The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • NSITF: we paid over N2.5b compensation in seven years

    The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has paid over N2.5 billion as compensation under its Employees Compensation Fund (ECF) since 2011 when it commenced operations to 2018, its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer,  Mr. Adebayo Somefun, has said.

    He said the Fund’s commitment to employees’ welfare was why the social security body has been proactive in providing social security and safety nets for Nigerians against deprivation and income insecurity, in accordance with national and international laws.

    Somefun made these known at the NSITF Open Day at the just-ended 32nd edition of the Lagos International Trade Fair organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    In his break down, Somefun, who was represented by the General Manager, Lagos Region, Mrs Olufunke Aleshinloye, said N918.6 million was paid as debt repayment; N790 million, for Medical Examination Report (MER); N194 million,  for disability benefits.

    “Loss of productivity paid to employers, where an employee cannot work due to sickness, disability or any reason, was N31 million with other payments made under Further Medical Treatment – two persons recommended and 34 artificial limbs given to injured employees,” he said.

    Somefun said contribution was made by employers, not employees and it was one per cent of emolument. He added that any employer that fails to remit was liable to face sanctions.

    Mrs Aleshinloye, who led visitors to NSITF’s stand, said the scheme provides compensation to employers in the event of death, injury, disability or disease arising out of or in the course of employment and for related matters.

    She said the scheme also provides compensation to dependants of an employee who dies in the course of work, adding that N1.5 million was recently paid to a deceased employee’s next of kin.

    She said though the scheme has an investment arm, claims are paid separately from another account. Payment duration also depends on the employer that gives correct information early.

    “Lagos region has over 20, 000 employees in the small, medium and corporate businesses under it and are divided into sectoral groups where probability for accidents are the criteria for grouping”, she added.

  • Ezinwa is UAC Group Human Resources Director

    The Board of UAC of Nigeria Plc has appointed Dr. Vitus Chidiebere Ezinwa as the conglomerate’s Group Human Resources Director.

    Dr. Ezinwa, a seasoned business manager and human resource professional with experience gained in leading multinational corporations, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Anthropology from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, MBA in Management from Lagos Business School, a Masters in Applied Business Research and a Doctorate in Business Administration, both from Swiss Business School, Zurich, Switzerland.

    He worked as Group Human Resources Director for Promasidor Africa; Human Resources Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria & Equatorial Africa, with responsibility for 10 countries and Human Resources Director for British American Tobacco, West & Central Africa, covering Ghana, Benin, Niger & Togo. He was also the Group Human Resources Director for Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group.

    Dr. Ezinwa is a member of the Advisory Board of Afterschool Graduate Development Centre and the Institute of Directors as well as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) United Kingdom. He is a co-founder and Director of HR Network Africa and was until 2014, a member of the Lagos Business School’s Advisory Board.

  • Call IOCs to order over anti-labour practices, union urges NNPC

    The  Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN),  has urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to call the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and others to order over anti-labour practices.

    The President of the union, Comrade Francis Olabode, who spoke during the 5th Triennial Delegates Conference of PENGASSAN /NNPC Corporate Headquarter (CHQ) Branch in Abuja, said the need to caution the oil companies was pertinent before they throw the industry into unnecessary crisis.

    He said: “The main objective of PENGASSAN is to safeguard and improve the rights, terms and conditions of employment of its members through labour and industrial relations processes, saying, however, that the association has continued to encounter difficulties with certain indigenous operators and the IOCS.

    He said: “We will like the NNPC  to call these companies to order before their anti-labour practices throw the industry into unnecessary crisis.”

    Comrade Johnson said the association’s constitution is the guide that binds members together, saying: “Therefore, we expect all branches and members to abide by and respect the constitution that determines how noble our Association will be in the eyes of our members and the general public.”

    He explained that adherence to constitutional provisions and best practices in labour engagement is crucial to the maintenance of cohesion and discipline, saying any breach will not be tolerated.

    The PENGASSAN President praised the NNPC management for supporting the Association in all its activities.

