The Nation Newspaper

Tag: labour

  • Dont release final Paris Club refund yet to governors-NLC

    Dont release final Paris Club refund yet to governors-NLC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to release the third and final tranche of the Paris Club refund to state governors until they make a concrete commitment to use the money to settle outstanding salaries, allowances and pension of workers and retirees in the country.

    The congress also demanded an immediate and comprehensive audit of all monies so far spent in government effort at reviving the power sector in the country since 1999 which it said has failed to yield result, but rather produced several billionaires as a result of diversion of the funds.

    In a communique made available to newsmen at the end of its Central Working Committee meeting, the Congress is asking the government to immediately inaugurate the National Minimum Wage negotiating committee in view of the impoverishment of the Nigerian worker.

    The communique signed by the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary, Dr, Peter Oyo-Eson also wants the federal government to compel state governors to properly account for the bail out funds they received from the federal government as well as the two tranches of the Paris Club refund which was supposed to be used for the payment of salaries and pensions, but diverted to other uses.

    The Congress regretted that government has not lived up the expectation of Nigerians and are in the habit of reneging on signed agreements with unions, pointing out that the ongoing strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities was avoidable.

    The congress said that “many of the discussions around restructuring have not paid adequate attention to the question of ealth distrinbution in thr Nigerian society. It resolved to set up a committee toharmonise the various views expressed at the meeting with a view to articulating a congress position on the issue for subsequent presentation to the organuised labour.

    “It reviewed the contoinous non payment of months of outstanding salaries of workers in some states of the federation as well as various arears of pension which has also run into several months which is the actual situation despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s passion to addressthis matter since he assumed office by giving bail out to governors to clear thius shameful state of affairs with the nation”s workforce. 

    “The Federal government has further released tranches of Paris Club refund to states government with specific appeals to the and commitment by the governors forum to use the refund for the settlement of arrears of salaries and pension owed by various states to their civil servants and retrirees.

    “Despite the President”s laudable intervention notwithstabding, states like Kogi, Benue and Bayelsa are still owing workers 5-10 months in salaries  arrear and pension. There are other states like Kaduna and Zamfara that have refused to disclosed any information about how it had utilized the bailout and Paris Club refund despite demand from unions and the general public.

    “Several efforts by unions and workers in the affected states to knoiw what these state governors are using these funds for have yielded lkittle or no results.”

    It directed ther congress leadership to write the President to ensure that the governors are made to transparently account for the bail out given by the fedral government as well as the two tranches of the Paris Clud refund. 

    ,It resolved to call on the President to direct the Minister of Finance not to release the third anfd final tranche of the Paris club refund til the governors give a concrete  commitment to use it to pay the backlog of salaries and pension through a transparent process.

    “It agreed to lead an engagement rally to states, name and shame states in defdault as well as applaud and support those that are up to date in payment.

    “It direct all workers, pensioner and their families to take advantage of the on going voter registreation exercise to obtain their permanent voters card.

    “The CWC also reviewed the continued poor service delivery nin the power sector and observed hat since rhe current administration came to power in May 2015, it had given N740 Billion to the power sectotr as intervention fund without much to ashow for it. CWC therefore cannot comprehend the rationale behind the administration’s preparedness to give a further N39 billion bailout to DISCos for metering purpose. 

    “There is no guarantee that the DISCOs will not go back cap in hand to government again on the issue of provision of meters as the minister of power recently disclosed that DISCOs need about N220 billion to provide meters to Nigerians.

    “Given that one of the conditions precedent for the privatisartion by the last administration was that the new owners would provide meters for customers within 24 monthsmor so, CWC felt that the defaulting DISCOs ought to fdace sanctions and not additional bailout.

    “CWC therefore call for an urgent and proper auditing of the money spent in the effort to revive the power sector since 1999 which rather than transform into increased light provision has produced tens, if not hundreds of billionaires as a result of the diversion of the funds. Nothing illustrates this better than a recent report which showed that in the almost 18 years of the current democratic dispensation, over 11 trillion has been expended from the public treasury to lift the power sector to no avail.

    “The meeting called on the federal government to inaugurate the minimum wage committee immediately as the committee ought to have been put in place several months ago. 

    “Against the background of the impoverishment of Nigerian workers generally, government and the tripartite partners need to fast track and conclude the work of the committee in time to address the deteriorated purchasing power of the Nigerian worker.

    “It resolved that the ongoing ASUU strike was preventable and regretted that again the federal government has precipitated the strike action as it failed to implement the 2009 agreement it reached with the union. 

