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Tag: NLC

  • NLC accuses Senate of undermining labour

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused  the Senate leadership of undermining labour movement. It alleged that the Senate leadership was holding discussions with individuals who are not representatives of unions in the power sector, describing the meeting between the Senate leadership and individuals as a move to hijack the sector for selfish motives.

    In a statement signed by the NLC Deputy President, Joe Ajaero, the Congress urged the Senate and the National Assembly to stop every “unholy romance” with such group of individuals on issues in the power sector without involving the leadership of the union.

    The Congress insisted that the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) remained the two unions within the power sector, adding that any agreement reached without NUEE and SSAEAC would not be binding on workers in the sector.

    “We know that the Senate may have meant well and is desirous of resolving all public interest issues arising from all sectors of the  economy of which the power sector is one. We also acknowledge and appreciate one of the key roles of the National Assembly, which is their oversight function over the activities of the executive arm of government.

    “In exercising these functions, we urge the Senate not to allow it to be misled into being used by some individuals to achieve certain hidden agenda. This is to protect the Senate from being ridiculed and unwittingly dragged into on-going crisis within the NLC. The Senate president should know that the NLC presently has two factions with each having a complete set of organs and officers thus capable of engaging any of our social partners on any issue effectively nationwide. He has to be reminded that though we are making efforts toward reconciliation, we are still unfortunately fractionalised.”

    Ajaero said continuing with the discussions in this context and structure would be viewed as a conscious effort by the Senate to undermine the union and collude with fourth columnists to scuttle ongoing reconciliation effort within the Congress. It will also keep Nigerian workers and the movement perpetually divided to the benefit of the ruling elite and employers.

    However, Senate President Bukola Saraki assured labour unions that the Senate would ensure due consultation on all issues that affect workers.

  • NLC petitions minister on Togo’s rejection of ECOWAS travel certificate

    NLC petitions minister on Togo’s rejection of ECOWAS travel certificate

    The Togolese government may have given orders to airlines flying into the country not to carry Nigerian passengers holding the ECOWAS travel certificate, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Ayuba Wabba has said.

    Wabba said he was prevented from travelling to Lome with the ECOWAS travel document by Asky Airline on Monday.

    In a petition to the Minister of Interior, NLC General Secretary Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson said: “We bring to your attention a matter we consider to be of national significance.

    “In the morning of Monday, February 22, 2016, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, was prevented from travelling from the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to Lome, Togo, by officials of Asky Airline.

    “Officials of Asky Airline, who denied Comrade Wabba boarding on account of his ECOWAS Travel Certificate issued by the Federal Government on behalf of ECOWAS, said they were acting on the instructions of the Togolese government.  In other words, according to them, the government of Togo, a member of ECOWAS, does not recognise this document.

    “Comrade Wabba’s ECOWAS travel document was issued on July 16, 2015, and has an expiration date of July 15, 2017.  He has used the same document to enter Senegal and Ghana.

    “Immigration officials, who witnessed this incident, said many Nigerians have been subjected to this humiliating experience.  It is curious that at the time of ticket purchase, Asky Airline did not warn prospective passengers of ECOWAS origin that the Togolese government does not accept or recognise the ECOWAS Travel Certificate.

    “We are not aware of the fact that the Republic of Togo has withdrawn its membership of ECOWAS.  And if it is a subsisting member of ECOWAS, we find it inexplicable that it could mete out this kind of treatment to travellers of Nigerian origin.

    “We hold the view that Nigerians, wherever they are, are deserving of protection if they act within the law.  Comrade Wabba was expected at Lome this morning for an activity of ITUC-Africa.

    “The disruption of his travel plan and, by extension, denial of his participation at this major activity, has caused him considerable embarrassment as well as constituted a setback to the Nigeria Labour Congress and Nigeria.

    “Other Nigerians similarly treated, no doubt, have suffered losses. We wish to invite your intervention on this matter to save a recurrence.”.

