The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment

  • Fed Govt, private sector to partner on labour-friendly policies

    The  Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has called for synergy between the government and the private sector in promoting labour-friendly policies.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, William Nwankwo Alo, made the call in Abuja when the Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Timothy Olawale, visited him.

    He described NECA as a critical and dependable partner in maintaining industrial harmony in Nigeria, and therefore encouraged the association to join hands with government to move the country forward.

    The Permanent Secretary pledged government’s continued support to NECA, and appreciated the association’s outstanding performance in providing the platform for private sector employers to interact with government.

    The Permanent Secretary was optimistic that Federal Government and NECA would continue to have a robust relationship, which would bring peace and tranquillity in the work environment.

    Earlier, the Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, Timothy Olawale, said the association would continue to partner with government to deepen the nation’s industrial relation’s system and ensure industrial harmony.

    In a related development, Alo has called for a more comprehensive identification of risks associated with the Labour sector, for inclusion in the National Risk Register.

    The Permanent Secretary spoke at the flag-off of a workshop on the Development of National Risk Register (NRR) for Nigeria, organised for the staff of the ministry.

    He described as narrow, the risk proposed by the Risk Assessment Working Group (RAWG) for ownership by the Ministry – Industrial Action Affecting Key Industries and Government-run Services.

    He said: “It, therefore, became necessary to develop in-house capacities on the subject for more comprehensive identification of risks associated with the Labour sector”.

    Represented by Director, Human Resources and Management, Mr Ajibola Ibrahim, the Permanent Secretary said: “Any unidentified risk in this sector would not appear on the Risk Register, and would not be taken into cognisance while planning for avoidance of occurrence or reduction of impact on the nation’s economy.”

    According to him, the National Risk Register is developed and maintained by countries to serve as information and planning tool on risk identification and management, and Nigeria is adopting the process as a best practice.

    Director, Special Duties/Projects, Dr Martina Nwordu said the training was aimed at building staff capacity in-house to enable optimal contribution to the development of the NRR, with the labour sector adequately covered; and to acquire sufficient knowledge to develop Local Risk Register (LRR) for the ministry at various levels.

  • Fg, private sector to partner on Labour-friendly policies

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, William Nwankwo Alo, has called for synergy between Government and the private sector in promoting Labour-friendly policies.

    Alo spoke in Abuja when he received in audience the Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Timothy Olawale, and his entourage.

    He described NECA as a critical and dependable partner in maintaining industrial harmony in Nigeria, and encouraged the Association to join hands with Government to move the country forward.

    The Permanent Secretary pledged Government’s continued support to NECA, and appreciated the Association’s outstanding performance in providing the platform for private sector employers to interact with Government.

    He assured NECA that Government placed a lot of score on the private sector, and appreciated its support.

    The Permanent Secretary was optimistic that Government and NECA would continue to have a robust relationship, which would bring peace and tranquility in the work environment.

    Earlier, the Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, Timothy Olawale, pledged the continued partnership with Government to deepen the nation’s industrial relation’s system, and ensure industrial harmony.

     

  • 116 Nigerians deported from Libya

    One hundred and sixteen Nigerians stranded in the North Africa country – Libya were Wednesday deported .

    The deportees comprising 46 adult females;  two female children ; five female infants as well as 56 male adults; six male children and eight male infants arrived the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, about 12.40 am.

    They were flown in aboard a chartered Al Buraq aircraft marked with registration number UZ 489.

    Acting Coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA) , South West , Segun Afolayan received the deportees at the airport .

    He said the deportees were stranded en route Europe and had to be brought home through the as dusted voluntary returnees programme facilitated by the International Organization for Migration ( IOM).

    While advising the Returnees to discourage irregular migration,  Afolayan stated that migration is a fundamental right of every human being but when a man embarks on irregular journey violating the laws of other nations by not following the regular means of migration, the country of destination may apply the nation’s laws to handle such.

    To end this exposure of  irregular migration, the Acting Zonal Coordinator revealed that Nigerians who wish to migrate can now visit the Migrant Resource Centre opened by IOM in conjunction with the Federal Government.

