The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • ‘OPS ‘ll oppose duplication of VAT, taxes ’

    ‘OPS ‘ll oppose duplication of VAT, taxes ’

    Nigeria Employers’ Consul-tative Association (NECA) has expressed displeasure at attempts by the government  to strangulate businesses through multiple and duplication of taxes and levies in the country.

    It specifically took a swipe at the enactment of Kano State Revenue Administration (Amendment) Law 2017, which imposed Consumption Tax on goods and services bought or rendered in a hotel, restaurant, eatery, bakery, takeaway, suya spot, shopping mall, store, event centre and other similar businesses in the state.

    Reacting to the law, NECA Director-General Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo,  said: “The imposition of Consumption Tax by Kano State amounted to a duplication of Value Added Tax (VAT), which our Laws frown against, as stated by the Supreme Court in the case of Attorney-General of Ogun State vs. Aberuagba and Ors.

    “We do not agree with the imposition of such tax due to the existence of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the country. This is because VAT is a consumption tax collectible by the Federal Government (and shared among the states) in respect of sale of goods and provision of services within the Federation.”

    Oshinowo said in response to this, NECA has instituted an action to challenge such imposition by Kano State government.

    He explained further that the cause of the recent development is the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act (Amendment) Order 2015, which several states are misinterpreting and now leveraging to enact laws that clearly amount to and promote duplication of taxes. This trend, according to him, is spreading like wild fire, going by the recent actions of Kogi and Delta states, just to mention but a few.

    The initiative, he said, is killing business, wealth creation and entrepreneurship, adding that it is equally a clear disincentive to foreign direct investment.

    He said: “While the private sector is not opposed to taxation, it is, however, against illegality and unreasonable taxes through imposition of multiple taxes as well as duplication of taxes. The private sector will not accept a duplication of VAT in any guise, irrespective of the name given to it by state governments”

  • Assembly cautions workers on financial regulations abuses, others

    Assembly cautions workers on financial regulations abuses, others

    The National Assembly has cautioned its members of staff against acts capable of causing financial embarrassment to it and the public service.

    The Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Omolori, who gave the warning at the  presentation of the Code of Ethics in National Assembly Service, in Abuja, urged members of the staff on the need for strict adherence to Public Service Rule. This, he said, will enable them discharge their duties with diligence and honesty.

    He said: “One of my first major assignments on assumption of office as the Clerk to the National Assembly was to take stock of so many variables in respect of human resources and productivity.

    “This is necessary as it is obvious that competent and well-grounded staff is key to the realisation of our overall objectives in the formation and implementation of service goals.

    “The exercise revealed the existence of gaps in the staff attitude and understanding of Public Service Rule, Disciplinary Code and Ethics.

    “Following the stocktaking, a disciplinary committee was set up to come up with strategies for ensuing attitudinal changes in staff,” he said.

    According to him, the committee considered suitable options and strategies and eventually came up with the publication of a pocket friendly “Code of Ethics” to serve as a means of enlightenment and constant reminder to staff.

  • Our situation is deteriorating, say senior workers

    Our situation is deteriorating, say senior workers

    The  Association of Senior  Civil Servants of  Nigeria (ASCSN), has said despite the claim that Nigeria has exited economic recession, all calibrated critical indices are pointing to the contrary.

    According to the Association, nothing appears to be moving in the right direction as all sectors of the economy are bleeding profusely.

    Speaking with The Nation, the Association President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, said the country is witnessing a deteriorating standard of living, lack of public goods and services, high level of corruption and rent seeking.

    He said: “As things stand today, many people cannot eat let alone being in a position to afford ordinary things that make life comfortable and worthy of living. Little wonder, Nigeria that was once ranked as one of the happiest nations in the world now occupies the near bottom position in terms of Happiness Index.

    “The deterioration is best exemplified by the surge in vices now recorded in the land. Many Nigerians, especially the youth, want to jet out of the country at all cost in search of the proverbial greener pastures.

    “In the process, many have lost their lives in the high sea in an attempt to cross to Europe.  Recently, 26 dead bodies of Nigerian women were found in a refrigerated section of a Spanish warship.  They were on a rubber boat along with some other migrants, trying to escape from the hardship that we are forced to live with here in Nigeria.  We now live in a country where everybody is for himself and God for us all.  Life is no doubt getting tougher by the day.”