     

  • NLC, NASS, govt meet over reversal of electricity tariff

    NLC, NASS, govt meet over reversal of electricity tariff

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Wednesday assured Nigerians that organised labour has commenced the process of compelling the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and operators of the nation’s power sector to reverse the recent increase in electricity tariff.

    President of the Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said in a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja that organised Labour held series of meetings with the leadership of the National Assembly and the Government with a view to effecting the tariff reversal.

    He expressed gratitude to Nigerians for turning out enmass across the country to protest the increase in tariff, pointing out that organised labour still believe that Nigerians should not be made to pay for the inefficiencies of operators of the power sector.

    The statement reads:”The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and our colleagues in the Trade Union Congress wish to express our profound appreciation and gratitude to Nigerian workers and people for coming out en mass across the country on the nationwide protest rally we called to voice our opposition to the 45 percent increase in electricity tariff which came into effect on February 1, 2016.

    “We wish to, in particular, commend our civil society allies who stood firmly with organised labour through the planning and execution of the February 8th rally. We thank Nigerians from all walks of life who saw the wisdom of our action and identified with the campaign.

    “Since the nationwide rally, the leadership of organised labour and our colleagues in civil society have been meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly, with the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, being present to underscore the importance they attach to this issue which affects every household in the country.

    “We are also having a meeting with the Federal Government under the Chairmanship of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige with a view to annulling the 45 percent tariff increase.

    “We wish to assure all Nigerians that we are focused on the main objective of our campaign to ensure that the tariff increase does not stand.

    “As we have argued in the course of the rally, we maintain that Nigerians should not be compelled to pay more for darkness, against the background of the flagrant disregard of the terms on which the distribution companies (DISCOs) and generation companies (GENCOs) were awarded our common patrimony in the name of privatisation.

    These companies have failed, for instance, to provide prepaid metres as stipulated in the terms of their contract. They have instead continued to violate this special clause by charging and forcing consumers to pay the arbitrary tariffs they have imposed, even as they fail most of the time to provide them the required electricity.”

    NLC President commended the governor for having the courage to reverse his action and recall the about 6000 workers wrongly sacked and expressed the hope that the committee set up to implement the agreement reached between labour and the government will faithfully carry out its assignment.

    He said: “The leadership of both NLC and TUC also wish to express appreciation to all affiliate industrial unions for mobilising their members to turn out in massive numbers for our action of closing down government and commercial activities in Owerri, the lmo State capital on February 10, 2016 to press home our demands for the recall of about 6000 lmo State workers in government parastatals wrongly sacked by the state governor, Rochas Okorocha.

    “While we thank the entire people of Imo State for their uncommon understanding and solidarity with our actions to protect the fundamental rights of workers in the state, we wish to acknowledge Governor Okorocha for having the courage to reverse himself once we convinced him that his action was unlawful and wrongheaded.

    “It is our hope that the committee put in place to implement the agreement entered into between us and the lmo State government will faithfully implement the terms of the agreement so that we could put behind us the ugly and unpleasant situation created by the purported sacking of the workers.

    “Our hope is that governments in other states, or even at the federal level, will learn from the lmo State case, to avoid creating situations that will bring organised labour to be at loggerheads with them on account of unjust and anti-worker policies.”

  • Federal Govt, NLC set for showdown over N5.14 trillion pension funds

    Federal Govt, NLC set for showdown over N5.14 trillion pension funds

    Federal agencies are considering all options to dance around dwindling oil revenues triggered by tumbling prices of crude at the international market. One of such options is a request by the Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the minister of Housing, Works and Power, to access the N5.14 trillion pension fund to finance critical infrastructure. But, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the proposal, reports OMOBOLA TOLU-KUSIMO

    “It should thus be avoided immediately before it gains ground within the corridors of power. It is a kite the congress and the generality of workers will not want to see fly in this circumstance.

    “Nigerian workers are worried when we remember that it was in the midst of the mess that the public sector had made of the public sector pension fund scheme that the unified pension fund scheme was established.

