The Nation Newspaper

Tag: labour

  • Paris Club refund windfall excites labour, ASUU, others

    Paris Club refund windfall excites labour, ASUU, others

    The organised labour will monitor the application of the N243 billion Paris Club refund released by the Federal Government to the states. Governors must play by the rules, it warns. TOBA AGBOOLA and TONY AKOWE report. 

    THERE was excitement in the camps of the organised labour and some varsity teachers yesterday. It was over the release of N243 billion the 36 states by the Federal Government as the second tranche of the London-Paris Club loan refund.

    They warned state governors against misapplying the cash.

    The workers’ unions warned the states government against diverting the windfall, threatening to unleash the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on erring governors.

    The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Bobboi Kaigama, told The Nation  that the states should use the their shares of the refund to settle the outstanding allowances, salaries and pensions.

    He promised to mobilise union members against any abuse by states’ chief executives, saying that the organised labour would team up with the anti-graft agencies to guard against abuse.

    He said: “They should first of all settle the outstanding allowances, salaries, pension among others. The governors should do that or otherwise they will see the other side of the labour because it will not be like the first one.

    “This time around, we’ll mobolise our members and we will involve the EFCC and the ICPC in monitoring how the states apply the funds.’’

    The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Ayuba Wabba said the union will properly monitor the funds this time around.

    He alleged that some state governments failed to use the first tranche of the refund to pay salaries or to offset arrears of pension deductions. He said the abuse would not be allowed to be repeated.

    Wabba said: ‘’Many of the states diverted the first bailout meant to pay outstanding salaries and pension to other things, and this is why we are in the present situation.

    “We have involved the anti-corruption agencies. From the first bailout, we partnered the ICPC to monitor the funds and we expect this to continue. Our directive to the state councils of the NLC is to also monitor the funds and ensure that the payment of arrears of salaries and pensions take priority.”

    The Congress’ General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, told The Nation that the right thing for the state governors owing workers would be to use the money to pay up.

    According to him, the NLC would never shy away from engaging the governors on the welfare of workers.

    Ozo-Eson said: “As you are aware, we have been engaging the governors on the welfare of workers and we take each state based on their peculiarities. Last week, we engaged the Rivers State government because of pension-related matters and we will continue to engage them.

    “With or without Paris Club refund, it is the responsibility of the governors to pay the salaries and allowances as well as pension of workers. Where they renege in doing that, we engage them and where they refused, we’ll encourage the workers in that state to declare industrial action.

    “So, our position remain the same and it has not changed. The governors should pay what they owe to the workers and now that they have more money, they should honour their obligations and pay the workers’  entitlements.”

     

  • LUTH labour crisis over, says CMD

    The Chief Medical Director of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Chris Bode, has said the labour crisis threatening to cripple the hospital has been resolved.

    According to him, measures have been put in place to make the hospital the preferred destination for Nigerians in need of specialised medical care.

    Prof. Bode spoke against the backdrop of protest by some resident doctors and health workers.

    His words: “The recent crisis that surfaced between the management and some union members at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital has been amicably resolved.

    “The management had a family meeting with the union officials, and a number of confidence-building measures were discussed to consolidate the current successes recorded to reposition LUTH as the preferred destination for Nigerians in need of specialised medical care.

    “This followed the intervention of eminent personalities, who were concerned with the threat to peace within the teaching hospital.

    “All parties agreed that the whole crisis stemmed from a series of misunderstandings and have since resolved to work together towards the common purpose of working hard to achieve the first year of strike-free service after so many years of service disruptions.

    “The Management thanks the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) LUTH Branch, the National Association of Resident Doctors as well as many other Nigerians who played a major role in the successful resolution of this conflict.”

  • 168m children engaged in child labour globally, says ILO

    168m children engaged in child labour globally, says ILO

    Majority of the over 168 million children involved in child Labour across the world live in areas affected by conflict and disaster, and often pay the heaviest price during conflicts according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

    The ILO has therefore decided to dedicate the 2017 World Day Against Child Labour scheduled for Monday, 12 June to focus on the impact of conflicts and disasters on child labour globally.

    The world body of Labour asked world leaders and member states  to take measure to combat and prevent child Labour, adding that “in times of conflict, in times of disaster, when livelihoods are disrupted, basic services are lost and people can be forced from their homes, entire families become more vulnerable. But it is children who often pay the heaviest price.”

    It added that the  proposed ILO Recommendation concerning Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience (Revision of the Transition from War to Peace Recommendation, 1944, No. 71 ), being discussed during the 106th Session of the International Labour Conference  (ILC) calls for specific action against child labour arising from or exacerbated by conflicts or disasters. 

