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Tag: NLC

  • NLC seeks sanction for pension non-remittance

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for sanction on those who failed to remit pension or unauthorised withholding of pension funds.
    Its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said non-remittance of deductions or contributions by some employers, including federal and states government, constitute a threat to the pension scheme, subjecting pensioners to untold hardship.
    He urged the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to enforce sanctions for non-remittance of pension deductions as and when due.
    The NLC chief also asked the Federal Government to lay a good example by promptly remitting its pension funds.
    He said: “The federal and state governments and some other employers of labour are in the habit of withholding contributory pension deductions running into several months in arrears.
    “The unauthorised withholding of pension funds is a contravention of the Pensions Act 2004 as amended.
    “We also urge the federal and state governments and other employers of labour to ensure that pension deductions are promptly remitted to the appropriate organs of the scheme.”
    Wabba advised those canvassing for the investment of pension funds in infrastructure to take note that these funds may not be ideal for this purpose as they are invested in Federal Government’s bonds and treasury bills, saying in view of the volatility of the financial market, any investment must guarantee the safety of the funds.
    Speaking on the 2017 budget, Wabba urged the government to comprehensively reform its budget process as well as put in place a transparent and accountable system in line with the principles of good governance.
    “We urge the government to put in place a more pocket-friendly template on petroleum pricing in consideration of the blow dealt to wages and quality of life by naira devaluation and inflation and the prices of crude in the international market,” he added.

  • NLC seeks more pay for workers to cushion recession

    Labour has demanded an increase in workers’ pay to cushion recession. At the 15th Harmattan School, a training for labour leaders in Kaduna, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said workers’ purchasing power had reduced and was affecting other sectors of the economy. He said unless there is a new wage regime, the contributory pension scheme (CPS) would not be a reality.

    Wabba noted that developments in the economy, such as the increase in the pump price of petroleum products, rise in prices of commodities, increased tariff on utilities, and social services have made the demand more urgent.

    The fight against corruption, he said, would  be more successful if workers are well paid, adding that the foot-dragging by the government in constituting a committee to deliberate on the demand was uncalled for.

    Wabba said the CPS  would enhance life after retirement for workers. He enjoined the legislature to be fair in the  passage of its bill to make it practicable and sustainable.

    “In most cases, both the government and capitalists perceive us as liabilities or as if we are part of the problem. But we are not part of the problem; rather, we are the solution.

    “The capitalists see labour union as opposition. They see us as a threat, but no matter what, we always fight for our rights,” Wabba said.

    He expressed NLC’s concern at the free-fall of the naira and the abortive efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to arrest the trend.

    The NLC president said the Union noted the harm and pain the massive devaluation and the attendant inflation have wrought on millions of families across the country.

    “We noted that this situation may escalate into a state of national panic except a solution to the economic malaise is found soon. We urge the government to take all measures necessary to arrest the recession and turn the economy around.

    “This includes recovering the un-remitted bail-out fund given to commercial banks by government with no re-payment reschedule and the billions of naira similarly given as bail-out to private airlines with nothing to show for it.

    “We urge the government to sustain its war against corruption by ensuring good governance and the prosecution of all corrupt cases and recovery of stolen funds,” Wabba said.

    He added that labour is worried over the destruction of critical oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta by militants in pursuance of a redress for decades of degradation of the Niger Delta region by oil exploration.

    He noted that the deployment of violence in prosecution of an otherwise noble cause is not in the overall interest of Nigerians or Niger Deltans, as this violence has led to further degradation of the environment, loss of lives and revenue to the nation.

  • Enugu, NLC mark 67 anniversary of Iva Valley massacre

    THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, asked Nigerians to stop being obsessed with Lamentations and despondency, but to rededicate themselves with commitment to mobilize, defend and protect the rights of Nigerians in order to attain Justice in the country.

    Speaking during the commemoration of the 67th anniversary of the Iva Valley massacre in Enugu, President of Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said it was unfortunate that the same issues workers fought for 67 years have remained unaddressed till date. He accused the political class in the country of working against the interest of the Nigerian workers who toiled hard to bring to reality the nation’s independence from colonial rule.

    Wabba said workers in the country had never received anything positive from the political class without fighting for it, adding that the contradiction between the political class and the working people has never been so acute in the country than it is presently. He said: “It is exactly sixty-seven years ago, on this very day, within this very hour, on this very soil, and in this country that workers were brutalized, maimed and massacred by the colonial police under the British Empire.