    “The thought of using our pension fund for investment in public sector infrastructure development is highly frightening given the well-known penchant for mismanagement inherent in public sector institutions in Nigeria.

    “The future of Nigerian workers cannot be guaranteed under a scheme controlled entirely by crass, profligate and often insensitive politicians famous for their careless handling of public funds.

    “We find it difficult to muster any confidence from anywhere to entrust our livelihood in the hands of a group that has historically and systematically decimated our collective resources over the years pauperising us at the slightest opportunity without any conscience.

    “Moreover, we want to state that the Minister in all intents has only seen a pool of funds and sees it as something that could be annexed for the usual things Nigerian politicians do with our funds. Our pension fund is managed by the PFAs under the advisory of PENCOM.

    “We are therefore at a loss how the minister wants to actualise this stated objective. What will be the mechanism for accessing this fund for infrastructure development without infringing the different laws put in place to manage the fund? Is he suggesting that the fraction set aside for PFAs to invest in public infrastructure development is small and should be a larger chunk?

    “Let it be noted that workers in Nigeria have become the weeping boys and girls of every government policies and actions. Whenever there is a down-turn in the economy; wicked and heartless politicians have always turned to workers in search of what they could get from our hard-earned tokens.

    “They have cut-down the little perks available to workers without any resistance while refusing to give up on their comforts but have instead increased the size of the budget to service their personal needs; they are currently indebted to workers in some instances and states, up to 15 months arrears and that is not sufficient; they are not paying the now expired minimum wage as prescribed by the law; yet, they are not satisfied; they are sacking workers with reckless abandon just like the 3,000 workers in Imo State last week yet, they are not done.”

    Governor Rochas Okorocha reinstated the workers after striking a deal with the NLC on a sharing formula accruing to the state from the federation account.

    The NLC chief described Fashola’s proposal as another stone being prepared to be cast at the workers by politicians in their effort at furthering their emasculation.

    He said: “The imperativeness of reminding our political leaders that Nigerian workers were not responsible for mismanaging the nation’s economy but the politicians becomes real given their present intentions.

    “We cannot therefore be made sacrificial lambs when anything goes wrong with the economy which our politicians have so hopelessly wrecked and continued to rape without any regard.

    “It is therefore immoral and careless to subject such fund which is the life-blood of workers to the itchy-fingers of politicians no matter how well intentioned.”

    Advising the minister to leave the pension fund alone, the NLC said: “If our politicians could mismanage the huge accruals to our treasuries from the oil and gas sector over the years, is it the pension fund that will be left unscathed?

    “In any case, since we are the owners of the fund, we insist that whatsoever benefits that purportedly will accrue to us as a result, we do not want to be part of it.

    “We also insist that before anything could be done regarding our pension contributions, we should be the first to know as the custodians of the interests and desires of the workers.

    “If Fashola intentionally wants to light the fire of debate on this, let him know that this is where we stand and should immediately bury the idea. We suggest that the MDAs and the government use their well known dexterity and creativity to look for funds elsewhere and take their lustful gaze away from workers’ pension funds.”

    “NLC will resist any action or policy designed to turn the nation’s pension funds into one of the sources of fund available for the use of the Federal Government. We will not tolerate this seeming ‘lusting after’ the purse of the pension fund. We will not take kindly to attempts by any politician to expose our life-savings to the vicissitudes of the politics we play in Nigeria today.

    “We have always remembered the greed with which successive governments have announced the degree of expansion in the size of the pension fund. When it was N2 trillion, they were watching, when they announced it was N3 trillion, the look on their faces changed; when they said it was over N4 trillion, they began to salivate and now that it has grown to about N6 trillion; it has become a frenzied and delirious attempt to annex it.

    “Unfortunately, we recognise all of these in the look on the faces and body language of those in government which has also become heavily expressed and resonated in the sound-bite of Fashola’s proposal. We say a resounding no to the use of pension fund for infrastructural development.”

