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  • NLC declares support for Governor Otti over civil service reform

    NLC declares support for Governor Otti over civil service reform

    The leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Abia state chapter has declared its support for Governor Alex Otti-led government over the ongoing workers verification exercise and other reforms being carried out in the state.

    In a statement jointly signed by the state chairman, Nweke Pascal Iheme, and the state secretary, Emma Alozie, and made available to journalists in Umuahia, NLC commended the governor for demonstrating a commitment to reposition the civil service.

    The NLC also applauded the governor’s pledge to clear the backlog of salary and pension arrears before the end of the year.

    The statement read: “His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti has demonstrated his commitment to reposition Abia Civil Service and the welfare of the workers and the pensioners, a commitment which he assured will be achieved before the end of the year.”

    The NLC, however, expressed concern over the invitation of many MDAs to appear for verification on the same day, a situation they said has brought avoidable hitches and frustration on the side of the workers and appealed that the number should be reduced.

    Read Also: NLC to begin two-day nationwide warning strike Tuesday

    The labour union, therefore, called on the government to extend the deadline for the verification exercise while appealing that the MDAs should appear on separate days so that workers wouldn’t be subjected to avoidable suffering.

    It would be recalled that Governor Otti had on the day of his inauguration restated his earlier promise to clear several years of accumulated salary and pension arrears being owed Abia workers and pensioners on or before the 31st of December 2023.

    He subsequently directed that the necessary verification and reforms be carried out so that no genuine workers would be short-changed.

  • NLC to begin two-day nationwide warning strike Tuesday

    NLC to begin two-day nationwide warning strike Tuesday

    • Full-blown indefinite industrial action may follow

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its 52 affiliate unions across the country yesterday threatened to hold   a two-day nationwide warning strike on  Tuesday,  September 5 and  Wednesday, September 6, to “fight against hardship in the country.”

     An indefinite shutdown of the nation could follow if the Federal Government fails to address the “excruciating mass suffering” being faced by Nigerians, NLC President Joe Ajaero told reporters at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the Congress in Abuja.

    Ajaero accused the government of “deliberate neglect and disregard to engage the relevant stakeholders through the channel of social dialogue.”

    Read Also: BREAKING: NLC threatens to embark on two-day warning strike next week

     The Federal Government, according to him, has “refused to engage and reach an agreement with the organized labour on critical issues on the consequences of the unfortunate hike in prices of Petroleum which has unleashed massive suffering on Nigerian workers and masses.”

     He said the National Executive Committee of the NLC (NEC) therefore resolved  to ” embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from today until steps are taken by the government to address the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment being experienced around the country.”

     Labour also demanded that the government should vacate “the illegally occupied National Headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).”

     It also resolved to “begin the shutdown of the operations of Air Peace Airline and other companies in the aviation sector that are involved in serial violation of the rights of workers in the sector to freedom of association and to collectively bargain and organize.”

    The NLC asked communities around the nation to “stop taking the law into their own hands but report to the authorities for amicable resolution of any matter involving members of the Amalgamated Union of Food Stuffs and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria which is one of our affiliates.”

     It warned Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike to desist  from “threatening poor masses in the FCT with demolition of their properties built from their years of toil,” and should rather  ” focus more on making houses available to the people.”

    Ajaero said, ” He is not a Minister of Demolition and should be prepared to meet Nigerian workers and citizens on the streets  if he carries out his insensitive utterances.”

     He said Labour similarly resolved to ” embark on a mass protest and rally in Imo State within this month of September 2023 in preparation for a major shutdown of the state to compel the state government to stop the abuse and violation of the rights and privileges of workers and trade unions in the state.

    He alleged a “renewed onslaught by the government and its agents against labour unions,” claiming that the police “under the instruction of certain forces peddling the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria invaded and illegally occupied the national headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers headquarters seeking to install its own executive.”

    Read Also; I don’t like military incursion but happy with Gabon coup, says Fayose

    Labour had, early last month protested alleged anti-people policies of the government sparked by the removal of oil subsidy.