    He also lauded the Group Managing Director of the NNPC for playing a noteworthy role in the JV Cash Call resolution and for making the depots at Ilorin, Ore, Mosimi, Aba, Gombe, Ibadan, Calabar and Kaduna to be fully functional.

    Earlier in his address, NNPC Group Managing Director, Maikanti Kacalla Baru, implored PENGASSAN members to continue seeking the growth and existence of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

    He said the branch has demonstrated great deal of responsibility worthy of emulation by other trade unions.

  • ‘Nigeria needs ideology to industrialise’

    The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the Industrial Global Union and other stakeholders, have warned that Nigeria cannot be industrialised without a clear industrial policy and ideology.

    The stakeholders, who spoke at the launch of an industrial policy book, titled: “Study report on industrial policy and state of industrialisation in Nigeria”, stressed the need by the government to come up with a clear ideology on its idustrialisation.

    According to NECA’s Director-General, Timothy Olawale, who was represented by Adenike Ajala,  it is very important for a country that desires industrialisation to have a robust industrial policy.

    He said: “NECA represents the Organised Private Sector and our core mandate is to represent our members’ businesses both to create wealth for themselves and contribute to economic growth. Having a robust industrial policy is therefore, very important to us.

    Chairman, Nigeria Council of the Industrial Global Union, Comrade Babatunde Olatunji, praised FES efforts for its unwavering support since arriving Nigeria in 1976, as well as influencing Nigerian workers by developing their capacity through training and education.

    He said the book, being launched on industrialisation, shall further reinforce other progressive efforts towards re-industrialisation of Nigeria.

    “It is an eye-sore to see some of the former strong companies transforming into worship centers due largely to unfavorable economic policies of the successive governments in Nigeria.

    “With this book, therefore, we are hopeful that the concerned stakeholders shall appreciate the suggestions and strategies therein with a view to evolving sustainable policies on industrialisation in Nigeria. It shall also strengthen our resource materials for policy engagement and advocacy.”

  • ‘Governors frustrating minimum wage’

    The Nigeria Civil Service Union, the nation’s oldest industrial union, has accused governors of frustrating the actualisation of new national minimum wage for workers. They said the states helmsmen should be denied re-election next year.

    Former President of the Union and Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Kiri Mohammed, who made the allegation when he reported back to office as National President of the Union, lamented that workers in the various states have had to suffer untold hardship despite huge resources available to them because of their extravagant spending.

    Mohammed told an emergency National Executive Council meeting of the union, that he was reporting back to the union as National President in response to an order of the National Industrial Court, which asked the union to maintain its 2017 position pending the determination of the suit before it.

    He said the governors were the major problem in negotiating for the new national minimum wage as a result of their unwillingness to pay  workers’ salaries.

    He said workers and Nigerians should prepare to vote out all governors, who are not paying salaries as the nation marches towards another general election. He described such governors as enemies of workers who should not be allowed to continue in office.

    The union has put in place a seven- man caretaker committee to run the affairs of the Union pending the determination of a suit brought against the leadership by an aggrieved member.

    The National Industrial Court, on November 1, ordered that the union maintained the status quo, returning the old leadership, led by Comrade Kiri Mohammed, whose tenure expired in 2017, back to office.

    However, Comrade Mohammed said having retired from service, he was stepping down from the position of National President, but had to resume as National President in obedience to the order of the court.

    While thanking members of the Union for the confidence reposed in him and his executive members, Comrade Mohammed, who is also the Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, said the task ahead of the union was to work together in their collective interest.

    The caretaker committee is headed by Comrade Lawrence Amaechi, who was elected national President at the delegates conference of the union to replace Comrade Kiri Mohammed.

    Amaechi is to lead the union till the suit in Court is disposed off, with a mandate to challenge the ruling of the National Industrial Court at the Court of Appeal.

     

  • Chinese firms enslave Nigerian workers, union alleges

    • Urges govt to intervene

    The Nigeria Union of Mine Workers, Ogun State chapter, has called on the state government to take urgent steps to redress what they refered to as labour injustice against their members working for Chinese firm operating in the state.

    According to the Union, Chinese firms operating in the state are subjecting their members working for them into fresh ‘neo-colonialism’.