    “It called on the government to urgently resolve the issues in dispute to avoid escalating the strike action as other unions in the educational sector who are also affected by the 2009 agreement in the sector are mobilizing to enter the fray. The meeting also called on the government to note that collective agreements are sacrosanct and must be respected by the parties to the agreement.

    The CWC reviewed the allegations and counter allegations of impropriety coming out of the National Health Insurance Scheme. The meeting recalled that the immediate cause of the crisis arose from the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives committee on health on the activities of the NHIS. 

    “The CWC is of the opinion that the Minister of Health who constituted the intra ministerial committee to probe the suspended Executive Secretary and has himself been accused of peddling influence and sundry abuses in the operations of the scheme be investigated. 

    “Natural justice demand the a neutral and transparent process should be put in place by the government to thoroughly investigate these allegations and counter allegations”.

  • Labour serves one-week strike notice in Kogi

    Organised labour in Kogi State has issued a one-week ultimatum to the government for its decision to pay workers percentage salary.

    The amalgamation of labour unions demanded that the government should pay workers full salary, to sustain industrial peace and harmony.

    The unions comprising Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Public Service Joint Negotiating Council (PSJNC), gave the warning in a statement dated September 5 and issued in Lokoja yesterday.

    The statement, signed by their leaders, decried the purported half salaries paid to workers by the government as Sallah gift, and demanded full payment of July salary on or before September 12.

  • FG, doctors sign MOU to prevent indefinite strike

    FG, doctors sign MOU to prevent indefinite strike

    The Federal Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with members of the National Association of Resident Doctors aimed at preventing Resident Doctors in federal government owned health facilities across the country from embarking on their planned strike action which was scheduled to commence on Monday, September 4.

    In the memorandum signed by government representatives and officials of the association and the Nigeria Medical Association and made available to newsmen at the end of a meeting called by the Minister of Labour an Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, the government and the association stressed that some of the issues being complained of by the association were already being addressed by the government.

    The memorandum was signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Health,  Prof. Isaac Adewole. Minister of State Labour and Employment. Prof. Stephen Ocheni, National President of the Nigeria Medical Association, Prof. Mike O. Ogirima, President of National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Onyebueze John and Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Chief Richard Egbule among others.

    Other signatories to the memorandum are representatives of Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Federation.

    The National Association of Resident Doctors had informed the government that it embark on an indefinite strike action beginning from Monday, September 4, 2017 due to failure of government to pay salary shortfall for 2016 and between January and May, 2017.

    Other issues in dispute according to the association are Failure to rectify the salary shortfall from August 2017; failure to circularize House Officers’ entry point; failure to correct the stagnation of promotion of our members and properly place them on their appropriate grade level; failure to enroll and capture our members on the Integrated Personnel Payment Information System (IPPIS) and failure to budget, deduct and remit both the employer and employees’ contributions our pension to our retirement savings account since 2013.”

    A memorandum signed at the end of the meeting reads in part: “The meeting noted that some Federal Tertiary Health Institutions (FHTI) have paid a percentage of salaries to Resident Doctors and are consequently in arrears of salary payments to members of NARD and Honorary Consultants. 

    “It was also noted that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) had started the process of paying the shortfall of salaries owed in batches. It was therefore concluded that the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) should forward the list of the recipient FHTI to the Honourable Minister of Health to ensure that the released fund was used for its intended purpose. The payment for other FHTI not captured to be implemented before the end of October 2017.”

    On the issue of shortfall in salaries, the meeting mandated “the Director Hospital Services is to address a circular/letter to the Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and state therein that the released funds should be used solely for salaries and shortfalls. The Federal Ministry of Finance should ensure that monthly salaries are paid in full.

    “Reference was made to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached at the 7th Senate in 2014, and House of Representatives with the Speaker presiding in 2016, where Parties agreed to use the quantum of monies contained in CONHESS 9:4 for CONMESS 1:1. 

    “It was concluded that effect should be given to previous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) reached on this issue so that CONHESS 9:4 would be in parity with CONMESS 1:1. The Chairman NSIWC to get this circularized, after getting the quantum from FmoH. All matters on this issue should be finalised before the preparation of 2018 Budget is concluded.

    “It was concluded that NARD members are on Pensionable appointment and as such the FMoH in conjunction with OAGF and Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) should take necessary steps to ensure that adequate budgetary allocations are made to cover the Pension requirements of NARD members. 

    “Furthermore, FMoH should issue a letter in that regard to the Head Civil Service of the Federation who would correspond with the Budget Office of the Federation for necessary action, as the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) had in a letter of February 12, 2015, Ref.PENCOM/INSP/C&E/CCPA/66/15/1167 to the Honourable Minister of Health affirmed that members of NARD are “Employees”. The letter went further to define an employee as any person employed in the service of the Federation, the FCT, a Government of a State of Nigeria, Local Government Council or private company or organization or firm.