    It said the government abandoned the negotiations and failed to implement some of the resolutions from previous meetings.

  • BREAKING: NLC threatens to embark on two-day warning strike next week

    BREAKING: NLC threatens to embark on two-day warning strike next week

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its 52 affiliate unions across the country have threatened to go on a two-day nationwide warning strike on Tuesday, September 5 over hardship in the country.

    The Congress threatened to go on an indefinite shutdown of the nation if the federal government fails to take steps to address the “excruciating mass suffering” being faced by Nigerians.

    NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero addressed reporters at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the Congress.

    Read Also: Of NLC strike and protest

    He said: “The NLC NEC resolved to embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from today until steps are taken by the government to address the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment being experienced around the country.

    “To commence a 2-day nationwide warning strike on Tuesday & Wednesday the 5th & 6th of September, 2023 to demonstrate our readiness for the indefinite strike later in the month and to also demand that the State vacates the illegally occupied National Headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

    “To embark on a mass protest and rally in Imo State within this month of September 2023 in preparation for a major shutdown of the state to compel the state government to stop the abuse and violation of the rights and privileges of workers and trade unions in the state.”

    Details soon…

  • NLC threatens to pull out workers from NHF

    NLC threatens to pull out workers from NHF

    • Abbas promises to ensure workers’  contributions are properly utilised

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) of collecting money from Nigerian workers but giving same to private housing developers.

    The umbrella labour union said this was against the interest of the workers who contributed their money into the National Housing Fund (NHF). 

    The NLC expressed misgivings about the development as House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas said the House would ensure that those who mismanaged workers’ contributions to the NHF would be held to account for them. 

    The Speaker, who spoke through Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, stressed that the labour union would not allow the money contributed by workers to be mismanaged and diverted from the purpose it was meant for. 

    In a presentation to the ad hoc committee investigating non-remittance of contributions to the NHF and utilisation of the fund from 2011 to date, the NLC said it was considering the withdrawal of Nigerian workers from further contributing to the fund since they have not benefited from previous contributions. 

    Labour’s position was signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero, and General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja, and presented by a Vice President of congress, Benjamin Anthony. 

    Read Also: Deputy Senate President salutes Sultan of Sokoto at 67

    The NLC said: “Despite making the statutory contributions of 2.5 per cent of annual salary to the National Housing Fund, it is insensitive that many workers are unable to access the loan due to mainly administrative bottlenecks.

    “While the Act provides for 90 days from the date of application for the loan to disbursement, the experience by many workers is horrific as the undue delay in approving the loans force many workers to abandon pursuit of the loan or resort to third party agencies to fast-track the loan application, obviously at an unofficial fees; thus creating perception of corruption in the process of housing loan approval and disbursement to workers who need these funds. 

    “There are also issues of statutory bottlenecks that make it difficult for workers to access housing loans. Top on this list is the requirement for the provision of land title, especially in the form of a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) before a worker can access housing loan…” 

    “It is public knowledge that the process of getting a Certificate of Occupancy in Nigeria is akin to a camel passing through the eye of a needle. This challenge is endemic, given the chaos in land administration in Nigeria, as many states are yet to institutionalise fully digitalised geophysical information services (GIS) to aid seamless release of Certificate of Occupancy amidst other constraints.”

    Labour also alleged that many of the houses delivered to Nigerians under the fund were badly built while workers were forced to source loans from commercial banks or exhaust their savings to renovate such houses, among other bottlenecks.

    Abbas said the House was alarmed by the alleged non-remittance of workers’ contributions by employers.

    The Speaker said in other cases, mismanagement and misappropriation of the hard-earned salaries of Nigerian workers were mismanaged by the administering institution.

    He promised that the House would examine the law establishing the fund, which he said had become obsolete, and inject new things that would fit into modern needs of the people. 

  • NLC to govt: release Sowore, others

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described the arrest of Omoyele Sowore and other protesters in the last  peaceful protest as a breach of their fundamental human rights, as well as other Nigerians’ collective right to freedom of expression and association as enshrined in international and national instruments that strengthen democracy.

