The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Fed Govt, states advised on best practices on recruitment

    Both the Federal and state governments have been advised to observe professional personnel best practices when recruiting staff into the civil service.

    Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission in Ekiti State, Babatunde Akilo, gave the advice at the monthly meeting of the state’s branch of the Chattered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) in Ado-Ekiti.

    Akilo spoke at a lecture titled, “The nexus between national development and personnel management.”

    According to him, most recruitments in some government establishments do not follow for best practices.

    Such recruitments, he said, had become a clog in the wheel of national development.

    The permanent secretary said competence and performance should be considered first before federal character to reflect the various geopolitical zones or states.

    Akilo called for a review of the Federal Character policy to make competence a yardstick in appointments.

  • Lesotho workers get $138 as new minimum wage

    THE government of Lesotho has finally agreed to a minimum wage of LSL2,000 ($138) for factory workers.

    This followed a petition to the government, marches and demonstrations by thousands of workers to the Ministry of Labour and to the parliament.

    According to Industriall Global, when it seemed the government was not yielding, the unions called for a shutdown at textile factories in Maseru, Maputsoe and Nyenye’s industrial areas. Then the government succumbed when ministers recommended the minimum wage to the Wages Advisory Board, which advises the minister of labour on wages and conditions of employment.

    According to Lesotho laws, workers cannot be paid below the mandated minimum wage. The unions are also pressing for wages to be increased by 15 per cent across other sectors.

    The minimum wage is significant for the poorly paid workers who are struggling to pay for basics like housing and transport.

    For example, a general worker earning the previous minimum of LSL1, 238 ($85), will get an increase of 62 per cent. Unions have long described the low pay in the garment and textile sector as poverty wages.

    Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), an affiliate of IndustriALL, in collaboration with other unions, has been campaigning for the announcement of better minimum wages, which, according to the labour laws, should have been done in April.

    “After sustained pressure the government addressed our demands exactly the way we wanted. The increase in minimum wages boosts workers’ confidence in trade unions. We have been fighting for better wages for many years, and now we know that we have been struggling for a worthy cause,” said Daniel Theko, IDUL General Secretary.

    “We welcome the minimum wage, but will continue to support IDUL in its campaigns for better wages and working conditions in Lesotho,” said Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Employing over 35,000 workers, over 80 per cent of whom are women, the garment and textile sector in Lesotho is an important player in the economy and the second largest employer after the government.

  • Union urges FAAN on new conditions of service

    THE Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) has called on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to put in place machinery for the  approval for the conditions of service (CoS) for workers.

    Rising from its National Executive Council Meeting (NEC) held in Abuja, ATSSSAN in a communiqué said it was necessary for the management of the agencies to activate the machinery that would lead to new CoS for its members.

    The communiqué, jointly signed by comrades Ahmadu Ilitrus and Franecs Akinjole, President and Deputy General Secretary, said the union was awaiting the approval at the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and the National Salaries, Wages and Incomes Commission.

    It added: “The NEC-in-Session also charged the various management to put in place necessary machinery to ensure the conclusion of all pending staff promotion for 2017/2018.

    “In a similar vein, effective collaboration with managements of various private organisations in the aviation industry must be sustained to ensure speedy review of staff conditions of service that are due for review.”

    ATSSSAN frowned at the management of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) for its refusal to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) like its counterpart, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc, almost 10 years after acquisition.

    The communiqué observed that this act had denied the staff the opportunity of holding the statutory 10 per cent equity shareholding in the company as agreed with the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) at acquisition.

    ATSSSAN, however, appealed to BPE to compel the management of SAHCOL to go to the stock exchange market without delay.

    ATSSSAN, however, commended the management of some affiliate companies in the sector for embracing dialogue in the management of issues thereby enabling their amicable resolution and creating a conducive atmosphere at the work place.

    It, however, called on others to emulate those managements and adopt modern dispute management approaches, declaring that there could not be a better corridor for resolving critical issues than dialogue and mutual engagement.

  • ASSBIFI renews agitation over contract staffing

    The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has expressed dissatisfaction over the issue of contract staff by some employers, describing it as anti-labour.

    The group observed that banks were not in a hurry to end casualisation or allow workers become members of the union, despite the outcry that had greeted the development over the years.

    Speaking at a media parley, as part of activities to mark its 40th anniversary in Ikeja, Lagos, ASSBIFI President, Comrade Oyinkansola Olasanoye, said the biggest challenge of the association  was the need to have a base, acceptability and visibility.

    “We have been able to achieve some of these. However, most of the workers in the financial institutions are still contract workers, casual workers that employers are not giving their rights.

    “They don’t know their rights as workers; they don’t know what they are entitled to. So our challenge is for people working in the bank to know that they have a union that can fight for them.

    “For the contract workers, we are appealing to the Federal Government that all workers, whether contract or casual workers, should be allowed to be in the union, so that they will have the strength to bargain for their welfare,” she said.