    “In countries affected by conflicts and disaster, the ILO, governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations and humanitarian actors work together to prevent and withdraw children from child labour, and enrol them in education. Using an integrated approach to promote fundamental principles and rights at work, the ILO has developed specific tools to prevent child labour and provide economic reintegration in post-conflict situations, with a particular focus on children formerly associated with armed forces and groups. 

    “The ILO works closely with partners to tackle child labour in emergencies. In 2016, the Child Labour Task Force of the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action , co-chaired by the ILO and Plan International, launched its Inter-agency Guidance: Supporting the Protection Needs of Child Labourers in Emergencies . This toolkit provides guidance to humanitarian workers on protecting children from child labour. 

    “The ILO is part of Alliance 8.7 , the global strategic partnership committed to achieving SDG Target 8.7, which calls on the world to end forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, and, by 2025 to end child labour in all its forms. One of its six Action Groups is dedicated to addressing these issues in situations of crisis,” ILO stated.

    It argued that Child labour violates international laws and the UN Conventions, including the ILO child labour Conventions and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adding that the ILO’s Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)  and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)  have now been ratified by 169 and 180 member States respectively. 

    The 2017  world day against child Labour is part of activities lined up for the ongoing 106th session of the international Labour Organisation.

  • Expert to Labour: show understanding to investors

    The Chairman of Obijackson Group, indigenous oil and gas conglomerate, Dr. Ernest Azudialu, has advised labour organisations in Nigeria to show understanding to firms’ owners in theri dealings.

    He spoke at an interaction session with reporters in Lagos when the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Lagos branch, planned to picket the company.

    The Lagos PENGASSAN wanted to picket the firm when its members in Neconde Energy Limited, the exploration and production (E&P) arm of the Obijackson Group, demanded  the transfer of their benefits and review of severance benefits to match those of multinational oil firms, such as Shell and ExxonMobil, following the relocation of the head office of Neconde to Warri from Lagos.

    Neconde is one of the 12 subsidiaries in the Group and is the operator of the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 located in Delta State. To make the office and workers to be close to their operational area, the head office of the company was moved to Warri, a development which informed the demands of Neconde workers.

    Azudialu urged the labour to consider firms and the prevailing challenges in the sector and the economy. According to him, the management of Neconde, despite the challenges it faced, ensured that salaries and benefits were paid, therefore, it would be unfair to stifle private firms that borrowed money from banks to create jobs for Nigeria and force them out of business.

    He said: ‘’We battled for the operationship OML 42 with our partner, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) – an arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Since we bought Shell’s stakes in the oil field in 2012, the battle for operatorship lasted till this year. We were confirmed the operator of the asset in March.

    “As we were about coming out from operatorship battle, the oil price collapsed. At a point, we sold oil at $29 per barrel. Amid fallen oil price, militants blew up the Forcados pipeline, which is the only means of transporting oil from the fields to the terminal on February 13, 2016. With this, the output from the asset estimated to produce 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) at the time of purchase dropped to 15,000bpd and at a point, production dropped to zero.

    “We were lifting our own share of the production with barges just to be able to pay our workers. Therefore, it is not fair to use a national union to bring down a private company. It is a wrong signal to any investor whether foreign or indigenous. The government is wooing investors to come to Nigeria and invest in order to create jobs, so labour should not frustrate this initiative.

    “As I speak with you, the $558million we borrowed from Nigerian banks and other international finance firms to acquire the asset have not been repaid in its entirety and we took another loan, which is almost the same amount, to repair the facilities and we are paying interests on these loans.

    Neconde Energy Managing Director, Frank Edozie, corroborated Azudialu. He said despite the challenges the firm faced from the time Shell’s stakes in the oil field were bought in 2012, it had placed the welfare of its staff a priority.

    He said at the time of purchase the potential production from the asset was 100,000 bpd but on completion of the acquisition, it fell to about 52,000 bpd. Following the long battle for operatorship, attacks on oil facility, especially the Forcados pipeline, production dropped to zero.

    “We produce only 15,000 bpd and we lift the oil with barges to the export terminal just to ensure that our staff salaries are paid. Our workforce has remained a key factor in the evolution of Neconde, and their well-being remains important to us. We are a people-centred organisation, so the value we place on employees is not just because we know that our continued existence is dependent on them, but mainly because every human being deserves a good life, and should be treated fairly.