    The Centres located at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment offices at Benin, Lagos and Abuja.

    According to Afolayan “The Centres are opened to all Nigerians who wish to travel outside the country. They can access detailed information on their intended country of destination.”

    “Such information as the types of employment and educational opportunities, counseling on the right and safe routes to travel, the security level of the expected country as well as skill acquisition to whoever approach any of the centres in the country.”

    “This centres are created to stem the gaps of inadequate information that many Returnees have been complaining about”.

  • Don’t discriminate against workers living with HIV/AIDS – NACA

    The National Agency for the Control of AIDS ( NACA ) has cautioned employers of labour in the country not to discriminate against their employees with HIV.

    Dr Sani Aliyu, the Director-General, gave the advice in a statement issued by the Head, Public Relations and Protocol of the agency, Mrs Toyin Aderibigbe, in Abuja on Monday.

    The DG said that cases of employment-related stigma and discrimination remained a major challenge to ending AIDS epidemic by 2030.

    The statement quoted Aliyu as saying: “The pandemic of HIV/AIDS has become one of the most critical workplace issues in our time.

    “The unequal treatment of workers based on their HIV status in the workplace is a clear breach of their right to gainful employment.

    “People living with HIV/AIDS have a fundamental right to work just like everybody else, stigma and discrimination are potent threats to this right, and undermine opportunities for people to obtain decent employment.”

    Aliyu said that the agency would continue to collaborate with relevant agencies and organisations to achieve the goal of eliminating stigma and discrimination in workplaces.

    “The continuous engagement of relevant stakeholders has led to strengthen capacity for compliance and effective implementation of HIV workplace policies.

    “It has also built capacities on available options for addressing discrimination including redress, and made available legal services for survivors of human rights violations,” he said.

    The DG added that the agencies and organisations involved in the advocacy included the International Labour Organisation, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment among others.

    He noted that the collaboration would ensure that employers comply with the provisions of the National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS, and the National HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act.

    We recall that the HIV and AIDS (Anti-Discrimination) Bill was signed into law in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The Act makes it illegal to discriminate against people because of their HIV status.

    It also prohibits any employer, individual or organisation from requiring a person to take HIV test as a precondition for employment.

    NAN

  • Ministry strengthens fight against child labour

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Bolaji Adebiyi, has  restated  the  ministry`s preparedness to champion the  fight against child labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour in line with emerging global trends in labour administration.

    Adebiyi stated   this  while addressing the strategy meeting of the National Steering Committee on Child Labour, in Abuja. He acknowledged that one of the emerging global trends in labour administration is the renewed fight against child labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour as encapsulated in the Alliance 8.7.

    He said Nigeria, as a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, should not be found lagging behind, but rather, should be at the forefront of the pursuit of these objectives.

    He said the fight against the scourge of child labour will require the innovation and collaboration of stakeholders, as the Federal Government cannot do it alone.

    He said: “Eradication of child labour can only be accelerated through leveraging expertise across diverse fields. Hence, Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals and Alliance 8.7, emphatically requests stakeholders in the fight against the scourge of child labour to work together in new innovative and collaborative ways.”

    Also, the Federal Government has restated its commitment to reduce unemployment in the country through the construction of new skills acquisition centres, as well as completion and rehabilitation of abandoned centres.

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Federal Specialist Skills Acquisition Centre, Ifitedunu, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, said the government was working towards reducing unemployment in the country within a short to medium-term frame.

    “The good news is that the Federal Government, through well-articulated strategies, which include the construction of new skills acquisition centres, completion and rehabilitation of abandoned and dilapidated centres across the country, is working towards curtailing unemployment in the country,” he said.

    Ngige stressed that the focus on vocational skills acquisition as a strategy to combat youth unemployment, is predicated on its successful deployment by both developing and developed nations to stem the tide of unemployment and trends in modern labour market demand for a developing nation like Nigeria.

    He said the specialised skills acquisition centres are also designed to provide hands-on skills in modern building and construction techniques, including welding and fabrication to produce metal doors among others.