    They alleged that, for example, most of the workers at the Chinese quarry companies have been casual workers for several years without any hope of being granted staff status.

    The Chairman of the Union, Fasiu Abiola Alao who delivered an address at the inauguration of the newly elected Union’s Executive said: “Chinese labour employers and their Nigerian collaborators encourage casual workers and thus deprive Nigerian workers human dignity, all these must stop.

    “Nigerians working in Chinese quarries have not been treated with respect as human beings, but as slaves and casual workers, this is no longer acceptable in the state.

    “Mining industry is a diverse one, this union’s primary assignment is to harmonise all sphere of this industry and bring everyone under one body where our collective rights can be achieved, but not without the involvement of Ogun State government and its agencies.”

    He, however, said the union will ensure a peaceful atmosphere for business to thrive for all, adding that it will disccourage any form of violence, but dialogue as the best solution to whatever disputes that may arise in the course of doing business with each other.

    “We must both recognise our jurisdictional scope, Chinese are to crush and produce while agents and marketers are to act as middlemen between the producers and the end users. If the Chinese are crushers, middlemen and retailers and the transporters, what job is left for the indigenous people.

    “Definitely, there will be restiveness in the state when thousands of people are kicked out of jobs by foreigners, I must reiterate it once again that granite to our people is what crude oil is to the people of Niger-Delta.”

    The National President of the union, Hamza Mohammed, who was represented by Yemisi Bamgbose,  inaugurated the union’s new Executive.  urging it to always operate within the law.

     

  • ITF trains 120 physically challenged on skills acquisition

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF)  has trained 120 physically challenged persons from six states on skills acquisition.

    They were drawn fromTaraba, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Osun and Plateau states. The physically challenged were also trained on making foot-wears, repairing phones, making lady’s wig cap, manual clothes design and embroidery.

    While speaking at the graduation ceremony for Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the Physically Challenged (STEPP-C) in Kaduna, ITF Director-General, Sir Joseph Ari said the training was to empower the physical challenged people in the society.

    According to him, the training will equip them with skills to strengthen them socially and economically.

    “The graduation today of these trainees is our first step in this regard. It commenced in August this year with 120 participants from the states.”

     

     

  • Wema Bank assures workers on incentives

    Wema Bank plc has assured its workers of continued investment in capacity building intiatives and incentives in to adequately prepare them for sustainable life after retirement.

    At the Association of Senior Staff Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) 2018 annual symposium in Lagos, its Managing Director, Ademola Adebise, said the initiatives include entrepreneurship trainings, business development, health and other relevant trainings that would assist them to settle down to a comfortable life after retirement.

    He also assured that the bank would continue to support and strengthen the union to make it more effective and better equipped to take care of retired workers of the Bank.

    “Basically, that is a normal talk in any organisation, but what we are saying is that we want to be more performance driven. We are going to review our appraisals step-by-step basically to ensure that everybody is working very hard.

    “There is no way anybody can be caged in the system, and when any staff is due for promotion, he or she will get promoted once the target is met by the staff. A number of things will begin to happen.

    “When I assumed office a few months ago, we had meetings with staff across regions in the form of town hall meetings and discussed all issues at stake. We’ve started addressing issues that came up such as allowances, incentives, leave days and all that for different cadres of staff,” Adebise said.

    He assured that the bank will continue to do its best, just as it expects a reciprocal performance from its staff. “If we build a big and profitable bank, everybody will be happy for it. We will all enjoy the benefits,” he said.

    The union’s unit President, Comrade, Olushogo Oyebanji, said the union has discussed with the bank management on how to upgrade workers’ condition and that there was an assurance from the management to look into it.

    He said the spirit of unionism in Wema Bank was coming alive, adding that the union will not disappoint its members.a Bank, Mr. Ademola Adebise said such initiatives include entrepreneurship trainings, business development, health and other relevant trainings that would assist them to settle down to a comfortable life after retirement.

    He also assured that the bank would continue to support and strengthen the union to make it more effective and better equipped to take care of retired sfaff of the Bank.