    Kaigama  urge governments to rise up to the occasion by taking urgent steps to ameliorate sufferings being experienced by the masses, adding that anything to the contrary will continue to push the country to the precipice with very dire consequences.

    On the issue of National Minimum Wage, Kaigama said the Federal Government, instead of inaugurating the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee, has been dilly dallying on the matter.

    “We  appeal to the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, inaugurate the panel to do the negotiation so that a new National Minimum Wage for the country can be arrived at in the next few months,” he said.

  • Sustain tax holiday policy, Labour leader urges govt

    Sustain tax holiday policy, Labour leader urges govt

    The Federal Government has been urged to sustain the tax holiday policy and ensure that its implementation is adequately monitored to forestall corrupt practices.

    Speaking with The Nation, President, National Union of Chemical, Footwear (NUCFRLANMPE), Comrade Olatunji Babatunde, said if carefully guided, tax holiday would attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and domestic investments, which would generate employment.

    He said with tax holiday, the number of companies relocating to neighbouring countries and the closure of companies would be reduced.

    “Companies will no longer relocate to neighbouring countries. There will be employment. Crime rate will be reduced because able-bodied people are gainfully employed.

    “Volumes of trade will appreciate. Massive importation of consumer goods will reduce thereby pave the way for exportation or self-sufficiency and the government will derive more revenue,’’ Babatunde said.

    He, however, said depletion of revenue base was not a sufficient reason to stop tax holiday as such holiday is futuristic in nature.

    “The gains may not be a short term gains, but long term,’’ he said.

    Meanwhile, in line with the tax incentive, the Federal Government announced in September that it would grant a 10-year tax incentive to Dangote Group after the company has agreed to rehabilitate the Apapa-Oworonshoki Expressway.

    The government handed over the design of the 35km Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonshoki Expressway to Dangote Group in furtherance to steps by the government to rehabilitate the road.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently urged the Federal Government to phase out tax holidays and exemptions as they erode Company Income Tax base.

  • Aremu advises African govts on workers’ rights, development

    Aremu advises African govts on workers’ rights, development

    Vice  President,  IndustriAll Global Union (Africa), Comrade Issa Aremu, has urged African governments to insist on fair international trade and ensure that they do not undermine the rights of workers.

    He also advised that their quest for national development and foreign direct investments (FDIs) should not be at the expense of workers.

    He made the assertion while addressing a meeting on Trade and Industrial Policy of industrial global union in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

    Aremu observed that the decisions of multinationals to invest in Africa were often inspired by access to markets, tax holidays, cheap raw materials and supply chains, subsidies and low wages rather than decent sustainable jobs, technology transfers and national development.

    “Miserable low wages, long work hours, child labour and labour dumping, as well as direct importation of cheap prisoner-workers to Africa make up the new motivations for some Chinese investment in Africa,” he said.

    Aremu, who is also the secretary- general of Textiles Workers Union and member, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) National Executive Council (NEC), therefore, cautioned African governments to be cautious of trade and investment deals

    These, he alleged, would consign them perpetually to producers of raw materials, export base for foreign multinationals’ products as distinct from developing producer economies.

    He stressed that international trade issues were too important and weighty to be left with governments alone, and expressed labour support for the recent proposals by 90 developing countries including Nigeria demanding for changes in World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules that restrain national development priorities.

    He said the demand for fair international trade must be linked with development of African economies, pointing out that “Africa should copy China by also adding value to its abundant natural raw materials, create jobs for its youthful population, and stop uncritically clapping for China which takes the Continent’s raw materials, dumps finished goods and even imports prisoners/workers to Africa” he said.

  • Global child labourers hit 152m as ILO lists path to tackle menace

    Global child labourers hit 152m as ILO lists path to tackle menace

    Child labourers across the world have grown to 152 million, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said.

    A new report by the global job watch body noted that child labour declined in 2000, but the pace slowed down between 2012 and 2016. On current trends, 121 million children would still be engaged in child labour in 2025.

    However, the report stressed the need for improving legal protections, labour market governance, social protections, access to quality education and social dialogue between governments, the social partners and other stakeholders are critical aspects in battling child labour.

    The report was published as delegates gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina for an international conference on the eradication of child labour.

    The ILO has called for stepped-up efforts to “consign child labour to the dustbin of history,” in a report released to coincide with the IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour, held in Buenos Aires recently.