    “We are focusing on skills acquisition because the trend in modern labour market demands for a growing country like ours. With a huge housing deficit of 17 million and with the estimated construction of 1,000 housing units in each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria has the potential of creating over three million jobs in a year with huge multiplier effects.

    “Countries like America, Britain and Canada are reported to have recorded 80 to 70 per cent contributions to their GDP through housing and construction sector, this is achievable in Nigeria,” Ngige said.

  • FG to reposition Micheal Imoudu labour institute

    FG to reposition Micheal Imoudu labour institute

    The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment is to collaborate with the relevant government agencies like the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to reposition the Micheal Imoudu Institute for Labour Studies to train manpower that will be useful to all sectors of the economy.

    Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Prof. Stephen Ocheni who disclosed this while speaking with a group of select journalists in his office said the Ministry will approach the NBTE and other accreditation agencies to come and inspect the institution and tell them what is required to bring it to standard.

    Prof. Ocheni said the Ministry will also set a daily target for the civil servants in the ministry, adding that there is going to be a total reorientation in the ministry if it must attain the goal of economic recovering and growth plan of the President.

    He said: “the Ministry has a Labour Institute which is a training arm. It is my desire to ensure that the institute is strengthened further to be able to offer programmes and award certificates that are not only need in the Labour ministry, but will be of immense benefit to other ministries and agencies in the entire public service.

    “For example, if you are running a certificate in Labour Inspection or in any other aspect of Labour and management, we can strengthen the institution in collaboration with other government agencies that are responsible for the accreditation of such programmes such that qualifications obtained from there will be acceptable to other employers of labour in the country.

    “We are going this by collaborating with institutions like the National Board for Technical Education. We can appeal to them to come and inspect the facilities in our training institute and tell us what we need to do to meet their standard. If we are able to meet their standard, we may aspire to award diploma certificates that are comparable to diplomas awarded by Polytechnic and colleges of technologies in the country.

    “By so doing, we are strengthening the institutional capacity of the training institute and at the same time, producing graduates that are acceptable to other sectors of the economy. We must not train ourselves and our staff for only the Labour ministry. We will try as much as possible to diversity the knowledge that will be acquired from that institute so that they will be of benefit to other employers.

    “There are other short seminar and trainings that can improve in the employee productivity. We should, as much as possible be able to embrace the private sector orientation. There should be daily target for civil servants. There is going to be a total reorientation in the ministry if we must attain the goal of economic recovering and growth plan of the President.

    “We must work hand in hand to ensure the success of this economic recovery and growth plan. It is not for the politicians alone, neither is it for public office holders alone. Civil servants have a role to play in the realization of the objective of government plan for total economic recovery of this country.

    “When you come to the office, ask yourself a question, have I attained m target for to? So, we are going to draw work plan and target for ever cadre of civil servants in this ministry so that when you assume duty in the morning, you should know what task you are to accomplish because by doing that, you are contributing to productivity and contributing to the gross domestic product of this country. Most times, we complain that our salary is poor, but we don’t ask what our contribution to earning capacity of this country is.”

  • NUPTE expresses concern over proliferation of labour unions

    The Nigerian Union of Postal Telecommunication Employees (NUPTE) on Thursday expressed concern over the proliferation of labour unions in the country, saying that the Federal Government allowed.

    NUPTE President, Mr Sunday Alhassan, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the Ministry of Labour and Employment should be blamed for the proliferation.

    Alhassan said that it has been observed that more unions are springing out of the sector whereas the same unions already exist and this was causing problems in various unions.

    “The Trade Union Act, Cap 1, Cap. T, 14, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004, Section 3, 2, provides, that no trade union shall be registered or represent workers or employers in a place where there already exist a trade union. That is the law.

    “What we have discovered is that as at today the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment for whatever reason, is busy registering other unions in the sector where unions already exist.

    “The labour leaders are supposed to have seen this as a calculated attempt to weaken the system of the labour movement.

    “Because there are a lot of unions that have applied for registration and already, they exist.

