Tag: NLC

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that trade unions in Africa must continue to oppose the privatisation of national assets across the continent and the refusal of foreign companies to pay tax to governments in the continent.

The congress also said that African economies have been and remain devastated due mainly to the gullible acceptance of neo-liberal policies dumped on them and the refusal by government to develop home grown policies that are capable of making the African continent the greatest in all spheres of human development.

Speaking at the 10th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Trade Union Congress of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, President of the Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the time has come when African countries, especially the African Union should revisit the alternative economic policies developed by the Economic Commission for Africa in the 80s.

Wabba, who said that the NLC has a long organisational relationship with the TUC Ghana, said such relationships “was intended to build a strong trade union network that is capable of confronting issues arising from global conspiracies against our various peoples by global institutions that insist they must drive our lives for their own selfish interests and purposes through policies and programmes that ensure  jobs become outsourced fundamentally to increase profits and not to protect the interests of the worker.

“They also compel governments to stop spending on public institutions and services so they can be sold out to private individuals and multinationals to deny our people access to quality and affordable services as a result of high costs of the services.

“They control our governments to entrench bad governance; kill our industries, resulting in high rate of unemployment and export of our best professionals to help grow their economies and systems in Europe and America; and impose their products on us after incapacitating our infrastructures.

“These are all in the name and under the guise of globalisation and neo-liberal economics which the originating countries are already jettisoning.

“We as trade unions must be vigilant and ready to defend the rights of our people to good governance, access to quality education, health facilities, housing, electricity, jobs and functioning infrastructures developed and maintained with our taxes as public institutions and services.

“We must consistently oppose the privatisation of the collective assets and interests of our people, as well as export of taxes expropriated by foreign companies allowed to operate in our various countries without paying appropriate taxes to the state.

“Our economies have been  devastated in all the countries in Africa, due mainly to the gullible acceptance of neo-liberal policies dumped on our governments who have refused to develop home grown policies that are capable of making this continent the greatest in all spheres of human development.

“As we achieved political independence, we are yet to strip ourselves of policy dependence. It is our duty as trade unions to mobilise our people to ensure we assist our governments to break the ice of underdevelopment.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday cautioned against using the budget padding controversy to weaken the leadership of the National Assembly or settle political scores.

In a statement in Abuja by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, NLC said the controversy showed the weakness in the nation’s budgeting system and the fact that projects were not conceived and implemented based on needs of the people, but those behind the projects.

The congress added that rather than go after individuals, the government should look critically at the nation’s budgeting system, which has failed the people.

The statement reads: “The controversy over the padding of the 2016 budget is an incontrovertible evidence of the inherent weaknesses in our budgeting process and underscores the need for a thorough revisit.

“It also reveals the imperfections and distrust in project identification and implementation system and failure of the model of capital budgeting without a development plan framework. It shows that projects are not implemented according to needs-value or priority but who is behind which.

“In light of the foregoing, we wish to state that instead of going after individuals, government should do a soul-search and x-ray a budgeting system that fails to address the needs of the people.

“We caution against using the development to settle political scores or unduly weaken the National Assembly.

 ”A strong National Assembly is a necessity for a vibrant democracy.  We urge Nigerians to be slow to anger in matters of this nature as they have little or no reason to be too trusting of any political office holder, so that in the end, they do not end up victims of other people’s wars.

 ”Even as vitriol and bile have risen, it is important to distinguish between genuine and phony constituency projects, for in truth, constituency projects are obligations owed constituents by lawmakers.

“Finally, we call for caution, because how the issues in contention are resolved will shape the direction of our democracy; deepen or weaken it. Equally important is the fact that it avails us an opportunity to revisit our budgetary system and the need for development planning”.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is to partner the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to fight corporate greed in work places subjecting millions of workers to modern slavery, while plunging the world’s economy into global financial crisis.

Speaking at the ITUC ‘Stop Corporate Greed’ campaign for the African region, ITUC’s General Secretary Sharon Burrow said there are over 45 million workers subjected to modern slavery daily as a result of the greed of corporate bodies.

She said trade unions must not watch workers treated inhumanly, adding that while productivity was increasing, wages and other benefits continue to decline.

Burrow lamented the lack of social protection for workers, especially in Africa, saying while laws on social security are available in countries, including Nigeria, these laws were not well implemented.

She decried the growing anti-union disposition of many employers in the private sector, who deny workers the right to unionise, as well as the increasing rate of extremism which she said comes from exclusion.

The general secretary assured workers that the body will support the NLC and others to fight for workers.

NLC’s President  Comrade Ayuba Wabba accused politicians and government officials of making obscene and offensive concession to businesses at the expense of the masses.