    “We are moving in the right direction, but we have to do so at a much faster rate,” the ILO said in its report Ending child labour by 2015: A review of policies and programmes.

    The report lists four key policy ‘pillars’ in the fight against child labour: Boosting legal protections, improving the governance of labour markets and family enterprises, strengthening social protection and investing in free, quality education.

    The report insisted that legislation alone cannot eradicate child labour, but at the same time, it won’t be possible to eradicate child labour without effective legislation.

    More than 99.9 per cent of the world’s children aged 5-17 years are covered by the ILO’s Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No..182), which 181 countries have ratified. Also widely ratified is the Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, 1973 (No. 138), which 170 countries have ratified.

    ILO observed that turning the standards into national laws remains a major challenge, as is ensuring effective monitoring and enforcement of existing child labour laws.

    “There is also a need for stronger labour inspection systems as it rarely reaches workplaces in the informal economy, where most child labour is found.”

  • NULGE sues el-Rufai over mass sack

    NULGE sues el-Rufai over mass sack

    The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has dragged the Kaduna State government to the National Industrial Court, Abuja, to challenge the Kaduna State Local Government Councils’ order (Restructuring and Staffing Order) tagged: K.D.S.L.N. 2017.The order  sets the maximum staffing level for local governments and provides that the local governments, which have employees in excess of the maximum staffing level, be declared redundant.

    In the suit filed on behalf of NULGE by its counsel, Femi Aborisade, the union argued that the governor lacked the power to enact such law.

    Joined as defendants in the summon are the Kaduna State governor; Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly; the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice; his counterpart for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; the state’s Local Government Service Commission and Head of Service, respectively.

    The union wants the court to declare the Kaduna State Local Government Councils (Restructuring and Staffing Order) tagged: K.D.S.L.N. 2017  unconstitutional

    Part of the reliefs sought by the union is “a declaration that the 1st Defendant, being a civilian governor of Kaduna State, under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, lacks legislative powers and that the power of the 1st defendant are limited to maintaining the constitution and executing only the provisions of the law made by the state House of Assembly”.

    Meanwhile, NULGE has written to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to declare a trade dispute between the union and the Kaduna State government.

    In the letter signed by Aborisade on behalf of the union, NULGE said 4, 410 local government employees across the 23 local government areas in Kaduna State are set to be declared redundant by the new order of the state .

    In a related event, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba in Kaduna, led a peaceful rally to protest the 22,000 primary school teachers’ sack in the state.

    The rally, which  made up of teachers from 23 local government areas of the state, other state chapters of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and Health workers union across the country, held in solidarity.

    Thousands of the protesters, led by NLC President, marched peacefully from the Labour House on Independence Way to the gate of the House of Assembly where they delivered their message amidst heavy security presence.

     

  • ‘Buhari should re-assess his anti-corruption war’

    ‘Buhari should re-assess his anti-corruption war’

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-assess his anti-corruption war and recover looted funds, rather than prosecuting looters.

    Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, who is the president of both unions, said this was necessary because prosecutors have not been very thorough in handling the cases, while counsel to the accused persons are prepared to delay the judicial process, and the judges are not helping  the process of prosecution.

    Speaking with The Nation, Kaigama said if the government could be more strategic and focus more reducing  time on prosecution, it would go a long way to help the system to recover much.

    He said the emphasis on prosecution has given the corrupt officials a breathing space, adding that government also needs to review the judicial system. “And I will suggest that government should establish a special court to prosecute corrupt cases. We also urge that due processes are taken in the fight against corruption so that the international communities and Nigerians in particular, would have confidence that this fight has come to stay.

    “That is the more reason why we, as a union, wholeheartedly support the anti-corruption initiative of the current administration and its resolve to repatriate to the country all looted funds. This is the only way sanity can return to the system.

    “I also think the current administration underestimated the strength of the personalities, or the clique of the corrupt cabals in this country,” Kaigama said.

    He said the administration probably thought it will be so easy, but the system is regretably corrupt beyond their estimation.

    “The level of corruption in the country is so high to the extent that even the judiciary is corrupt,” he said.

    To  save the nation’s economy, Kaigama said the government needs to immediately pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law, adding that Nigeria has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in oil and gas investment due to its  non-passage.