    She said: “The major thrusts of the 2014 Act are the enhancement of the powers of the commission in its regulatory and enforcement activities, enhancement of the protection of pension fund assets, provision of greater opportunity for investment of pension funds in infrastructure and housing development, review of the sanctions regime to reflect current realities, provisions that would facilitate the participation of the informal sector and provide the framework for the adoption of the CPS by states and local government areas.

    “In exercise of the commission’s regulatory responsibility, it had issued regulation on investment of pension fund assets to further guide how the pension contributions should be invested.

    “The pension assets have been largely invested in Federal Government securities, equities, money market instruments and corporate debt. The Commission has been making efforts to stimulate growth in the economy by introducing new assets classes into the portfolio of the pension funds provided they are allowed by the Pension Reform Act 2014.

    In this regard, Infrastructure Funds and Bonds were introduced to bridge the gap in the financing of infrastructure and housing. However, despite the availability of over N3.95 trillion for infrastructure financing, over N156 billion has been taken leaving over three trillion untapped.

     

    PenOp’s position

     

    Chairman, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mr. Lounge Egherioude, believes the funds can be released to finance infrastructure, once the due process is followed.

    Longe, who doubles as Managing Director, AIICO Pension Ltd, says the PFAs can invest the fund in projects that are well conceived.

    According to him, investing the pension funds in infrastructure would generate better returns to pension scheme contributors, adding that nobody needs to be convinced with the minister’s proposal.

    His words: “It is not a matter of conviction but a matter of taking each step of its conviction through the right process.

    Yes, there is commitment around the table and a lot more energy. There is a realisation that we have nowhere to go and that our backs are against the wall. As it is now, everybody has to contribute his own part, and we, as PFAs, are ready to play our own part. But, the government and all other stakeholders need to play their own part.

    “We can invest the fund in projects that are well conceived. This catalyst fund will bring counterpart funding from the international community because if you don’t invest in your country, nobody will invest in it. If you provide the anchor funding, you are likely to attract international investment.

    “With the new PRA 2014, I can say that the industry is consolidated. There is more knowledge and commitment. What we need is serious government to see a completely different economic environment.

    “What we said during the meeting with the minister is that infrastructure investing requires clear concept and clear contract. There is also the reconstruction and recycle phase of money that has been spent by people paying for the infrastructure.

    “All of these will take time because if you are talking about the concept, we have to determine which of the projects to be selected and which we have already discussed. How will the projects be put together, who is going to implement the contract and who is going to have the concession?

    “The selection has to be done right. Then we proceed to construction which takes a few years. When will the construction be delivered? This must be stated in the contract. If it is a road project, how are you going to pay the tolls to make the facility refinance itself? These are the things that we need to do. These are the bolts and nuts and the way to move forward.

    Managing Director, Zenith Pension, Mrs. Nkem Oni-Egboma, said one would expect that pension fund should provide a sure gateway for the needed finance to fund infrastructural deficit but corruption, policy inconsistency and lack of appropriate investible products have hindered the deployment of pension fund to nation building.

    Speaking in Lagos during a symposium organised by the Nigeria Pension Consumer on the “Security and strategic deployment of pension fund in Nigeria for nation building”, Mrs. Oni-Egboma said a suitable investable vehicles like infrastructural bonds and equity with low risk must be created for Nigeria to harness the exponential growth in pension asset and channel it to achieve laudable infrastructural and structural transformation.

    She also stated the need for the right policy formulation that will provide conducive ground rules for the funds’ deployment.

    Speaking specifically on how to channel Nigeria Pension Fund towards infrastructural development for nation building, she said there is need for capacity building, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) among others.

    She explained that pension operators need to acquire necessary knowledge, expertise, skill and resources through the development of appropriate capacity programmes that would enable them play directly in infrastructure investment.