    “In view of the foregoing terms of settlement, NARD agreed to meet in an Emergency Session before Monday, September 4, 2017, for the presentation of this Memorandum to her National Executive Council with a view to averting the scheduled strike.”

  • Labour rejects Ortom’s appeal, begins warning strike Sept. 5

    Labour rejects Ortom’s appeal, begins warning strike Sept. 5

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Benue have rejected Gov. Samuel Ortom’s appeal against a one-week warning strike proposed to start Sept. 5.

    The warning strike is the first step by the workers who have declared a labour dispute with the state government over the non-payment of salaries.

    The workers, in a communique jointly signed by the NLC Chairman, Mr Godwin Anya and his TUC counterpart, Mr Ordue Tartenger, declared that the governor’s appeal was “unacceptable”.

    “His appeal is predicated on the prevailing economic situation, but the state has not stopped receiving statutory allocations from the federation account. This is besides Internally Generated Revenue and other revenue receipts from the federal government.

    “He appealed for understanding without any offer; other allocations from the federal government and other revenue sources are still available to government.

    “Supplementary support keeps coming from the Federal Government under various subheads – bailout, stabilization, Paris Club refunds, among others,” the workers said.

    The unions, therefore, declared Tuesday, September 5 – Wednesday, September 13 for the strike, and advised government to implement the state of emergency it declared on payment of salaries, gratuities and pensions.

    Reacting, Special Adviser to Ortom on Media and ICT, Mr Tahav Agerzua, said that the governor “placed all the cards on the table before the labour leaders”.

    He opined that the strike was not the solution because it would not bring the money needed to pay the salaries and arrears being demanded.

    NAN reports that the Benue workers are owed eight months salaries, with Ortom saying that N40 billion was required to settle them. (NAN)

  • Labour union rejects bill on hate speeches

    The United Labour Congress (ULC) has rejected a proposed bill seeking to criminalise hate speeches.

    It said the bill’s intention was to prevent any criticism of public office holders when passed into law.

    This was among demands ULC said must be met by the Federal Government within two weeks or it embarks on a nationwide strike.

    “The proposed Bill at the National Assembly seeking to control free speech couched under the guise of the Bill Against Hate Speech has the real intention of protecting the ruling elite from being held accountable by the citizenry.

    “We, therefore, demand the discontinuance of that obnoxious Bill by whoever sponsored it,” ULC said in a statement by its General Secretary Comrade Didi Adodo.

    ULC, made up of labour groups including the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), said it has constituted strike committee after the Federal Government failed to meet its demands.

    “It is a large committee made up of 15-members drawn from some industrial Unions who are affiliates of the ULC,” it said.

    ULC issued a fresh ultimatum to the Federal Government, which it said must be met on or before September 8, failing which it shall be forced to embark the strike.

    Among the demands is that the Federal Government bans the stationing of the soldiers and policemen in workplaces and factory premises.

    It said the Federal Ministry of Labour should set up a task force to carry out factory inspections as most of the factories are death traps.

    ULC called for the inauguration of the national minimum wage negotiating committee.

  • Labour to Akeredolu: full pay or nothing

    Labour to Akeredolu: full pay or nothing

    Organised labour unions in Ondo State have accused the government of “suspiciously and forcefully” introducing percentage and fractional salary payment.

    They vowed not to accept  the 80 per cent the government offered for last September’s arrears from the second tranche of the Paris Club refund.

    Rising from an emergency meeting at the weekend at the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Office in Akure, the state capital, the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) said despite an earlier letter to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) advising his administration against percentage salary payment, the government still directed its accountant-general to pay 80 per cent of last September salary.

    At the meeting, presided over by NLC State Chairman, Mrs Bosede Daramola, and her TUC counterpart, Soladoye Ekundayo, the labour leaders recalled that earlier meetings with Akeredolu and some government’s representatives only agreed on how best to use the second tranche of the 75 per cent Paris Club refund for workers on grade levels 1 to 14.

    According to them, most workers viewed the 80 per cent, paid last Friday, as a gift and not a salary, until government made full payment of last September’s arrears.

    They said: “If Governor Akeredolu’s administration can spend money left in the account by his predecessor, he should also pay in full the debt and salaries owed by Olusegun Mimiko’s government whenever funds are available, instead of using his aides to attack labour unions.

    “We will do everything to reject the introduction of percentage salary in Ondo State, no matter government’s propaganda to blackmail us.”