    “For instance, a component of our strategic goal for the year is to achieve an estimate of 70,000bpd. This has led us to develop “barged production” as an alternative to crude evacuation using the Trans Forcados Pipeline which has been out of service since February 13, 2016. We have also undertaken some strategic steps, such as rehabilitation of Batan and Odidi Flow Stations, to enable the achievement of our targeted peak gross production rate, revamping of Jones Creek and Egwa Fields for workover of existing wells and development of other infrastructure which includes refurbishing a gas Central Processing Facility (CPF) in Odidi as well as commencement of re-entry of Odidi, Jones Creek fields Egwa 1 & 2,” he added

  • ‘Labour needs to should encourage investment’

    The Chairman of Obijackson Group, and an indigenous oil and gas conglomerate, Dr. Ernest Azudialu, has advised labour organisations in Nigeria to encourage attraction and protection of investments by local and international investors.

    He spoke during an interaction with reporters in Lagos when the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Lagos branch, planned to picket the company.

    PENGASSAN wanted to picket the firm when its members in Neconde Energy Limited, the exploration and production (E&P) arm of the Obijackson Group, demanded for transfer benefits and upward review of severance benefits to match those of multinational oil firms, such as Shell and ExxonMobil, following the relocation of the head office of Neconde to Warri from Lagos.

    Neconde is one of the 12 subsidiaries in the Group and is the operator of the oil mining lease (OML) 42 located in Delta State and to make the office and workers to be close to the operational area, the head office of the company was moved to Warri, which generated the demands of Neconde workers.

    Azudialu urged the labour to consider firms and the prevailing challenges in the sector and the economy.

    According to him, the management of Neconde despite the myriad of challenges it faced, ensured the workers’ salaries and benefits were paid, therefore, it would be unfair to stifle private firms that borrowed money from banks to create jobs for Nigeria and force them out of business.

    He said: ‘’We battled for the operationship OML 42 with our partner, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) – an arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Since we bought Shell’s stakes in the oil field in 2012, the battle for operatorship lasted till this year. We were confirmed the operator of the asset in March.

    “As we were about coming out from operatorship battle, the oil price collapsed. At a point we sold oil at $29 per barrel. Amid fallen oil price, militants blew up the Forcados pipeline, which is the only means of transporting oil from the fields to the terminal on February 13, 2016. With this, the output from the asset estimated to produce 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) at the time of purchase dropped to 15,000bpd and at a point, production dropped to zero.

    “We were lifting our own share of the production with barges just to be able to pay our workers. Therefore, it is not fair to use a national union to bring down a private company. It is a wrong signal to any investor whether foreign or indigenous. The government is wooing investors to come to Nigeria and invest in order to create jobs, so labour should not frustrate this initiative.

    “As I speak with you, the $558million we borrowed from Nigerian banks and other international finance firms to acquire the asset have not been repaid in its entirety and we took another loan, which is almost the same amount, to repair the facilities and we are paying interests on these loans.’’

    The Managing Director, Neconde Energy, Frank Edozie, corroborated Azudialu. He said despite the challenges the firm faced from the time Shell’s stakes in the oil field was bought in 2012, it had placed the welfare of its staff a priority.

    He said at the time of purchase, the potential production from the asset was 100,000 bpd but on completion of the acquisition, production was about 52,000 bpd.

    Following the long battle for operatorship, attacks on oil facility especially the Forcados pipeline, production dropped to zero.

  • Democracy Day: NLC urges FG to announce c’ttee on minimum wage

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to use the occasion of the Democracy Day celebration to announce the composition of the tripartite negotiation committee on the National Minimum Wage.

    The NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, made the call in a statement he issued on Sunday in Abuja, ahead of the Democracy Day celebration on Monday.

    Wabba, who noted that the minimum wage was increased to N18,000 six years ago, added that the patience of workers had been tested due to the current inflation in the country.

    “We, therefore, urge the Federal Government to use the occasion of the Democracy Day to announce the composition of the tripartite negotiation committee as this is imperative for the government to review the National Minimum Wage, ‘’ he said.

    Wabba also condemned the recent coup rumour, saying labour was opposed to any move to truncate the current democratic dispensation

    “ The NLC wishes to state in the strongest possible tone that it is categorically opposed to any further military adventurism in the body politics of our nation.

    “The damage military rule caused our nation is not only in the realm of our political culture, it deepened and virtually institutionalised corruption in all segments of our national life,’’ he said.

    The NLC president urged the military leadership to identify individuals involved and prosecute them in the relevant courts.

    Wabba also called on elected public office holders at all levels of governance to rededicate themselves to the task of working for the people.