    “I do not understand what somebody mean by Senior Staff Association of Road Transport Workers. But these are applications before the registrar of Trade Union, ” he said.

    Alhassan, however, noted that the proliferation of the labour unions was a calculated attempt to weaken the system of the labour movement in the country.

    He said that the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress were strongly against the development.

    “Every serious minded labour leader in this country, who has the interest of the Nigerian workers and the masses at heart will not canvass for the proliferation of industrial unions and labour centres.

    “Why, because, in unity, we can stand with strength but when we are divided the government knows how to use the tool of divide and rule,” he said.

    The NUPTE president noted that the lack of cooperation in labour movement had delayed the new minimum wage.

    Alhassan also appealed to labour leaders to have a rethink by ensuring that personal interest, ego, among others should be put aside in order to achieve the struggle for workers’ welfare.

    However, a reliable source, who spoke on condition of anonymity from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, told NAN that the allegation of proliferation of labour unions was not true.

    She said that the NUPTE president was complaining due to a fresh registration right that was given to the Private Telecommunication and Communication Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.

    She said the association was given the registration to manage the affairs of the senior staff in the sector, while NUPTE would continue to take charge of the junior staff.

    “What initiate this move was that there were two unions vying for the membership in that sector, so they went to court and the judge rule against the unions.

    “The judgment was that another union should be registered to take care of those categories of workers, so that is how the registration of that union came about.

    “I want to assure you that we followed the rules and regulations of the Trade Union Act of 2004 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” she added.

    Dr Peter Eson-Ozo, General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), also told NAN that the process of registration should take cognizance of the category of workers in a particular sector before any resgistration.

    Eson-Ozo said that this was imperative as any attempt to register another union would lead to unnecessary proliferation.

    “Well as of today, all we have canvassed for is that, the rule should be applied in the process of registering any new union,” he said.

    He said that the labour movement would continue to work with the ministry to ensure that aspect of the law was not violated.

  • ILO urges FG to grow private sector to create more jobs

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO), has urged the Federal Government to grow the private sector as a long term solution in creating sustainable jobs for the teeming youths.

    Mr Denis Zulu, ILO Country Director to Nigeria made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

    Zulu said this was imperative as the private sector would promote entrepreneurship development for the youths.

    “Unemployment is a big challenge for Nigeria and many other African countries.

    “But I think that a lot of attention is being paid by the current government in finding strategies and solution to the growing problem of unemployment.

    “If you look at the figures provided by the National Bureau of Statistics, you will know that over the last three, four quarters unemployment have being growing.

    “This is normally expected as you know Nigeria is currently in recession,” he said.

    He said that this means that the government alone would not be able to provide the number of jobs required to deal with the unemployment problem in the country.

    Zulu said the Federal Government must grow the private sector as a long term solution to solving the increasing unemployment in the country.

    “We have a lot of skilled young Nigerians who do not have jobs and who should be engaged to contribute to the growth of the economy.

    “So, we need to give them the skills to run the business of their own, hopefully when the business is grown they can employ their fellow Nigerians.

    “So, it is about equipping them with the right entrepreneurship skills to be able to run businesses and not to be idle.

    “Also, we need to move away from training our young people from looking for jobs, we must train them to create jobs.

    He said that there was a need to encourage the youths to go into agriculture as it offers huge potentials for job creation.

    The ILO country director said that the value addition in agriculture sector was imperative as it was an opportunity for job creation in the area of production of food crops.

    Zulu advised the government to consider these opportunities following the recent ban on importation of fruit juice into the country.

    He called on the government to explore the potentials that abounds in the country, such as the production of fruits juice from Benue state.

    Zulu commended the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment partnership with the Job Creation Unit in the Vice President office on job creation initiatives.

    He said that the number of initiatives being introduced by the Federal Government would go a long way to ensure that Nigerian youths were gainfully employed.

    He said that government must ensure that integrated and comprehensive approaches were adopted for job creation

    “That is getting the right skills, promoting the private sector and looking at the demand and supply side of employment creation.