The Nation Newspaper

Category: Labour

  • Pensioners allege threat to contributory pension scheme

    Pensioners allege threat to contributory pension scheme

    The non-payment of the accrued right by the Federal Government may derail the contributory pension scheme, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) has said.

    Speaking in Abuja at a meeting with  pensioners in the contributory pension scheme (CPS), the National President of NUP, Dr Abel Afolayan, said it was imperative that the pensioners were organised and unionised.

    Though Afolayan lauded the near-absence of fraud in the CPS since it began in 2004, he said the non-payment of the saving bond by the Federal Government could derail the scheme.

    He said: “There is no doubt that since the inception of the scheme, there was no single case of fraud in the last 10 years of its existence and many pensioners have been able to access their retirement benefits as and when due. But I have observed that in recent times, especially since October 2015 to date,  retirees under this scheme have not been able to access their retirement benefits as a result of the non-payment of the accrued right by the Federal Government through the retirement saving bond.”

    The NUP chief said pension has not been reviewed by the government even when workers’ salaries were reviewed which is in disobedience to Section 173(3) and Section 210(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 15 of 2014 Pension Reform act (as amended). These sections stipulate that pension shall be reviewed after every five years or whenever workers’ salaries are reviewed.

    Pointing out the inadequacies in the Pension Reform Act 2004, Afolayan identified abolition of gratuities which has now denied employees the opportunity of getting a lump sum when they retire.

    He also added that the National Pension Commission and Pension Fund Admini-strators (PFAs) were yet to specify how pensioners could benefit from returns on investment of their contributions, which has left pensioners the owners of the funds in hardship while PFAs are smiling to their banks.

    Afolayan further said the NUP appeared before the joint committee on budget and appropriation at the National Assembly and submitted a memorandum requesting over N183 billion to fund the accrued right of retirees from 2015 to date as part of efforts to ensure that contributory pensioners entitlements are not denied.

  • NUPTE, PTECSSAN bicker over ZTE Nigeria check-off dues

    The crisis rocking the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is taking its toll on ZTE Nigeria Limited, as two workers’ unions pledging allegiance to Comrades Aliyu Wabba and Joe Ajaero are laying claim to the company’s check-off dues.

    The unions are the National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE) and Private Telecommunications & Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN).

    The unions have been at daggers drawn causing PTECSSAN, under Ajaero-led United Labour Congress, to picket ZTE Nigeria last week.

    Lamenting the disruption in the company’s operations, its Country Human Resources Manager, Brielle Gao, said as embarrassing as the action was, PTECSSAN did not follow due process as there was no warning to the company.

    According to her, ZTE Nigeria has been remitting labour dues to NUPTE since 2011 because local workers of the company belonged to the union.

    She noted that for ZTE Nigeria to embrace the change being sought by PTECSAN, due process must be followed.

    Debunking claims that the local staff had notified NUPTE of their intention to switch, Gao said: “The management contacted NUPTE immediately it received the mail regarding the changes, but we were told that they (NUPTE) are not aware of anyone leaving their union.

    “The law is very clear on the matter. Every individual member has to write to the union and copy the management if anyone desires to opt out of the union.”

    In response to a PTECSSAN mail on the issue, Gao said: “The management, as required by law and practice, sought the comments of NUPTE towards the request of the staff of ZTE Nig Ltd. This request was made to NUPTE to avoid double payment that may result from NUPTE and they wrote to inform us that no such information has been given to them by any of the staff of ZTE Nig Ltd. They further insisted that remission of dues should be made to NUPTE.”

    Head of Department, Administration/Finance of NUPTE, Mary Nwosu, in a letter to ZTE Nigeria,  said the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment was in a better position to address this issue since it had taken a dimension of your organisation receiving threats from an association on labour related issues.

  • Fed Govt okays skills centre

    Fed Govt okays skills centre

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has  said the Multi-Disciplinary Skills and Entrepreneurship Centre in Umuobiakwa in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State will be used  for training under the Federal Government E-Empowerment Programme.

    Ngige spoke at Umuobiakwa when he inspected  facilities at the centre.

    “I am impressed with what I have seen in the centre which is in line with our focal point for the E-Empowerment. This will be used for the programme,”said Ngige.

    Raymond Aliga, the chief executive of Multi-Disciplinary Skills and Entrepreneurship Centre,  said the centre was partnering the Abia State government under a PPP arrangement.

    Aliga said aside training of students in various skills, the centre had enough machines and equipment for fabrication of metal products that could compete with foreign ones.

    He said some of the products that could be produced at the centre  included streetlight poles, solar energy poles, office furniture and upholstery chairs. It is also equipped to impart brick molding, block laying, mason, plumbing and tile-laying skills.

    He urged government agencies to patronise the centre’s products, saying the centre has equipment and manpower to meet orders.

    Endi Ezengwa, the chief executive of Kiara-De luxe Academy, the centre’s training partners, said the centre would train about 600 students in the first year and, thereafter, the number of intakes would increase.