  • Nigeria seeks return to ILO’s board

    Nigeria seeks return to ILO’s board

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has disclosed that the country will be seeking a return to the governing board of the International Labour Organisation during the forthcoming in 106the session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva.
    Speaking while inaugurating members of the various committees to articulate Nigeria’s position at the conference, the. Minister said his Ministry’s ground work and diplomatic shuttle in this regards has yielded positive result as Nigeria candidacy into the ILO Governing Body has been approved by other African Countries.
    He said the country must “harness all resources as a country, hence my Ministry thought it imperative for Nigeria to get back to the Governing Board of the ILO.
    “We have started the ground work and diplomatic shuttle and am happy to announce to you that we are going to Geneva this time around with Nigeria having been nominated by other African Countries under the auspices of Africa Union Commission for a place in the Governing Board of ILO with all the attendant benefits that accrue to countries that are in the Governing Body. We are going to represent West Africa at the Governing Board meeting. ”
    Ngige added that the meeting will be very momentous for Nigeria as a lot of benefits will accrue to Nigeria in terms of technical assistance, human and material resources that will assist the Nation’s drive towards economic recovery.
    He said further that “The big idea is for us to represent Nigeria well. Nigeria is going to the Conference at a very critical period when our nation is just coming out of recession.”
    The inaugurated committees include Committee on the Application of Standards, Committee for Labour Migration, Committee on Employment and Decent Work for the Transition to Peace, Committee for the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and Finance.

  • Labour needs to encourage investment, says Azudialu

    The Chairman of Obijackson Group, indigenous oil and gas conglomerate, Dr. Ernest Azudialu, has advised labour organisations in Nigeria to encourage attraction and protection of investments by local and international investors.

    He spoke during an interaction with reporters in Lagos when the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Lagos branch, planned to picket the company. Lagos PENGASSAN wanted to picket the firm when its members in Neconde Energy Limited, the exploration and production (E&P) arm of the Obijackson Group, demanded for transfer benefits and upward review of severance benefits to match those of multinational oil firms such as Shell and ExxonMobil following the relocation of the head office of Neconde to Warri from Lagos.

    Neconde is one of the 12 subsidiaries in the Group and is the operator of the oil mining lease (OML) 42 located in Delta State and to make the office and workers to be close to the operational area, the head office of the company was moved to Warri, which generated the demands of Neconde workers.

    Azudialu urged the labour to consider firms and the prevailing challenges in the sector and the economy. According to him, the management of Neconde despite the myriad of challenges it faced, ensured the workers’ salaries and benefits were paid, therefore, it would be unfair to stifle private firms that borrowed money from banks to create jobs for Nigeria and force them out of business.

    He said: We battled for the operationship OML 42 with our partner, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) – an arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Since we bought Shell’s stakes in the oil field in 2012, the battle for operatorship lasted till this year. We were confirmed the operator of the asset in March.

    “As we were about coming out from operatorship battle, the oil price collapsed. At a point we sold oil at $29 per barrel. Amid fallen oil price, militants blew up the Forcados pipeline, which is the only means of transporting oil from the fields to the terminal on February 13, 2016. With this, the output from the asset estimated to produce 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) at the time of purchase dropped to 15,000bpd and at a point, production dropped to zero.

    “We were lifting our own share of the production with barges just to be able to pay our workers. Therefore, it is not fair to use a national union to bring down a private company. It is a wrong signal to any investor whether foreign or indigenous. The government is wooing investors to come to Nigeria and invest in order to create jobs, so labour should not frustrate this initiative.

    “As I speak with you, the $558million we borrowed from Nigerian banks and other international finance firms to acquire the asset have not been repaid in its entirety and we took another loan, which is almost the same amount, to repair the facilities and we are paying interests on these loans.

    The Managing Director, Neconde Energy, Frank Edozie corroborated Azudialu. He said despite the challenges the firm faced from the time Shell’s stakes in the oil field was bought in 2012, it had placed the welfare of its staff a priority.

    He stated that at the time of purchase the potential production from the asset was 100,000 bpd but on completion of the acquisition, production was about 52,000 bpd. Following the long battle for operatorship, attacks on oil facility especially the Forcados pipeline, production dropped to zero.

    “Currently, we produce only 15,000 bpd and we lift the oil with barges to the export terminal just to ensure that our staff salaries are paid. Our workforce has remained a key factor in the evolution of Neconde, and their wellbeing remains important to us. We are a people-centred organisation, so the value we place on employees is not just because we know that our continued existence is dependent on them, but mainly because every human being deserves a good life, and should be treated fairly.