    The NLC, in a statement by the General-Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said Sowore and other protesters were not carrying arms against the state and demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

    He said: “His continued detention by the State Security Service lacks any justification, as his actions were not in any way a threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria nor the democratically constituted government of Nigeria.

    “He was just one out of several Nigerians demanding for good governance being the minimum demand citizens can make from a government they democratically elected.”

    The NLC said it was with deep consternation that it viewed the attacks and arrest of peaceful protesters in some parts of the country by security agencies and military personnel.

    “There is no where in our Constitution or laws that security agencies are empowered to brazenly attack peaceful protesters and hound its organisers into detention, as the right to peaceful protests, assembly and association is fully guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under sections 39 and 40,” the labour centre said.

  • NLC wants global action against Sudan

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for a global action against the military junta in Sudan to stop the ongoing carnage against defenceless citizens of the country.

    In a statement signed by Acting President, Comrade Najeem Yasin, the NLC said the action of the military junta was a betrayal of the people on whose back it rode to power and called on all persons of goodwill and the international community to take urgent decisive actions to call the junta to order and offer concrete measures for the protection of the lives of activists and the people of Sudan.

    The statement reads: “The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has watched with shock the massacre of over 100 pro-democracy activists and other persons by the military junta in Sudan. This blatant use of force against unarmed and defenseless civilians, which saw killings involving children and several injured persons over the sit-in by protesters to establish a democratic process in Sudan, is highly condemnable and should not be allowed to continue by the international community.

    Read Also: NLC seeks sanction against Morocco for occupying Western Sahara

    “It is instructive that the junta rode on the protests of pro-democratic forces that ousted former President Omar al-Bashir ostensibly to protect the protesters, only to turn its guns on them and the Sudanese population.

    “This is an unconscionable betrayal of the Sudanese people who had suffered untold hardship and violence in the hands al-Bashir’s Rapid Support Forces or Janjaweed which the junta had recently unleashed on pro-democracy activists.

    “While applauding the timely suspension of Sudan by the African Union (AU) and the intention of the UN to intervene in the political crisis, we call on all persons of goodwill and the international community to take urgent decisive actions to call the junta to order and offer concrete measures for the protection of the lives of activists and the people of Sudan.

    “The global community should unite to stop this carnage by the military before it escalates into more killings that would derail the momentum of the struggle to reestablish negotiations leading to civilian rule under an atmosphere of free and fair election”

     

     

  • Ex-labour leader flays NLC for invading Ngige’s home

    A former Secretary of the National Union of Banks of Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), Mr David Azuokwu, has condemned the recent invasion of the home of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    Azuokwu said the invasion, which was supposedly to pressure the minister to inaugurate Chief Frank Kokori as the Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), was a lawless action.

    The former labour leader noted that the NLC’s action was alien to labour laws.

    He described the invasion of minister’s private residence and threat to his life as criminal.

    Azuokwu advised the National Executive Council (NEC), the Central Working Committee (CWC) and all other organs of the NLC to call its President Ayuba Wabba to order.

    The ex-NUBIFIE scribe noted that Wabba has no power to query any appointment by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Labour and Employment.

    He said: “The NLC action, led by its President Ayuba Wabba, is unknown to Nigerian and international labour extant laws guiding trade disputes and grievances. The illegal invasion in the guise of picketing the private residence of the minister, Dr Chris Ngige, is highly condemnable and should not be allowed in the country.

    “The appointment of any qualified Nigerian into political office at the Federal level is the prerogative of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or by the recommendation of the supervisory minister, in this case, the Minister of Labour and Employment.

    “The provision of Section 4(1) (a) of the 1993 NSITF Act, vests the sole power to make recommendation for the appointment of the chairman of the board of NSITF on the President on the Minister of Labour and Employment.”

    Azuokwu said the NLC president and members of the union were not recognised by the NSITF Act to nominate or recommend any person for the position of the chairman of the board. “Nigerians wonder where the NLC president got the powers to compel the minister to swear in their preferred candidate as the chairman without presidential approval,” he said.