    He said the focus of the centre was in tandem with the requirements of National Board for Technical Education.

     

  • Group decries poor treatment of workers

    Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, (HuCaPAN) has criticised the  way some employers treat their workers, describing it a violation of labour laws.

    Speaking at the yearly general meeting of the group in Lagos, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr. Clement Illoh, said protection of the human rights and absence of social protection at work were other impediments to decent work.

    He noted that these have led to the inability of some employers to retain their workers and pay minimum wage.

    He advised private employment agencies to comply with labour laws by enforcing safety in workplaces, ensuring employee compensation and payment of minimum wages.

    While pointing out the role of the group in promoting decent work agenda, he said: “To what extent are you training your people? There are workers without boundaries as a result of globalisation. How are you moving with respect to the new forms of work? To what extent are you contributing to sanctions, monitoring ad rewards for employment?”

    The permanent secretary praised the association for being effective, despite the economic challenges in the country.

  • NECA hails Osinbajo for not signing Lottery Bill

    NECA hails Osinbajo for not signing Lottery Bill

    Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, (NECA) has praised  Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for not assenting to the National Lottery (Amendment), Bill 2016, passed by the National Assembly.

    In 2012, NECA sued the National Lottery Regulatory Commission for some infractions.

    NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, said Osinbajo’s refusal to sign the bill was justified, adding that it was worrisome that the Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), resorted to some tactics by sponsoring amendments to the Act when the issue is in court.

    He said: “There is indeed a pending case at the Federal Court of Appeal on this subject matter. The rejected Bill was an attempt by some concerned parties to ambush the course of justice through amendments of the extant Act, an action that flies in the face of fair play and equity.

    ”The National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), is aware of this development and all parties, as law abiding citizens, were expected to await the pronouncement of the court. Surprisingly, NLRC resorted to back-hand tactics of sponsoring amendments to the Act before the determination of the suit.

    “The Acting President, through his rejection of the National Lottery Bill, has displayed government’s belief in fairness and justice, and has affirmed unequivocally his belief in enterprise rights and those of ordinary Nigerians. These are hallmarks of good governance.”

    Oshinowo said Osinbajo’s action will shore up investor confidence.

     

  • NLC, TUC ask Ebonyi to stop ‘illegal’ pension deduction

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have asked the Ebonyi  State Governorment to stop violating the  amended Pension Reform Act, 2004.

    The groups said in a statement signed by their presidents, Ayuba Wabba and Boboi Bala Kaigama, that the government’s abuse of the pension law was made known to them by their councils in Ebonyi.

    They said the government has started pension deductions from its workers’ salaries long before it passed its pension law. They also alleged that the operating pension law is in contravention of the contributory ratio in the national pension law which mandates the employer to contribute a minimum of 10 per cent, and employees eight per cent to the contributory pension account.

    According to them, Ebonyi made its percentage contributions five per cent for the employer, and eight per cent for the employees.

    The state, the two labour groups claimed, commenced the implementation of the new law without first putting in place requisite processes or structures, such as adequate sensitisation on the rights of the workers in the scheme by it and the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    They alleged that none of the recommendations made by workers during the public hearing by the House of Assembly on the bill were included in the law.

    They indicated their willingness to meet with Umahi to find a solution to the issues which they said was troubling.

    “The pension issue is among the other violations (the majority of which are labour issues as captured by Conventions 87 and 98 to which Nigeria is a signatory) the state council has brought to our attention.

    “In consideration of the seriousness of the facts, the leadership of the NLC and TUC will be honoured by a meeting with Your Excellency on March 14, 2017 or on a date more convenient to you to resolve all outstanding issues,” the statement said.

    They added that in implementing the law, the views of workers should be sought as against making laws intended to subjugate them.

    “The views of workers should be taken seriously, especially on this matter. Happily, PenCom has developed a model or template for the states. Indeed, most of them that have keyed into the contributory scheme have improved on the basic provisions in the template.

  • ILO seeks Fed Govt, Labour dialogue on minimum wage

    ILO seeks Fed Govt, Labour dialogue on minimum wage

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has advised the Federal Government and Labour to use social dialogue in negotiating a new minimum wage for its workers.

    Its Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Dennis Zulu, gave the advice in Abuja.

    The ILO Convention stipulates that a minimum wage review is  every four years.

    He said: “Discussion on the minimum wage for instance, this social dialogue mechanism can be used to achieve an optimum solution and optimum win-win results agreeable to all the parties or the tripartite partners in Nigeria.

    “Social dialogue is a critical component to maintaining industrial harmony in the workplace and therefore we want to encourage that the three parties, the private sector, worker organisations and government.

    “Always use this mechanism as a way of reaching agreements on this contentious issue and have the necessary information to put in place an appropriate argument to back their demands,’’ he said.

    Zulu said Nigeria has a social dialogue mechanism within which all the three parties meet and should not relent in using such platform.

    He added that ILO would want to see more of these meetings, especially as a way of finding solutions to agreements on some issues that arises in workplaces.