    “At the end of this unprecedented mayhem and bloodbath visited on the working class, 21 workers of the Enugu Coal Mines lay dead in a pool of their own blood and 51 others injured. They were callously mowed down for demanding better conditions of service in their workplace.

    “The Iva Valley massacre is symbolic given that the issues that led to agitation by the coal miners 67years ago are still very much with us today. The events that led to the massacre of workers in Iva Valley and the response of the ruling class to workers agitation for better working conditions have not changed from what they were in the colonial period.” Meanwhile, the NLC paid glowing tributes on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for prioritizing the welfare of workers in the state and ensuring that their wages are paid regularly.

    The workers spoke during a solidarity rally organized to commemorate the anniversary of the colonial government’s slaying of 21 workers who were agitating for better working conditions on November 18, 1949, at the Iva Valley Coal Mine, in Enugu. NLC’s head of Industrial Relations and Organizing department, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboajah, who represented the body’s national president, noted that it’s on account of this history that Enugu holds a special place in the annals of trade unionism in Nigeria.

    “It’s instructive that on the eve of our coming here to commemorate that shedding of blood for workers to be emancipated and have decent lives, Enugu State received solid accolades as one of three states that is regular in taking care of basic responsibilities like payment of salaries and sundry workers issues.

    “So it was refreshingly heartwarming for us that the labours of our heroes past are not in vain particularly in Enugu State,” he said, adding that it’s ironic that states that were better endowed are defaulting with regard to this obligation. He noted that having found the “magic wand” in the prudent management of resources and ensuring workers receive their due, the governor should endeavour to share same with colleagues at the national level because “injury to one is injury to all.” Governor Ugwuanyi, represented by the commissioner of labour and productivity Barrister Emeka Okeke, enjoined the workers to use the commemoration of the coal miners’ sacrifice made 67 years ago to work diligently to preserve and promote the ideals they fought for across the country

  • Nigeria, others lose $60b yearly to illicit financial flows, says NLC

    • ‘$39b lost to tax evasion’

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) hassaid Nigeria and other countries in Africa lose $60 billion yearly to illicit financial flows. It added that two-thirds of that amount is lost to manipulation of commercial transactions rather than criminal activities or corruption.

    He urged the Federal Government and other African countries, through the African Union (AU), to end all  illicit financial flows from the country and the continent.

    Its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, urged President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders on the continent toact decisively on issues of tax.

    He said “We believe that rather than lament, we will continue to work with our governments to explore and exploit imaginative ways and means to overcome these limitations holding us back from attaining our share of prosperity.We demand that Nigerian government act decisively on and around issues of tax justice, while also calling on her African sister governments to do same.”

    He reminded President Buhari that last year, the African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows convened by the AU Finance Ministers, and chaired by South Africa former President,  Thabo Mbeki, had a comprehensive report on how revenue is leaving Africa illicitly.

    “The report has established that up to $60 billion is lost to Africa every year, and two-thirds of that amount is lost due to manipulation of commercial transactions rather than criminal activities or corruption,” Wabba said.

    He pointed out that tax evasion and avoidance, such as using tax havens to shelter profits that would otherwise be taxed by African countries, are costing the continent up to $39 billion yearly.

    Wabba said: “We know that stopping the financial bleeding of Africa’s resources from illicit financial flows activities will provide our governments with the needed public revenues that could pay for basic public needs such as education, portable public water and health care. The economic situation that Nigeria finds herself suggests she would seriously consider adopting pragmatic and progressive policy options.

    “To this end, the congress demanded that Nigeria government should be committed to genuine and effective implementation of the recommendations of the AU report on Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) from Africa.”

    The NLC chief also urged the government to pursue the creation and sustainability of a progressive tax base as a way of mobilising domestic resources.

    Wabba said this should include mass creation of jobs that will provide the opportunity for the expansion of the tax base.

    He also called on the Nigerian and African governments to commit to ensure that companies doing business pay their fair share of tax on the economic activities that take place within their jurisdictions.

    Wabba urged President Buhari and other leaders to strictly limit the use of discretionary incentives and provide transparent explanations and parliamentary reviews of incentives when they are used.

    He also called on them to cancel tax treaties with tax havens and stop signing new treaties with tax havens and developed nations, adding that the government and other African governments should undertake national and regional coordination to reduce harmful tax competition across borders.