    Olasanoye stated that  casualisation would not be tolerated, adding that a worker, either casual or full staff member, is entitled to  exercise his or her rights to belong to any union of his or her choice.

    She argued that weak institutions  had constituted a clog in the wheel of the nation’s economic progress.

    Olasanoye advocated the need for the government to prioritise the ease of doing business, create institutional support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as create job opportunities for the youths.

    She said the Federal Government should strengthen institutions and regulatory authorities to make businesses thrive and seamless in the country.

    The ASSBIFI chief added that only strong institutions would boost export of SME goods continentally.

    “SMEs are where most people work. One of the most challenging conversations that we have about economic growth, job creation and all of that is that we are looking for foreign investors, we are looking for big cooperation to come and set up, but what most people want are SMEs,” she said.

    Olasanoye called on workers to unite, saying the strength of an individual was not enough to confront any management.

    She said:  ”The message to workers is that we should unite, come together. Our strength individually is not equal to the strength of our employers, but when we come together we can equal them.

    “Negotiation and bargaining are the tools of industrial setting. We are ready to negotiate on behalf of workers in the financial institutions.”

  • PENGASSAN advocates more recruitment into security agencies

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Federal Government to begin immediate recruitment of more people into the security agencies, especially the Police Force and the  Army, to curb crimes.

    The senior staff union also demanded that the Army and the Police should reduce the number of operatives attached to politicians and few influential people to boost those at their operational areas.

    In a communiqué issued after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Warri, Delta State, and signed by the President, Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson and the General Secretary, Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN said the security agencies are already over stretched in maintenance of security and peace in the country.

    “The NEC-in-Session observed the inadequacy in the number of security agents, especially the army and police who are already overstretched in maintaining security and peace in the country. There should be immediate recruitment in these security agencies to arrest the situation.

    “The NEC-in-Session demanded that security operatives attached to politicians and powerful Nigerians in the country should be reduced to increase their number in operational areas,” the union stated.

    Recognising the strong and unequivocal commitment of the security agencies in ensuring security of lives and property in the country, PENGASSAN condemned in strong terms the resurgence of attacks by Boko Haram insurgents.

    PENGASSAN demanded that the Federal Government through the various security agencies should do everything possible in ensuring that the Dapchi Girls and all those in captivity regain freedom and re-unite them with their families.

    The union also advised relevant security agencies to immediately circulate emergency and security numbers for the benefit of Nigerians, as well as check the influx of small arms and ammunitions into the country.

  • Workers insist on Sept deadline for new minimum wage

    As  the countdown to the deadline for the passage of a new minimum wage approaches, the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) has urged the Federal Government to match its words with actions and ensure that the new minimum wage is implemented on or before September.

    The NCSU President, Comrade Lawrence Amaechi, expressed concern over what he described as the inconsistencies in the utterances and body language of the Federal Government in actualising the September 2018 deadline for the minimum wage.

    “To this end, we urge the Federal Government to match its words with actions so that the high expectations of workers on the implementation of the new minimum wage would be realised on or before September, 2018, failing which the entire members of the union will not take it with levity,” he said.

    He also decried the high and intimidating rate of unemployment in Nigeria, saying it posed very serious security risk and threat to national peace and unity.

    “We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to look inwards and device a policy that will generate massive employment opportunities for able-bodied youths.

    “In this direction, infrastructural and industrial development should be at the front burner so as to nip in the bud possible revolution that may erupt as a result of massive unemployment in Nigeria today,” Amaechi said.

    He condemned the spate of consistent and unwarranted killings and bloodshed in Nigeria and observed with pains and regrets that the killings were synonymous with ethnic and religious cleansing.

    Amaechi described the killings and kidnappings as major threat to national unity, masking other issues that should get national attention.

    He also urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, overhaul its security architecture and apparatus so as to enable the security operatives arrest the collapse in the security sector headlong.

  • Labour advises executive/legislature to embrace peace

    Members of the Executive and the Legislature must embrace statesmanship in place of brinkmanship as a pre-condition for sustainable democracy in Nigeria, National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGWN) General Secretary, Comrade Issa Aremu, has said.

    Speaking at the unveiling of the 40th Anniversary Logo of the Union, Aremu said the conflicts between the legislature and the executive would undermine good governance and democracy.

    Comrade Aremu, who is a governorship aspirant in Kwara State, said Nigeria’s uninterrupted democracy in the last 20 years needed quality people who would stand for principles of good governance as contained in the 1999 Constitution in place of what he called politicians’ desperation for power and money.

    Referring to the drama at the National Assembly  last week when  lawmakers were prevented from entering  the premises, Comrade Aremu said the survival of the smartest politicians must give way to the survival of democracy in Nigeria.

    He said the forces that fought for democracy must not allow the  process to be undermined by selfishness and cheap carpet crossing.

    The labour leader said it was time Nigeria implemented the resolutions of 2014 conference with reference to code of conduct for political parties, political party office holders on carpet crossing.