    “For instance, a component of our strategic goal for the year is to achieve an estimate of 70,000bpd. This has led us to develop “barged production” as an alternative to crude evacuation using the Trans Forcados Pipeline which has been out of service since 13th February, 2016.  We have also undertaken some strategic steps, such as rehabilitation of Batan and Odidi Flow Stations to enable the achievement of our targeted peak gross production rate, revamping of Jones Creek and Egwa Fields for workover of existing wells and development of other infrastructure which includes refurbishing a gas Central Processing Facility (CPF) in Odidi as well as commencement of re-entry of Odidi, Jones Creek fields Egwa 1 & 2,” he added

  • Labour warns against coup, says Nigerians will resist it

    Labour warns against coup, says Nigerians will resist it

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) said on Tuesday  that any attempt by the Nigeria military to topple the current democratic dispensation in the country will be resisted by the working people  and all Nigerians who Laboured  to bring about democratic change in the country.

    In a statement signed by the National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Secretary General, Comrade (Barr.) Musa-Lawal Ozigi, the union said all Nigerians, irrespective of political affiliations must rise up and kick against any form of military intervention, adding that the recent rumor should be considered as an aberration.

    “It will be recalled that our military, indeed all Nigerians have condemned coups in Africa and even outside the continent, a feat that was commended at the level of the international community. To hear that the military is nursing such a misadventure, even if by rumours only must be seen as ignoble.

    “One beauty of democracy is that there is freedom of speech, at least it has allowed us to challenge our thieving politicians at all levels. This is not the case with the military which does not possess any iota of democratic blood, with their exhibition of autocracy and brute force.

    “We wish to sound it that workers and the masses of Nigerians laboured and sacrificed greatly to enthrone democracy that has now been hijacked by a negligible few that have now become the lawmakers, the governors and so-called political leaders to the detriment of the working class and citizens of the country.

    “Let it be known that the people have voted for democracy and will strive to protect it.  What should be paramount to all progressive Nigerians now is how to move the country forward and not to distabilise it. We know who caused the problem of the country.

    “Truly, Nigerians are abreast of the fact that we have a serious challenge with the present democracy and the crop of leaders that we have at various levels of government. It is a challenge all of us must strive to correct, certainly not by coup.

    “The military, mainstream politicians and privileged Nigerians should be careful not to throw the country into another political pandemonium and disappear into thin air leaving the masses to suffer.  Let the rumour be what it is, a rumour. Nigerians are no longer ready for any hoodwinking. We have come of age,” TUC stated.

  • Labour warns against ‘secret’ concession of NRC

    Labour warns against ‘secret’ concession of NRC

    Labour has backed the Federal Government’s plan to concession the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), demanding transparency in the process.

    It, however, kicked against the privatisation of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), calling for its effective funding. It regretted that the FHA has been neglected by the government.

    Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporation and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), President Comrade Mohammed Yunusa, who addressed reporters in Abuja, warned against secret concession of the NRC.

    He pointed out that the union will support the planned concession of the NRC, only if there is a high level transparency in the process. He also added that privatisation of FHA will take away the ability of low-income earners to own houses of their own.

    The SSASCGOC chief warned against the government picking a favoured company behind the door, saying that the earlier attempt by the government to singlehandedly pick a company from the United States as a the concessionaire was not acceptable.

    Comrade Yunusa explained that the ideal thing to do is to advertise the concession and make it open for interested people to apply before the highest bidder with capability to run the corporation is picked.

    He said: “SSASCGOC is not averse to the change mantra of the present administration, particularly in its effort to bring back the rail networks in Nigeria to its lost glory.

    “It must be noted that Nigerian workers contributed immensely to the glorious performance of the rail sector up till 1984 before it started having problems. It must also be noted that workers of NRC were not in any way responsible for the demise of the then rail sector.

    “As a matter of fact, some of our members patriotically worked to the point of death.

    “We salute the courage of our heroes in the railway sector some of whom lost their lives in the quest to making the railway a pride of place for the nation. No thanks to irresponsible leadership.

    “Nobody should therefore attempt to discredit staff of the NRC just because of the failure of successive governments and its managers in NRC. To this end, we make bold to say we shall resist any form of reform aimed at discrediting and sending staff of NRC into the labour market, under whatever guise be it concessioning, franchising or public private partnership.

    “We have learnt our lessons from NITEL’s experience. Never shall we allow such again. According to Albert Einstein, we cannot solve our problems using the same thinking with which we created them.”