  • NLC backs Buhari’s borrowing plan

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has thrown its weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to borrow about $30 billion to finance key infrastructure with a caveat that “we must not borrow to eat”.

    Speaking in an interview with The Nation in Abuja, NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the idea of borrowing to build infrastructure around the world was not a bad idea, but he emphasised on accountability and transparency.

    “All over the world, critical infrastructure are needed. In the case of Nigeria, one critical infrastructure that will drive development is power.

    “Once we don’t get stable power supply to power industries, motivate small and medium scale enterprises, we cannot actually arrive. Therefore, it is important that we build infrastructure.

    “There are two models by which we can build infrastructures and I will give you the Ethiopian model. We can open it to the public so that people can buy shares in the building of those infrastructure.

    “But people can have confidence if we have a transparent system because nobody will put his money in a corrupt system. That is what helped Ethiopia. Some civil servants paid two months of their salaries and through that, they generated $10 billion to build infrastructure of power and they are going to export power…

    “The fear of Nigerians is not collecting the loan. But what happens if it is misapplied or misappropriated because in the past people have borrowed money. Part of the Dasukigate is money borrowed to fund infrastructure. But at the end of the day, it ended up being shared.

    “The issue is not whether it is good to borrow or not. Whatever borrowing we are going to do, let us not borrow to eat or to service other areas. Let it be dedicated to the issue of railway and power. But we can use what we generate locally to build roads.”

     

  • Strike: NLC warns Ogun government

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the Ogun state government to embrace meaningful dialogue in resolving the current crisis between it and workers in the state in order to avoid a major industrial dispute from organised labour in the country. In a letter dated October 27, 2016 and addressed to the the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, the congress also offered to mediate between the government and workers in the state.

    In the letter signed by the General Secretary of Congress, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, the NLC also warned against the use of police to harass and intimidate labour leaders in the state, pointing out that the demands of the workers are legal and covered by extant labour laws in the country.

    The letter reads: “We convey to you greetings from the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter on the above subject matter. We are surprised by the stance of the state government on genuine agitations of the workers in Ogun State.  Instead of the state government to create an avenue for dialogue and resolution of the crisis, it is engaging in name-calling which will only exacerbate the problem.

    “We are also surprised to hear that the Nigeria Police have cordoned-off the office of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Ogun State and have resorted to intimidating the Labour leaders in the state.  We are also disturbed by attempts being made on the lives of the Labour Leaders in the state. The Nigeria Police are expected to be neutral in this matter and are not expected to harass or intimidate workers who are pursuing their legitimate demands recognised by Nigerian Laws.

    “The present industrial action embarked on by the workers arose because of the failure of government to fully implement the March, 2016 collective bargaining agreement which led to the suspension of the strike in March.”

  • NLC to Fed Govt: avert CPS collapse

    NLC to Fed Govt: avert CPS collapse

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Comrade AyubaWahab has called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to collapse.

    He made this call at a briefing in Abuja.

    He said there was the need for the Federal Government t devise a means of remitting its share of pension contributions and deductions from workers’salary.

    According to him, the government had not remitted its contribution since last October and that this was threat ening the scheme.

    He said it was sad that the private sector employers had not been remitting their contributions and that of their employees.

    He said: “I think it is, particularly, sad that the Federal Government has not remitted his contribution from October last year till date. This is a threat to the scheme. There is also the issue of the government not funding the retirement bond account that is with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for people that have to retire.

    “These are some of the areas that we think we have to look into. We have to look at the challenge and put the pensioner at heart even when we are investing the fund. It is not free money. It is the pensioner’s money that is being kept in trust. So, it is really a challenge and, therefore, we have called on the government to try to find means and ways of making sure that the scheme does not collapse.

    “This was the problem that affected the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS). It was clear lack of funding and if we are at this point where contribution is also not being paid to the retirement savings account of workers, certainly the new scheme is under threat and therefore I think it is an issue. We have tried to find a means of engaging government but I think it is an important issue that government should look into to ensure that the scheme does go down.”

    Wahab said the CPS had come a long way. It had been running for 12 years and had been really successful, he said.

    He further said other emerging challenges which needed to be addressed to ensure safety of their investments in view of the economic challenge should also be looked into.

  • NLC decries poor working condition in firms

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has spoken against the poor and unsafe conditions in which Nigerian workers discharge their duties.