    “Basically, each of the three partners has equal right to all discussion around the work place through the mechanism called the social dialogue.

    “We encourage the three partners to engage in discussions, consultations on all issues that will affect the welfare of workers in the workplace.

    “Because we believed that it is only through reaching consensus through social dialogue that we can get the industrial harmony that is needed for the workplace to be functional,’’ he added.

  • ‘Creat jobs for youths’

    ‘Creat jobs for youths’

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has urged Nigerians to encourage business initiatives to create jobs for the youth and boost the economy.

    Speaking at the 38th Kaduna Trade Tair in Kaduna, the agency’s Acting Director-General, Mr Kunle Obanya, called for more collaboration between the private and public sectors to tackle the challenge of unemployment.

    Obanya said the  government could not effectively shoulder the burden of employment creation, especially  in the economic situation facing the nation.

    He, therefore, called on all other stakeholders to support the directorate in resettling beneficiaries of its programmes and schemes who, due to paucity of funds, might not enjoy any start-ups from the NDE.

    He said: “ I urge all categories of  the unemployed to embrace the great opportunities for self-reliance as presented in all states through the National Directorate of Employment. Let me equally re-affirm the commitment of the NDE to the continual provision of innovative employment creation models that will always compliment the micro economic policies of the Federal Government.

    “In the NDE, collaboration towards employment creation is a model that we keep fine tuning in order to meet the ever changing dynamics of mass unemployment. I am glad to state here that our collaboration with other stakeholders in the employment sector is yielding the desired results and we remain committed to expanding the scope of our operations in this regard.’’

    He recalled that in the last one year  12,457 unskilled and unemployed persons benefited from the various employment creation initiatives of the directorate.

  • Recession: NLC urges Fed Govt to shun IMF

    Recession: NLC urges Fed Govt to shun IMF

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government not to seek solution to the recession from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    It warned against resorting to other external institutions for help, arguing that the solutions to the challenges could be found in this country.

    During the National Delegate Conference of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFFWW), its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said  for the country to be restored to growth path, the government should design policies that would bring back industries, create jobs, revive electricity and revalue the currency.

    He emphasised the need for the government to encourage the growth of the informal sector, resume local production of petroleum products, develop solid minerals and tourism, among others.

    “We do not need any lecturing from the IMF or any external institutions to do this. We have vibrant and experienced experts that can develop policies on these. Indeed, the government should, as a matter of urgency, convene a conference on the economy or assemble an all-inclusive team to develop an economic recovery framework that is people driven and people focused,” he said.

    He argued that the recession was not only a result of corruption but the continued adoption of policies imposed by neo-liberal institutions against the wishes of Nigerians.

    Wabba appealed to federal and state  governments to save the construction industry from collapse by paying the debts owed contractors.

    He said the construction industry was inactive because of the refusal or inability of governments to pay for jobs done and mobilise contractors for new jobs.

    “In view of the considerable harm and pain this has brought upon everybody in the chain, especially workers, I would want to use this opportunity to call on federal and state governments to without further delay, pay their debts to both local and international contractors. I have no doubt this will stimulate the economy in no small measure,” he said.

    Wabba called on members of the union to continue to support the  leadership of the union, saying that without their support, the leadership would not  be able to contribute effectively to the promotion and defence of workers’ rights as well as the advancement of good governance.

    “Do not allow yourselves to be distracted by those who seek to weaken us by attempting to divide our ranks. Be focused and remain committed to the struggle we know!  I urge you to continue to remain faithful to the historical tasks that your union is known for by way of actively participating  in action/activities that will ensure positive change; people driven governance and national progress,” Wabba added.

  • Workers seek popular policies to tackle poverty

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged government to create people-oriented policies to reduce poverty.

    Its Vice President, Amaechi Asugwani, said workers have appealed many times to the government to make positive changes that would impact on people.

    According to Asugwani, creating friendly policies will reduce poverty. He said Nigerians were worried about the increasing costs of food, goods and services without a corresponding increase in salaries.

    “We are demanding for a change. They promised us food, jobs, stable power supply but none has been done. The government should be sensitive to the plight of the people. It has not increased the salaries of workers and many companies have closed because of poor power supply,” he said.

    Asugwani urged the Federal Government to create policies that would reduce the suffering of the masses and put food on their table.

    In a related development, the Technical Committee on Palliatives, which is to come up with the modalities and framework of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage has submitted its report to the Federal Government.

    The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige, said the Technical Committee was to have submitted the report but for the grey areas in it.

    He said the grey areas needed to be fine-tuned before the submission of the very important report, which would signal the commencement of negotiation on the new national minimum wage.

    Ngige said the next move would be determined by the report of the committee. He pointed out that the Tripartite Committee on minimum wage would be constituted based on the Technical Committee’s report.

    The committee, which will comprise the government, employers and labour, will negotiate a desirable national minimum wage, the least an employer should pay a worker in the country.