    Citing the law establishing the NSITF, the former NABUFIE scribe explained that Section 4(1)(b)(ii) of the NSITF Act gives the NLC the prerogative to nominate two representatives to the board of NSITF. He said such nominees must go through the recommendation of the minister to the President.

    “Their two nominees were duly recommended and approved by the President. What then is the interest of NLC and its President insistence on a particular person? Can Ayuba Wabba tell us the hidden interest that is making him to act outside his jurisdiction? Is there any compromise, which has emboldened the NLC President to throw caution to the wind? Or what extraneous factors are driving him to the illegalities in this matter?” Azuokwu queried.

  • NLC greets ex-Namibian President Nujoma at 90

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described freedom fighter and former Namibian President Sam Nujoma as a revolutionary pan-Africanist and hero of the continent’s fight for liberation from colonialism.

    In a birthday message by NLC President Ayuba Wabba to the former leader of the South West Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO), the umbrella labour union noted that despite being elected President with a vast majority of votes, Nujoma refused to hold on to power as is the case with most African leaders.

    The NLC recalled how the freedom fighter led his people to independence and proved to be a more successful political leader than a freedom fighter.

    The statement reads: “The NLC celebrates Comrade President Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma as he turns 90 today. The good grace of long life makes Comrade Sam Nujoma one of the few surviving revolutionary pan-Africanists and heroes of Africa’s fight for liberation from colonialism. Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda is another of such surviving heroes.

    “On a day like this, we celebrate the steel, character, resilience and unsullied sense of patriotism that has defined the life of Sam Nujoma. Born in 1929 to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Uutoni Helvi Nujoma, Sam Nujoma cut his teeth in the struggle for the liberation of Namibia, then known as South West Africa, as a trade unionist with the South African Railways.

    “Sam Nujoma moved on to become the founding President of SWAPO. He led the SWAPO in one of the world’s longest war for independence – from 1966 to 1990. After the November 1989 general election in Namibia, Comrade Sam Nujoma was sworn in as the President of the Namibian Republic.

    “Comrade Sam Nujoma proved to be a more successful political leader than a war General. His visionary and altruistic land reform programme went smoothly with his national reconciliation agenda and set the pace for a stable Namibia, an example that neighbouring Zimbabwe failed to re-enact, thus throwing the country into unnecessary chaos.

    “Despite being elected with a soaring margin of 76.8 per cent of the votes cast in the 1999 Namibian general election, Comrade Sam Nujoma refused to fall for the lure of “presidency for life”. Instead, he supported one of his fellow comrades, Hifikepunye Pohamba, to succeed him in 2004.”

    “Namibia has continued to thrive on the strong foundation of inclusion, equity, justice, robust infrastructural development and stability as bequeathed by Comrade Sam Nujoma.”

  • NLC to Buhari: raise judicial commission of inquiry to probe NSITF

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to institute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the activities of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) since the dissolution of the last board to unearth the financial dealings in the organisation.

    The call is coming as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, asked workers who are members of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to disregard the directive by their President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, to embark on a national protest on Monday over the attack on workers while picketing the his house on Wednesday, describing the call as unlawful.

    At the end of its Central Working Committee meeting on Thursday at the Labour House in Abuja, Wabba tod newsmen that the congress had decided to embark on a national protest in Abuja on Monday against the minister’s action of “inviting thugs” to attack workers.

    The workers had gone to the house of the Minister to picket him over failure to inaugurate the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) headed by Chief Frank Kokori.

    President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the call for a commission of inquiry has become necessary since the Minister has alluded to the fact that there was corruption in the agency which handles the social welfare of Nigerian workers.

    Wabba said: “Since the minister has been talking about corruption in the NSITF, we are calling for a judicial commission where everybody, including the minister, should go and make presentations. So that at the end of the day, we should be able to unearth those behind the corruption he is talking about.

    “We want to find out if the board that has not been inaugurated is responsible for this fraud he is talking about or whether this corruption was carried out under his watch as a sole administrator of the NSITF.

    “We are against corruption. That was why when he said he wanted to clean up the place after EFCC forensic audit of the place, we agreed with him. But he has been looking for different excuses not to inaugurate the board, even when the President directed him to do so.

