    He said: “This figure becomes more worrisome when we look at the total public debt stock, comprising the external and domestic debt of the Federal Government, the 36 states and the FCT hitting the $73.208 billion (N22.38 trillion) recorded in June, 2018.

    “This trend, which is very disturbing, could have a negative effect on the developmental capacity of Nigeria, despite the government’s financial managers’ argument that the rate of increase is within a manageable limit.”

    He noted that experts at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank had advised that the revenue-to-debt ratio is unsustainable and it portends a serious danger for the future generation.

    Olawale said while the effect of the increasing debt might not be immediate, it could be painful in the long run with a chunk of revenue consumed by debt servicing to the detriment of infrastructure.

    Sadly, he said, the reality was that N2.140 trillion from the N8.8 trillion proposed 2019 budget,, has been earmarked for debt servicing, representing about 25 per cent of the budget.

    On the implication of the government’s huge borrowing in the domestic market, he said: “The size of government borrowing in the domestic financial market also continues to be a major source of concern as this has in no small measure, affected the chances of the real sector to access funding at a reasonable cost.