    He said Section 68 (8) of the constitution (as amended) should be further amended to indicate that any elected official, executive or legislative, who carpet-cross, regardless of the reasons for such, shall automatically forfeit their seat.

    Such officials, according to him, are, however, free to contest for the position or indeed any other position on the basis of their new political party.

    Earlier, NUTGWN President, Comrade John Adaji, disclosed that the 40th anniversary of the union would hold from October 16 to 18.

  • Unionisation: NLC vows to continue picketing MTN

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has vowed to continue picketing the premises of telecoms giant MTN, until all its workers are allowed to belong to labour unions of their choice.

    Its President, Ayuba Wabba, who disclosed this in Abuja, flayed the communication company for disallowing unionisation in Nigeria, but allow their workers in South Africa and Ghana to belong to unions of their choice.

    The national umbrella body of workers also blamed the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) for reporting NLC picketing of MTN to the Office of the National Security Adviser, saying such a step was hypocritical and suspicious.

    NLC berated the NCC for not seing anything wrong with the violation of Nigerian laws, labour laws or security breaches leading to the loss of lives of security personnel, not to talk about humongous financial flows as highlighted in the Thabo Mbeki Report, which continue to undermine Nigeria’s national wellbeing or security.

    NLC held that the greatest threat to Nigeria’s national security was  not by workers, but the arrogant attitude of MTN and its co-travellers or collaborators like the NCC.

    It added: “Let NCC continue to promote this talk about MTN infrastructure constituting core critical national asset. We do not begrudge them. For us at the Nigeria Labour Congress, however, no asset can be more critical to Nigeria than Nigerians themselves.”

    NLC warned the NCC that its premises might be picketed on account of its continued support for MTN, saying, “we wish to put NCC on notice that we will picket it the way we picketed MTN if it continues to discharge its duties in the breach. Let it continue with its ‘amebo’ instead of doing the work for which it was established.”

    NLC described itself as a pan-Nigerian organisation, which  guards national interests and that it cannot be blackmailed.

    “We insist that companies, no matter how rich or powerful, must respect our leaders and obey the laws of the land. We insist they must treat Nigerians fairly and decently, for, clearly, Nigerian workers, nay, Nigerians have been at the receiving end of the bad behaviour of some trans-nationals in the telecoms sector. Enough is enough,” it said.

     

  • TUC urges workers to participate in politics

    The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Bobboi Bala Kaigama, has urged workers to participate actively in politics to be able to influence policies that directly affect them and their welfare.

    Kaigama, who spoke at the fourth triennial delegates’ conference of the Ogun State Council of the congress in Abeokuta, also urged workers on the need to come out to seek elective positions, as they have great roles to play in the nation’s democracy.

    Represented by the National Secretary of the union, Comrade Lawal Musa, Kaigama said while the union would play its own part by mobilising workers to vote, Nigerian workers need not shy away from participating actively in politics, as it is their right.

    “This is a political era, workers must play a role in the nation’s democracy.

    “As a union, we will play our part; we shall mobilise people to vote. Union people should also take active part in politics, so as to be able to determine our fate. If you refuse to play politics, politics will play you.”

    Kaigama, who said the union’s leadership will not compromise on fighting for the welfare of workers, noted that the leadership had been up and doing, engaging government at various levels to get a better deal for workers.

    The state chairman of the TUC, Olubunmi Fajobi, urged the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to fulfill his promise to pay all outstanding arrears before leaving office. He also advised him to rescind his decision that civil servants should wait till 2020 to earn promotion.

  • NECA laments heavy losses to port congestion

    Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed concern at the adverse effects of port congestion and blockage of roads leading to the Apapa Ports on organised businesses.

    Its Director-General, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, in a statement, lamented the colossal loss incurred by companies involved in the importation of sensitive raw materials and finished products, including pharmaceutical materials.

    He said: “Clearing these goods from the ports has become a herculean task. Where these goods and raw materials are finally retrieved, they may have to be destroyed due to quality challenges related to temperature issues, having overstayed beyond safe period at the ports.

    “To compound the already bad situation, there is heavy demurrage incurred as a result of the congestion and delays, which is not the fault of the companies.

    “Demurrage on 20 feet and 40 feet containers are N60, 000 and N90, 000 per day. Where the container stays from June and only released in mid-August, it would have accrued a demurrage of N6.84million in one 40 ft container alone. This is apart from the increased freight costs from transporters due to the significant down time of haulage trucks caused by the congestion”.

    According to Oshinowo, this accounts for the rising cases of abandoned containers and imports at the ports.

    While praising the on-going efforts by government to clear the Apapa ports of congestions, Oshinowo said urgent steps should be taken to stem the dire economic hardship companies are going through in using the ports.

    He called on the Federal Government to direct the Nigeria Customs Service to grant 100 per cent waiver on demurrage incurred by companies due to the congestion and delays.

    This, according to him, will put action to government’s avowed commitment to improving ease of doing business in the country.