    “The NLC had two representatives in the dissolved board, and after the EFCC investigation, nothing was found against any of our people there. It was his Permanent Secretary that was arraigned in court.

    “So, we are asking the President to set up the commission so that we all go there and tell them all that we know for the whole world to see.”

    Wabba insisted that workers would be on the streets in Abuja on Monday on a national protest, which is the first in the series of activities lined up to ensure that the minister does not have his way.

    However, Special Assistant on Media to the minister, Nwachukwu Obidiwe, said in a statement made available to newsmen that calling out workers on a “flimsy and selfish” excuse of non-inauguration of the board of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) with Comrade Frank Kokori as the Chairman did not constitute a trade dispute as contained in the Labour Act.

    He said: “The issue in question is political. It is about the exclusive right of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to make an appointment.

    “This is clearly outside the purview of the Trade Union and Trade Disputes Act, hence imperative for workers to go about their normal businesses.

    “It is important to state here that every worker is supposed to put in eight hours of work per day for five days in a week in line with the ILO Convention.

    “Therefore, using the office hours for such protest without the approval of the employers is unlawful.

    “The forty hours a week which the Nigerian workers subscribed to should be used for productive ventures, especially in view of the new National Minimum Wage and the consequential financial adjustments.”

    He dismissed the directive by the NLC to workers to attack him and his family members anywhere they were sighted, describing it as a criminal offence for which he was already taking necessary legal action.

    A civil society organisation, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy, wants President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the crisis, saying the long silence of the President was not helping matters.

    The group in a statement signed by its National President, Comrade (Engr.) Igbini Odafe Emmanuel, however, condemned the invasion of the residence of the minister, saying although Dr. Ngige was a minister of the federal republic, he was still entitled to his privacy, adding that the person of Chief Frank Kokori does not deserve the level of humiliation being extended to him by the controversy surrounding the inauguration of the board of the NSITF.

  • NLC: minister not fit to hold public office

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed workers at the nation’s airports and those in the 163 countries that are members of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to subject the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, to ridicule for inviting thugs against workers during a “lawful protest” in his house.

    Rising from its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting last night, the congress demanded what it called unreserved apology from the minister for his action.

    It also advised the government to ensure that the minister was not reappointed into the next cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, after the meeting.

    He said the minister’s action indicated that he was not fit to occupy a public office and should not be reappointed in the next administration.

    Wabba said Ngige has no right to change the appointment by President Buhari on the excuse that he did not recommend Chief Frank Kokori to head the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) board.

    Read also: Ngige seeks apology from Labour over ‘invasion’

    The labour leader said the real reason the minister opposed Kokori was because the veteran labour leader cannot be compromised.

    He stressed that since the minister had been talking about corruption at NSITF, the government should set up a judicial commission of enquiry to verify the actual corrupt persons in the agency.

    Wabba said even after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation into the financial activities of the previous board in which a Permanent Secretary in the ministry was charged, NLC’s representatives on the NSITF board were not found wanting.

    “Who are the actual corrupt people in NSITF? Is the board that has not been inaugurated or it is the minister?” he queried.

    Wabba said the NLC had sent messages to workers in the 163 countries with ITUC membership to embarrass the minister, especially at airports where workers operate.

    On criticism that has trailed the decision of organised labour to picket the minister’s home, he said: “Ngige is a public officer holding a public office. Until he leaves office, even his house is a public place. Even Presidents of the world have been picketed in their homes. In any case, we did not access his house. We were only on the street. He has abandoned his office and has been operating from his house; the house has been his second office for some time now and he has been avoiding any place where he will come in contact with us.

    “We insist that the money in NSITF belongs to workers because it is a contribution of employers to take care of the social needs of their workers. That is the only reason labour and Nigeria Employers  Consultative Association (NECA) have two members each on the board. Even the Ministry of Labour has only one member.”

    “So, we are demanding that the board headed by Kokori be inaugurated and all the thugs who attacked us in the full glare of security agents be investigated and prosecuted. We are actually surprised that nothing has been done so far.”