    “Basically, that is a normal talk in any organisation, but what we are saying is that we want to be more performance driven. We are going to review our appraisals step-by-step basically to ensure that everybody is working very hard, and there is no way anybody can be caged in the system, and when any staff is due for promotion, he or she will get promoted, basically once the target is met by the staff. A number of things will begin to happen.

     

  • NECA urges employers to participate in NSITF scheme

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has urged employers, yet to key into the initiatives of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to do so in order to strengthen the scheme.

    NECA noted that it was important to work together to give employees hope through its compensation scheme and promotion of occupational health and safety at the workplace.

    NECA Director-General designate Timothy Olawale said this in Lagos at an interactive forum on “Occupational Safety and Health (OHS)” and awards.

    Olawale, who commended NSITF for doing well during the period, described the scheme as “an intervention that has put smiles on employees’ faces; giving them a ray of hope that all is not lost.”

    A presentation on OHS by the organised private sector and employers’ expectation  of  NSITF by Chairman, Committee of Human Resource and Learning Experts, NECA, Chuma Nwankwo, said occupational health and safety was an important aspect needed at the workplace.

    According to him, when it is absent and accident happens, it results to injuries, disabilities or death.

    “When this happens, the family and victims suffer and even the workplace is affected and the society actually pays the price because it loses a member that has been productive and contributing to the growth of the economy,” Nwankwo said.

    NSITF Managing Director and Chief Executive Adebayo Somefun, who highlighted some of the reforms to reposition the scheme, commended stakeholders, who have continued to contribute their quota towards ensuring that NSITF fulfils its objectives.

     

  • Unemployment: ITF to expand training facility

    •Gets pass mark from Senate for judicious use of funds

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) plans to expand its training facility amid its commendation by the Senate Committee on Industries for utilising funds allocated to it to execute projects to curb unemployment.

    The Committee Chairman, Dr. Sam Egwu, gave the commendation during its oversight tour of ITF projects and facilities in Lagos.

    Egwu was accompanied by Senators Barnabas Gemade, chairman, Senate Committee on Works and Housing, and Jibrin Barau, chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.

    The projects included the Industrial Skills Training Centre in Oregun and new Ikeja Area Office on Oba Akran being renovated, as well as its nine-storey edifice under construction at Iponri.

    Egwu said the visit was pursuant to the committee’s oversight responsibility as spelt out in Sections 88(1) and (2), 89(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

    He said: “The purpose of this oversight visit was to conduct an assessment on the level of budgetary implementation by the Fund, particularly the 2017/18 appropriation.

    “This visit will allow the committee to identify areas that require more attention in the upcoming 2019 budget visa-vis performance, appraisal of 2018 Budget, respectively.

    “We want to commend the management of the ITF for judicious use of funds to execute projects that are in line with providing manpower development for our nation.

    “The committee is satisfied with the quality of the ongoing projects and their levels of completion.”

    Egwu, however, urged the Federal Government to provide more funds for the Fund to enable it expand its training programmes to accommodate more Nigerians.

    Egwu assured the ITF management and staff of the committee’s continuous support and cooperation to actualising the agency’s mandate, particularly in legislation and appropriation of funds.

    Earlier, ITF Director-General (DG), Sir Joseph Ari, said the ongoing projects in the agency were geared towards creating more avenues for training of Nigerians, stressing that the agency was integral to the Federal Government N-Power programme.

    Ari emphasised that skills acquisition and entrepreneurship were pivotal to curbing unemployment and poverty in Nigeria, hence the focus being placed on it by the ITF.

    “We want to equip and empower Nigerians to have skills. That way, the economy will be boosted and all our people will be properly engaged,” he said.

    Ari said ITF had seven locations in Lagos State: Ikeja, Apapa, Isolo, Lekki, Badagry, Victoria Island and Lagos Island, where youths are being engaged in various skills acquisition programmes.

    He said the training programmes include: Automobile Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Welding and Fabrication; Information and Communication Technology; Refrigeration; Fashion Designing as well as Plumbing and Pipe Fitting.

    The DG also said the Lagos Island Area Office at Iponri, whose construction commenced in 2007, would be completed by February 2019.