    The organised labour expressed disappointment at the attitude of Head of Service (HoS) Toyin Akinkuotu, who failed to protect interest of workers.

    They berated the governor’s Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr Doyin Odebowale, for allegedly using unprinted names and unguarded statements on indigenes and labour leaders.

  • Labour to govt: fish out Anambra church murderers

    The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to urgently fish out the perpetrators of Sunday massacre of worshippers at St Philip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu, Anambra State.

    Its President, Comrade Ayuba WabbaIt said the killing is one too many and called on the security agencies to bring the culprits to book.

    “Whatever may have been the situation, this attack represents a descent into the pit of hell. It is animalistic, cowardly and shameful and all necessary steps should immediately be taken by security forces to bring the perpetrators to book.

    “Our heartfelt condolences go to the families of the victims, the Catholic Church, Governor Willie Obiano and the people of Anambra State.

    “We urge our security agencies to step up security in and around places of worship. We similarly urge worshippers to  take the initiative of securing their premises,” Wabba said.

  • Ngige to labour: support Employees Compensation Act

    Ngige to labour: support Employees Compensation Act

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige,  has urged organised labour to support the Employees Compensation Act (ECA),  saying it is to promote workers’’- welfare.

    He advised ministries, departments and agencies to cooperate  to realise government objectives.

    The minister made the call in Abuja, while declaring open a two-day retreat with the theme: “Improving service delivery in agencies of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment,” for top management staff of the Labour Ministry and its agencies.

    He added that the retreat was  aimed at improving the capabilities of the management teams for effective goal delivery, noting that the productivity of any organisation rests on its top management.

    He said: “We ask you to go a step further. The Employees Compensation Act being implemented by Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NISTF) is for the benefits of workers and also for their employers. It protects workers from accidents, deaths and disabilities in the course of work.

    “It makes provision for their families to be protected financially too because dependants in families can be trained up to university level while the widows or widowers are given substantial amount of money that can sustain them.

    “It is a social protection that must be exploited by labour, NISTF being a tripartite organisation where labour and employers under the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) have representatives on the board; therefore, active participation of labour is required to ensure the fund is not mismanaged.”

    Ngige added that the public service was expected to redefine its roles, focus and build integrated service delivery models.

    He said all initiatives that would be introduced during the retreat were part of the bigger process of changing the norm in the service, stressing that participants needed to change from an inward-looking bureaucratic culture and focus on improving service delivery to the citizenry.

    Stressing the need for cooperation among the agencies of the government and their parent ministries, he said objectives as well as the processes of their realisation must be in harmony.

    He said: “MDAs should synchronise. In a forum like this, we let the parastatals know that when they say you report to the Ministry, it is not punitive, it is just for policies to flow.”

    Earlier, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Comrade Ayuba Wabba, and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, assured that the organised labour would collaborate with the Inspectorate Department of  the ministry to ensure that minimum standards for factory workers were sustained.

    They emphasised the need for effective service delivery to address the alleged maltreatment of workers in some private organisations.

    They advocated the reinforcement of the department to ensure that it is able to carry out effective factory inspections

    They commended the ministry for organising the retreat, saying management staff should use the opportunity to gain knowledge and ensure implementation.

  • Emulate Imoudu, labour leaders urged

    Labour leaders have been urged to emulate the  leadership style of the late Michael Imoudu and shun pecuniary gains.

    Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Legacy Insurance Brokers, Mr. Tunde Thomas, gave the advice at the inauguration of Pa Imoudu’s gallery at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    He said the commitment and integrity of labour leaders would attract followership rather than quest for money.

    “Nigerian workers and leaders should emulate spirit of selflessness of the late labour leader. With commitment and integrity but certainly not money, people would follow our idea. When you have integrity, followership is easy.

    ” Michael Imoudu was a great leader, and that is why he was able to get that followership. Labour leaders of today should put money aside. Let’s serve selflessly and with passion, then xyz of money would follow.

    “Let’s have the mind of the people at heart. Do we want our people to have a well meaning life, good education for our children, what about welfare of our people, good healthcare system? That’s what labour leader should be fighting for. Its not increasing salary. If you increase salary today, by tomorrow there will be corresponding inflation if not more than before. So, for me it should be about quality and passionate leadership,” he said.

    Thomas, a labour activist, said  the partnership between his outfit and MINILS was to develop the  institute to facilitate better training programme.

    “For one to change mindset, you need education. Also, we want to create a situation whereby the labour institute would generate enough revenue and not relying on government and expand training capacity of the institute by expanding number of students in diploma programme partnering with MINILS.