    His words: “The truth is that investors have continued to adopt a wait and see attitude, refraining from making any new investment, pending the passage of the bill.

    “Since 2009 when the Yar’Adua government first introduced the PIB, no new Final Investment Decision (FID) has been taken on any oil and gas project in Nigeria, not even on the government-promoted Brass LNG project. While we are dithering in Nigeria, there are new oil discoveries all over Africa, attracting investors just as new technology is making hitherto unreachable and uneconomic hydrocarbon deposits accessible in Europe and North America, thus attracting investors to those environments.

    “Nigeria, therefore, cannot afford the luxury of time while politicians indulge in unnecessary bickering over such an important bill on a sector that is the mainstay of our economy, accounting for over 90 per cent of our foreign exchange earnings, about 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and 80 per cent of government revenue.”

    On the bailout and the Paris funds, he said these have become the latest source of corruption among the political leaders.

    He said the agencies should extend the investigation beyond the governors to the commissioners and the accountants-general in the states, and make necessary arrests to curtail the abuse.

    “The governors have seen themselves as untouchable and that is the reason they do what they like, but their commissioners, accountants-general do not have that immunity. Besides, the governors, if found culpable, can be arrested and made to face the law immediately they leave office.

    “The plight of workers has become more unbearable with non-payment of salaries and high cost of living due to the downturn in the economy.”

    Kaigama condemned government’s deliberate delay in constituting the 29-member committee for National Minimum Wage for the country: “And I want to say that labour would soon take a drastic action. The Federal Government should stop taking labour for granted.

    “I think we have been patient enough and we are ready to take the bull by the horn to ensure that the government sets in motion the review of the National Minimum Wage.

    “We call on the Federal Government not to task the patience of workers beyond the limit as the current wage structure is no longer tenable, when viewed against the economic realities on ground,” Kaigama said.

  • Over 400 DDs petition Buhari, NA over alleged promotion denial

    No fewer that 400 serving Deputy Directors in the Federal Civil Service have petitioned the Presidency and the National Assembly, alleging that they have been denied promotion to the next rank.

    The aggrieved officials, under the aegis of Concerned Deputy Directors, (Administration), solicited the intervention of relevant bodies in getting their entitlements paid.

    The union, in a protest letter to the Presidency, the National Assembly, Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and the Secretary, Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS), said the “Deputy Directors (Administration)  were promoted last in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and are matured to be considered for promotion to the post of Directors (Administration) in years 2015, 2016 and 2017. But have not been given the opportunity to sit for the examination,” they wrote.

    The affected public servants, who denied knowledge of the litigation filed by six petitioners, who dragged the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission before the National Industrial Court, Abuja, noted that most of the aggrieved officers have retired from the Federal Civil Service.

    Deputy Director, Press, in the Federal Civil Service Commission, Dr. Joel Oruche, confirmed the development. He said the matter was before a court of competent jurisdiction and that he could not comment on it.

  • Lagos places high premium on healthy workforce

    The administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode places high premium on a good and healthy workforce, to enable it build a smart and resilient state, the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr Akintola Benson Oke, has said.

    Speaking at this year’s participant’s day, organised by the Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Oke said effective performance by the public service has become important because it is a potential driver of socio-economic growth.

    He said to achieve results, government has continued to place high premium on a healthy workforce.

    Oke who was represented by the Permanent Secretary Civil Service Pensions, Mr Adeola Hundeyin, said a critical requirement for effective service delivery is the physical and mental state of health of its workforce.

    He, therefore, urged workers to develop healthy habits, alongside their intellectual and moral capital.

    He said: “It is imperative for our workforce to develop healthy habits even as much as they acquire more knowledge. Eat well, exercise and avoid any harmful substances.”

    He praised the PSSDC for coming up with the theme: Towards building a sustainable healthier public service, this year, which he said is in tune with the aspiration of the government.

    The PSSDC, established in 1994, has organised over 500 courses for officers on GL 01 to 12 and also for some officers on GL 13 and above through management consultancies, a development which he added, has had positive impact on  the productivity level of the workers over the last 23 years.

    The Permanent Secretary Establishment  & Training, Mrs. Clara Ibirogba,said the health is a sine qua non to the attainment of personal and corporate goals.

    She, therefore, urged participants to take more than a passing interest in their health in order to stay relevant and to be able to achieve their set goals.