    Her words: “There must be a contractual arrangement between a public agency and a private sector entity. Through this agreement, the skills and assets of each sector are shared in delivering a service or facility for the use of general public. The government needs to ensure that all parties are carried along to build confidence with stakeholders.”

    “Floating of infrastructure bond targeted at specific public good and infrastructure with clearly defined exit route, private equity – targeted at infrastructural development like ARM Harith Infrastructure Fund for power project; appropriate government policy and stability that would create the enabling environment for the right financing from pension fund and collaboration with Nigeria Mortgage Re-financing Corporation”, she added.

  • Federal Govt, NLC set for showdown over N5.14tr pension funds

    Federal Govt, NLC set for showdown over N5.14tr pension funds

    Federal agencies are considering all options to dance around dwindling oil revenues triggered by tumbling prices of crude at the international market. One of such options is a request by the Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the minister of Housing, Works and Power, to access the N5.14 trillion pension fund to finance critical infrastructure. But, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the proposal, reports OMOBOLA TOLU-KUSIMO

    Going by the words of Finance Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the Federal Government is in talks for concessionary loans worth $3.5 billion from the World Bank and African Development Bank the (AfDB) to finance this year’s budget.

    But, the minister says no formal request has been made to the two international financial institutions ($2.5 billion from World Bank and $1 billion from AfDB). She said the government will tie the facilities to specific capital projects after the approval of the National Assembly.

    With the budget estimate still undergoing scrutiny, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has hinted of a plan to access the N5.14 trillion pension funds to develop critical infrastructure.

    The hint came on the heels of a presentation by the Director-General of the fund’s custodian – the National Pension Commission (PenCom) – Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu at the Villa during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and all the 36 governors.

    She told the chief executives that as at September, last year, about N4 trillion was available for infrastructure development out of theN5.1 trillion pension fund. According to her, the fund remains an untapped potential.

    A World Bank report has said that Nigeria’s infrastructural deficit requires a yearly investment of $15 billion (about N2 trillion) for the next decade in critical areas like housing, transport and power sectors.

    In times past, pension funds were invested in equities and bonds and the chunk held in government bonds as against  the real sectors such as roads, bridges, hospitals, rail, airports, fee paying universities and prisons, among others.

    In other climes, the economic strength of funds from contributory pension schemes play pivotal roles, especially in helping many countries like Canada, Japan, Australia and South Africa, among others, to aid economic growth and development.

    Within a decade, pension fund witnessed phenomenal growth from a deficit of more than N2 trillion (about $12.9 billion) in liabilities in 2004 to over N5.14 trillion in total assets as at October last year.

    The dilemma has been the inability of the Federal Government to access the funds owing to the strict regulation guiding Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to avoid bad management, corruption and policy inconsistency that characterised such schemes in the past.

    But, the dilemma has been compounded by the Nigerian Labour Congress’ (NLC’s) rejection of any further involvement in the application and management of pension funds. The organised labour has threatened a showdown should the government tamper with the scheme.

    Managers of the funds, including PenCom, the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodian (PFCs), have insisted on the creation of investable vehicles like infrastructural bonds and equity with low risk and the formulation of the right policy to provide a conducive ground rules.

    Such measures, when taken, will enable the government to harness the exponential growth in the funds and channel it to achieve laudable infrastructural and structural transformation.

    The question is how does the Federal Government meet these conditions to access the funds for the common good?

    The pension funds are the proceeds of eight per cent deductions from employees’ salary and 10 per cent of employee’s total monthly emolument contributed by the employer, based on the requirement of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014.

    Experts argue that investing the funds in infrastructure development will yield more returns on contributors’ individual savings.

     

    Fed Govt’s call for funds

    The Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Mr.Babatunde Fashola has suggested that releasing the funds for investment in critical areas of the economy will be more beneficial.

    Fashola, who made the suggestion in a keynote address he delivered at a retreat on “Nigerian Pension Industry Strategy Implementation Roadmap”, said he had foreseen a future for Africa, led by Nigeria, using the resources of the people to build a future for the people.