    Speaking with The Nation, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, said: “We demand that a labourer, a pensioner deserves his wages. There must be dignity in labour. Let us collectively end corporate greed, let there be enough so that there will be shared posterity.

    ”Despite that the world has witnessed unprecedented accumulation of wealth in the last one decade, the workers that have created the wealth have remained in abject poverty, this must not be allowed to continue to happen.”

    He said the condition of workers in Nigeria was nothing to write home, adding that the working class was facing a lot of difficulties because salaries are not being paid in some states  and many companies as at when due.

    In a related event, the Chemical and Non-Metallic Senior Staff Association (CANMPSSA) has urged the Federal Government to speed up the diversification of the economy.

    According to the association, the  Federal Government should explore diversification of such sectors as agriculture, tourism, solid minerals, hospitality and others to buffer its foreign exchange earnings. Its President, Mohammed Abdul Gafar, who stated this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, at the three-day Annual National Management/Industrial Relations Seminar and Entrepreneurship Skills Acquisition,  said the economy, which has defied all reasonable economic policies proposed so far, calls for more seriousness on the planned diversification.

    “The focus on crude oil as the major source of revenue for the economy has greatly incapacitated all other available sources of revenue in our country and, by implication, has affected our sector with the exchange rate of the naira to dollar rising astronomically,” he said.

    He reasoned that Nigeria, immensely blessed with skilled personnel, materials and natural resources, should not have been in the present precarious situation, but for lack of foresight of the past leaders.

    As a way out, the labour leader said the government should give priority to agriculture, which he said, has been a major source of revenue generation and raw material for manufacturing industries.

    “Efforts should be made to consolidate on massive production of cash crops segment of agricultural sector for exportation of agro-allied products to boost the revenue and increase the GDP of the country,” he stated.

    Gafar lamented that the effect of the present economic situation in the country has been devastating on the manufacturing sector, through the scarcity of foreign exchange, saying that government should march its words on backward integration with action.

    He noted that industries in the country have now embarked on various strategies to enable them remain in business, some which are detrimental to the workers.

    The CANMPSSA President said the union, as part of its contribution to resolving the problem, chose “Strengthening organisational performance in a depressed economy: chemical and non-metallic products experience”, as the theme of its seminar.

    He said: “Our challenge is that nobody in government is paying attention to the problem in the manufacturing sector. It is so bad now that we wonder how industries are coping. So, as workers, we believe that we can work together, create synergy that will stabilise our organisations and increase our productivity.”

  • Bello condoles NLC chair Edoka

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has commiserated with the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Onu Edoka, on the death of his father, Pa Edoka.

    Bello, who described the late community leader as courageous, approachable and a fine gentleman, said his contributions to nation-building would be missed.

    The governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja, spoke at the weekend when he visited Edoka’s family in Okpo.

    He said the deceased lived a fulfilled life worth celebrating, and prayed for the peaceful repose of Pa Edoka.

  • How to exit recession, by NLC

    The Nigerian Labour Congress  (NLC) has cautioned the Federal Government against taking decisions that could compromise the people’s welfare.

    Speaking with The Nation, NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said well-thought out people-oriented policies would help get Nigeria out of recession.

    “I find it appropriate to caution government against using the present challenges as a basis for taking panic decisions that could compromise the welfare of the people, undermine the national asset base and security.

    “Accordingly, I urge Nigerians to take a long and positive view of our country instead of indulging in self-recrimination and bitterness that hurts the majority of us. We could have done better, certainly. We have been betrayed, no doubt,” Ayuba said.

    In a related event, NLC has accused the Federal Government of seeking to implement the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) recommended policy and condition on the sale of national assets.

    In a statement by NLC signed by Wabba, he said the step being taken by the Federal Government was part of the policy and conditions given to the government by the IMF when its president visited Nigeria recently.

    Wabba said the IMF came with the idea to devalue the naira, remove subsidy and sell some strategic assets, stressing that the same conditions were given to the country in 1984, which eventually led to the policies and implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP).

    He said IMF-recommended policy and conditions have never worked in any African country and therefore cannot work now in Nigeria.

    Wabba said many countries have been doing well in managing their wealth without necessarily implementing recommended IMF policies, stressing that the difference is in the attitude of the leaders.

    The NLC boss said Congress would mobilise a team of lawyers to challenge the call for the sale of the strategic assets.

    He reminded the country’s leaders that adopting and accepting IMF policies would drag the country back to the era of SAP and plunge the country into a bigger economic crisis.