    “We should build human capital development at this point in our national growth. If we should achieve that in this country, then we can go to sleep. Then the system would be automated and run on its own. With good and sound training, Nigerian workers would perform optimally. We want productivity and not activity in Nigeria” he said.

    He said that his outfit discovered during visits to the MINILS in Ilorin that there are various programmes to unveil in MINILS considering impacts of late Michael Imoudu in labour struggle, “leading over 500,000 comrades to bring down strength of the British empire .

    “We saw that where his property was kept is not good enough. So we decided to intervene and contribute to the MINILS community and the man Michael Imoudu.’’

  • FEC okays new policies for oil, labour

    •Fed Govt plans to end fuel importation by 2019

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved new policies for oil and labour sectors, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and Minister of Labour Chris Ngige said yesterday.

    Kachikwu and Ngige spoke to State House correspondents at the end of the council meeting chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    They were with Minister of Information Lai Mohammed and Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed.

    Kachikwu said the Federal Government was committed to ending fuel importation into Nigeria by 2019.

    On the plan to end it, he said: “In terms of specifics, what a policy document does is that it gives you a general guideline in terms of where you are headed. Then, you go into the specifics in other separate documents for purpose of execution.

    “If you take the 2019 timeframe for refinery for instance, it won’t tell you what I’m doing today, but it will tell you that I have set a timeline to exit importation and to get the refineries working by 2019.

    “But if you ask me specifically off the shelve what are we doing on that? There is a steering committee already in place, which I head. There is a technical committee team already set up headed by chief operating officer in NNPC. We have had series of meetings with individuals who are willing to put money into the refineries.

    “I need to state this clearly. This is not a sale and this is not a concession. This is a financing scheme and there are over 30 people who have indicated interest in that financing.

    “They are going to go through the usual due process mechanism to see who qualifies for that financing. What we have resolved, however, which we have at least have a landing is that each of the refineries would be repaired by the individual company that built the refinery.

    “Who does the work is different from who finance the work to be done. We are still dialoguing who is going to get the financing opportunity, but who is going to get the contracting opportunity to do the work is already decided. If you check the companies that built, I think is Chioda in the North, Saitem in Warri, if I’m not mistaken. I have forgotten the one in Port Harcourt. But, all of them have reached agreement with us in terms of willingness and readiness to do the work.

    “Government is not putting money into this. lt is going to be sector-led effort and they will recover their money through incremental volumes that will arise from the production increase arising from the repairs. We are doing about 30 per cent performances on most refineries now. So, if you get them to above 90 per cent template, we are going to use some of the product line to pay for some of the debts and free ourselves from the importation problems.”

    Noting that the refineries, when repaired cannot cover the required consumption, the minister said some level of efficiency and upgrade would increase their capacity.

    He said: “We are banking on the fact that efficiency steps we are taking will reduce the consumption. We have gone from the 50 million  litres per day when I resumed office down to today that is about 28 million litres per day.

    “So, obviously, efficiency has wiped off smuggling, efficiency has reduced consumption and also whatever gains we made under the subsidy regime by taking the subsidy out has also taken out. So, if we are reducing the level of consumption and increasing the efficiency of the refineries, we are banking that we will be able to exit importation completely.

    “And this is not building in Dangote refinery that is 165,000 barrel cap on it, or the modular refineries we are looking at or the AGIP we are looking at.

    “So, I think we are finally on course and we are going to be very aggressive on target,” he said.

    But he added that improving oil production target was very dicey.

    According to Kachikwu , the council yesterday considered the Nigeria Petroleum Policy document.

    He stressed that the essence of the gas policy, which was considered three weeks ago, was to change the imperatives of Nigeria from an oil producing country to a gas producing country.

    Kachikwu was optimistic that the change process that was started in 2015 will be brought to logical conclusion in the next few years, if the new document is well-executed.

    Ngige said FEC received the National Employment Policy, which will guide the administration.

    He added that the last employment policy in operation in Nigeria was approved  in 2002.

    “That’s 14 years and in that 14 years, a lot of things have changed in labour and employment industry. Things like employment for people with disabilities, decent jobs programme and doing jobs without polluting the environment and other things that are new and contemporary in the labour market.”

    On the issue of minimum wage, he said the ministry is awaiting the nominations from other bodies and groups.

    “Once these nominations are in place, the President will then inaugurate the committee,”Ngige said.

    Mrs. Ahmed said her ministry presented the National Social Protection Policy to the council.

    The policy, she said, is a framework that seeks to provide social justice, equity and inclusive growth by using a transformative mechanism for mitigating poverty and unemployment in Nigeria.

    According to her, the  social investment programme started by the Federal Government since 2016 were drawn from the policy, which is presently in a draft form.