    His words: “For over three decades, we have mouthed the need to diversify our economy in order to open up more sectors for productive activities, income, economic growth and jobs. But, we failed to follow through because of oil resources. It was quick and bountiful income even though there were boom and burst cycles.

    “But today’s reality is that we are in another cycle of burst. Oil prices have crashed from over $100 per barrel, and is now hovering around $30 per barrel and there is a real chance that it will fall lower.

    “Put very simply, our main source of revenue has taken a big blow. This household has lost its bread winner. However, it is not without options; it has assets; it can raise money; it has savings, such as the private money belonging to pensioners, but it cannot be used like oil money. Whatever is used must return. This calls for a new attitude. There is no free money.

    “After three decades of prevaricating about diversification, diversification has walked into the front door of the Nigerian household. We must either embrace it with a new attitude or idle in agony and anguish, until when hopefully the price of oil will rise again, as it will surely do.

    “The pension funds, which are under the management of PFAs, will not go into roads, rail, housing, hospitals or universities unless we change our attitude. Perhaps the appropriate starting point will be to acknowledge that pension reforms are just beginning to gain foothold across Africa in jurisdictions like Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Kenya and Uganda – to mention a few.

    “But perhaps, the biggest and most advanced of the pension funds, especially in sub-saharan Africa, is the South African pension fund. While the sizes of these funds are happily growing, and the number of contributors is increasing, the impact in the quality of life on the continent is not yet anywhere near minimum globally acceptable standards.

    “The reason is not far-fetched once we take a look at where the funds are being invested. The funds are largely invested in equities and bonds, and in the case of Nigeria, so much of it is held in government bonds.

    “But, while these funds are not serving the real sector, it is tempting therefore to argue that although the pension funds contain contributions of the working class, they do not as yet penetrate enough into giving value to the lives of the contributors.

    “Across Africa, there is a visible infrastructure deficit. No country-to-country rail service across most parts. The highways that connect most of the countries such as in the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) region are in very poor shape and these are roads that can easily be built, and tolled to earn income to secure the return of pension funds invested in building them. Air travel is no better. Airports are not of the quality of design and construction or efficiency that is obvious in Europe. These are places where pension funds can be impactful.

    “It must be mentioned of course that the attitudes that once mired pension funds management in scandals and lack of transparency, had led to very stringent legislative interventions that limited the scope of activities that pension funds could participate in.

    “For example, until recently, the Nigerian pension fund law limited the contributor from using part of his pension to secure a mortgage. How, one may ask, is a person supposed to finance or part finance ownership of a home if he cannot use his own savings?

    “In contrast to the mismanagement that used to be the story of our own pension funds, the most prolific of the pension funds in Africa, which is the South African Public Investment Corporation (PIC), has over $150 billion assets under management.

    In Nigeria alone, they have $289 million in Dangote Cement , $98 million approved but yet-to-be drawn for Notore Fertilizer, $230 million in MTN Nigeria, $270 million in Erin Energy (formerly CAMAC) and $150 million in Mainstream Energy Solutions (in the power sector of Nigeria).

    “By contrast, the question to ask is what is the ‘home based’ pension fund doing? If as I have shown, the visiting pension fund from South Africa has a total of $897 million in our economy.

    “The answer is obvious, that is why we are here, that is why my host in their invitation spoke of ‘…suitable investible vehicles with low risk profiles and sufficient comfort…; as the reason that ‘…continues to hamper the drive to make visible economic impact’ in the letter to me. But, I can say that those investible vehicles exist.”

    The minister said such funds should be invested in roads that can be tolled, housing, the Fourth Mainland Bridge, coastal road linking several states from Lagos to Bayelsa; the new seaport in Lekki and Badagry, the refinery by Dangote, Ajaokuta Steel, a petrochemical plant in the Niger Delta; the broken textile mills in the North and South of Nigeria that require new equipments and disciplined fiscal, technical and organisational management.