Wabba said: “We are witnesses to the ills and iniquities of multinational enterprises. From 2007-08 when corporate greed and market rascality plunged the world into a financial and, later harrowing economic crisis, working men and women, pensioners and communities suffered immense losses. Till date, the miseries and hardship caused by their reckless and greedy actions have left scars on people, households, communities and economies.

“Shockingly, rather than side with their people, constituents and constituencies, politicians and governments have continued to make obscene and offensive concessions to businesses and the elite providing them tax havens to hide their criminal and corrupt wealth and loot by so doing, avoiding and dodging taxes.

“For the poor and citizens, they have rewarded them with damning, hard and biting austerity measures. Thus, living and working conditions stagnant and getting worse – the poor getting poorer, whilst the rich richer at the expense and damnation of the poor”.

The NLC President said a recent Oxfam report indicate that 62 persons control more than half of the global wealth, “to put the picture of the report in vivid and analytical perspectives is to imagine the depth of depravity and exclusion of capitalist globalisation given the patently unjust disproportionate distribution of global prosperity.

“The facts speak: the wealth of the richest 62 has increased by more than half a trillion dollars to $1.76 Trillion, monies made on the backs and brows of working men and women, including the armies of the informal economy workers. We create the wealth

“The same report pointed to the fact that global wealth share of the poor has dropped by 38 percent. The poor all around us continue to live in dire, marginal and despondent existence. The situation is worse for our women and the armies of the unemployed.

“These days, the rank of the working poor is expanding as the phenomenon of exploitation is crossing even to public sector where workers are owed and denied their wages for months, especially in States and Local Government Areas.

“Given that African trade unions have longed resolved to move away from lamentation and self-pity, we have warmly welcomed the initiative of the ITUC to aggressively drive this campaign aimed at halting and reserving corporate greed and their effects on workers, women, our communities and economies”.

Also speaking through the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Mrs. Obiageli Nwokedi, The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal assured that the Buhari government was committed to the welfare of workers and the Nigerian people.

 

 

 

 

Organised labour yesterday accused governors of mismanaging the bailout fund from the Federal Government.

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Ayuba Wabba yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the fund.

He spoke while addressing the striking members of the congress in Lokoja.

 Wabba frowned at the action of officers and men of the Kogi State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in its attempt to disperse workers, who were gathered at the Secretariat of the Medical and Health Workers Union.

He said: “I want to use this medium to call on the President to investigate the bailout mismanagement. This is an administration that believes in the rule of law and we are fighting corruption.

“Therefore, Mr President must gather the will and courage to ensure that no arm of government will be allowed to undergo this process, especially the mismanagement of bailout fund. ICPC has come up with a report, which stated that many states have misappropriated the bailout. The purpose for which it was intended has been jeopardised.

“Therefore, we call on the Federal Government to institute a high-powered committee to investigate the utilisation of the bailout fund because the bailout is a loan. If it is wrongly applied, it also means that in years to come, those states will also be in a difficult predicament. This is what we are calling Mr President to do.”

The NLC President told the workers that: “The price for liberty is internal vigilance. We have heard your predicament. But we thought we cannot have the comfort of sitting in Abuja without coming to see you and confirm the information we heard and chart the way forward.

”No strength on earth is stronger than the combine strength of all of us. They can bring all the forces on earth, the combine strength of all of us will match them. So, let me say that if this issue is not addressed within the next four weeks, the entire working people of Nigeria will match on Kogi.

“We have six million members of NLC. I assure you that two million people will be here. If they think because you are few in number, they can intimidate and divide you, we can declare a national action on the issue of Kogi.

“It is the height of ungodliness for anybody to work for seven months and is not paid. Even God almighty says before your sweat dry on your body, you must be paid. I am aware that most of you are fasting because you have not been paid and soN because God answer the prayers of the desperate, I want you to raise your hand and ask God for whatever you want.

“It will amount to cruelty for any worker to work for seven months and is not paid. It will amount to cruelty for a pensioner to put into service the better part of his life in service and not paid. It will amount to cruelty to pass false information just to incriminate people.

“Let us not forget that the reason why we are in this predicament is because our leaders have not been very responsible. Leaders are appointed by God and so, they should know that they will account to God. You accumulate whatever you want to accumulate, but one day you must account to God.”

•Anti-corruption war not selective, says Makarfi

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the abolition of security vote for the president and governors.

NLC President Ayuba Wabba told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that security vote had become an avenue for siphoning public funds.

“The issue of security vote is another form of corruption; in fact, there was a particular state which took N1 billion in one month as security vote.

“It is an avenue for corruption. In good governance, all monies spent by government are budgeted and transparently applied.

“That is what happens in other spheres; so for our sake, the issue of security vote should be done away with.