    “Such funds”, he went on “could also be used to upgrade prisons in each of the six geopolitical zones that can help strengthen our justice system and decongest the colonial prisons we have kept as relics of our own sense of justice; in hostels for students in the universities, embedded power plants in the universities, most of which have teaching hospitals and provide an opportunity to power education and healthcare and the list is endless.

    “It is as long as we can imagine and the time for it is now. This is the biggest opportunity to act towards diversification rather than sloganise about it. This is the time to show that our country and our national economy is bigger than the challenges posed by the dwindling oil prices.

    This is the time to diversify and change the face of our economy once and for all. But, the risks that stand in the way are caused by us and they must be changed by us. My recommendations which I concede may not be exhaustive, but which I believe will begin our journey of change that will reduce the risk and increase the appetite of our local pension fund administrators to get their feet wet and test the waters in the place we call home.”

     

    NLC beats the drum of war

    Following the minister’s proposal to PenCom and other operators to release the funds to develop infrastructure, the NLC has rejected the deployment of the pension funds for infrastructure. It has threatened a showdown.

    In a statement issued by Secretary-General, National Union of Railway Workers (NUR), Mr. Segun Esan, who spoke for  NLC President  Joe Ajaero titled: “Pension Fund for Infrastructure Development: A Recipe for Crisis”, the president stated the passage of the comprehensive Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 was heralded by many as a watershed in the nation’s pension administration.

    It reads: “All over the world, pension funds are shielded from the vagaries of the market and the political arena. Its deployment is rather towards activities that would not compromise its value both qualitatively and quantitatively.

    “This is borne on the premise that anything that compromises its value puts into jeopardy the lives of many Nigerians that retire daily from active work life and have placed enormous hope on the proceeds collectable from the fund which they have toiled day and night to contribute to since their active working days. The capacity of the fund to deliver on workers expectations at all times and in all situations must be assured and held sacrosanct by all especially policy makers.

    “It is on this foundation that the NLC views with utmost anxiety the proposal by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola that pension funds should be used for infrastructural development.

    “This proposal is not only unfortunate but also constitutes a threat to the future of Nigeria workers. We have not seen the details of that proposal and we hope that the minister was just flying a kite or testing the waters and he is therefore not serious about pursuing it. Nevertheless, we make haste to say that this is a very dangerous proposal that exposes and threatens the security and future of Nigerian workers.

     

    •To be continued

  • NLC pickets PHEDC office in Calabar

    The Chairman of the Cross River State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade John Ushie on Monday described the hike in electricity tariff by the federal government as economic crime.

    Ushie, who stated this after picketing the Calabar office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), said the new tariff violates section 76 of power sector reform.

    He said the law requires that every consumer should have a meter before any increase in tariff.

    He said, “Today a very significant segment of consumers are still without meters. So on what basis is the tariff increase.

    “We would not accept estimated bills. Every consumer should be metred. We say no to discrimination of consumers.

    “Stop the new tariff regime. It is an economic crime and we say no to 45 per cent increase in electricity bills.”

     

     

  • Okorocha wants NLC to shelve protest over workers’ suspension

    Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha has appealed to the state and National Leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to shelve the protest against the suspension of parastatal workers in the state.

    A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, read, “His Excellency has wished that instead of embarking on the protest that might end up not benefitting anyone, the National Leadership of the NLC should be patriotic enough to advise the leadership of the NLC in the state to honour their invitations to participate in the high-powered 18 – member committee set up by the state governor to review the cases of the staff affected by the suspension in question, so that the matter can be resolved amicably in the spirit of no victor, no vanquished.

    “The committee would have been inaugurated last Tuesday, but it could not take place because the labour representatives did not come for the exercise.

    “The committee has the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chairman in the state, chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC), chairman Nigeria Medical Association, Imo State chapter, chairman National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Representative of Magistrates Association, Representative of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) IMSU, Imo Polytechnic, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), chairman of  Imo State branch of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Representative of the Judiciary Service Union of Nigeria, (JUSUN) as members.