“All monies to be spent should be transparently budgeted for, including the so-called security vote, so that it can be tracked, to prevent corruption.”

Also, Wabba called for the removal of the immunity clause from the constitution, to enable the president, his vice, governors and their deputies to be prosecuted for a criminal offence.

He noted that such political leaders in other parts of the world do not enjoy immunity against criminal prosecution, adding that Nigeria should not be an exception.

The NLC president said that immunity was hindering the fight against corruption and decried a situation whereby political office holders could not be prosecuted for criminal offence.

“Even after they leave office, they use their influence and resources they have accumulated to frustrate prosecution.

“I have seen cases that lasted for eight to 14 years and were inconclusive. Some of these cases outlived the life of the administration that started the probe, due to this particular challenge.

“There are some cases that started before the administration of former President Olusegun Obansajo till now, it is still ongoing.

Waba said that nobody should be given immunity against criminal prosecution while in office.

He, therefore, stressed the need to review the constitution to address loopholes that gave room for some political leaders to steal the commonwealth.

Also yesterday, Chairman, National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, advocated institutional reforms to shield security votes from abuse.

Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State, gave the advice in an interview with NAN in Kaduna.

He said it was important “to set up a machinery for an institutional reform on how security votes are managed.

“This affects not only the federal government, because if you come down to the states, you are going to find similar happenings.

“Even local government chairmen have security votes and you are going to find that their expenditure follows similar pattern.”

The PDP national chairman also spoke on the corruption war embarked by the Federal Government, saying that the war was not politically-motivated.

He however cautioned against targeting the wrong people so as not to derail the anti-corruption war.

According to him, the government and security agencies have the right to invite people to explain issues that might arise in the course of investigation “weather you are in PDP or not, whether you are a politician or not.”

“If am to be fair, I will not say it is politics.

“If you are invited purely on the issue of campaign funds, anybody can be invited to explain, it depends on the essence of the report.’’

Makarfi said in doing so, the government should avoid targetting “middlemen” and concentrate on “those who know the source of the money’’ being investigated.

The former governor stressed that the government should investigate and prosecute those who approved and released public funds illegally.

“You should be right to do so provided you know that the funds are from illegitimate source.”

The PDP national chairman also warned against investigating funds donated to political parties for campaigns, insisting that if the government wanted to do so, it must “investigate all donations.

“In all these issues, you have to be careful to be able to find out for what purpose the funds were meant for, because sometimes. they may not be purely for political reasons.

“You have to get the facts right, because under Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) for instance, we had contracts and money for politics.

“If you are going to look deeply, definitely religious leaders, traditional rulers and other national figures must have gotten some share too,” he said.

 

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it will tackle governors over non-payment and cuts in  salaries of workers.

NLC President Ayuba Wabba told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday that the congress would meet with its state councils to encourage them to respond to challenges in the states.

“We may declare a state of emergency in the area of non-payment of salaries and we are going to have a meeting with our state councils to respond to some of these challenges.

“We want to take stock of exactly what the issues are and we will also put appropriate employers on notice.

“We will declare a state of emergency because workers should not be made to bear the brunt of the challenges because they are not responsible.

“When the economy was good they did not enjoy, now there is a challenge, they are the worse hit, it should not be so; these are our arguments.

“But when they are taking such decisions, they also have to be balanced in taking such decision, it should not only apply to workers.

“Political office holders are still collecting their money even though they are proposing the reduction; they are still collecting the security vote we are talking about and they are still issuing bogus contracts.”

He said most countries that had experienced economy recession, had to take all interests into consideration before deciding to either cut salaries or stop payment of workers.

Wabba explained that salaries were not an allocation to workers, but remunerations earned in line with international best practices and in consonance with Convention 138 of the International Labour Organisation.

“Salaries of workers are not an allocation; therefore, the pronouncement by some of these governors, I think it is something that needs to be condemned.

“We are condemning it in strong terms; how much is N18,000?

“How much is the quantum of money that the governors are collecting and looting; let them compile it so that we can all see.

“Do not also forget, these workers need to live a decent life and to work and provide such services.

“If you do not pay them or pay them half of their salary, how would they live a decent life?

“How will these workers be able to take care of their immediate needs?’’

He advised state governors not to cut or stop payment of salaries due to economy recession but rather fashion out ways of generating funds for their states.

The NLC president also noted that some governors were proposing to sack workers.

He warned that such decision might lead to social instability and serious social consequences and vices in the states.

“Already, we have written a strong letter and we are proposing also to engage these governors to see how best we can look at this issue.”

He advised governors to ensure that they engaged with workers in a social dialogue before making any harsh decision that would not be beneficial to the workers.