    “On the part of the Government, the Head of Service, Principal Secretary to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Accountant General, Commissioner of Finance, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Principal Secretary to the Deputy Governor are also members of the committee. The chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze Samuel Ohiri is equally a member.

    “This is a high-profiled committee and the governor believes that with this calibre of people in the committee whatever is the bone of contention between the government and the labour union in the state over the suspension issue can be resolved.

    “The government has repeatedly explained that the suspension of the parastatal workers was not an outright sack or dismissal. The suspension was to enable the new managements of the establishments involved to take off in earnest.

    “So, the essence of the 18-member committee is to look at the cases of these workers and decide whether to post all of them out to other government ministries and establishments or to even ask some of them to go back to the parastatals. And until the committee sits and takes decision on the suspended workers, nobody could accuse the government of any wrong doing.”

  • Tariff hike: NLC, TUC shut Kaduna DISCO

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Monday joined their counterparts across the country to protest the 45 per cent hike  in electricity tariff by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), as they shut the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company.

    The labour unions stormed the zonal headquarters of the electricity firm as early as 7:00am and locked the gate.

    The union members, who chanted solidarity songs in between speeches, vowed to continue the protest until Federal Government reverses the increment.

    The  former Deputy President of the NLC, Comrade Issa Aremu, who led the labour unions in the state to picket the company, said it became necessary after all efforts to make the federal government to  shelve the the increment failed.

    According to him, Nigerians are paying more than they consume for electricity supply and wondered why the federal government should increase the tariff when the supply has not improved.

     

  • NLC, TUC to shut down DISCOS on Monday

    NLC, TUC to shut down DISCOS on Monday

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria are to commence a mass action against the recent 45 percent increase in electricity tariff by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission across the country on Monday.
    The NLC said that the mass action which is expected to hold in the 36 states and Abuja will see the Congress and their civil society allies picketing Electricity Distribution companies.
    The union said “our members have been sufficiently mobilized and are ready to go. If you are an electricity consumer and you are not happy with the bills electricity companies serve you every month, you are invited to join this protest rally.
    “The Abuja rally will start at Labour House, Central Business District at 8.00am before moving to the NERC head office at Adamawa Plaza, Plot 1099, First Avenue, Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central Business District. From the NERC office, the rally will roll to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company at Zone 4. The rally will mobilise from there to the National Assembly”
    Meanwhile, the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) wants President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately review the power sector reform embarked upon by the previous government with a view to increasing public sector involvement.
    General Secretary of the Union, Comrade Issa Aremu who made the call in a statement in Abuja said the promise by the government to revive textile industries in the country will not be possible without improved power supply.
    Aremu who said the union was fully in support of the planned picketing by labour and their civil society allies of all offices of the electricity distribution companies (DISCOS) nationwide including Abuja on Monday said the government should listen to suggestions of power sector unions on the issue.

  • NLC to Imo govt: Workers will defend selves if…

    NLC to Imo govt: Workers will defend selves if…

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that it may  be forced to resort to self defence should its members continue to be brutalised by those it called militia groups sponsored by the Imo State government.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba accused the Imo government of sponsoring militia groups to intimidate and brutalise workers who are merely demanding their legitimate right.  Wabba, in a statement in Abuja, alleged that armed policemen opened fire on Medical doctors during a peaceful protest by the state chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association(NMA), leaving one of them  critically injured.

    The congress asked the Police to bring to book the policeman that fired live bullets at the workers and others providing cover for the state- sponsored militia groups to unleash terror on the workers.

    Wabba said the shooting of the doctor by an armed police man during the  protest “represents a big minus for the police force that claims credit for reform on the one hand and a rising degree of intolerance for alternative view point by the government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha.”

    Describing the shooting as a bestial and despicable act in its entirety, the NLC President said: “even in wars without rules, medical doctors and other health workers enjoy the singular distinction of protection and preservation by combatants on either side.

    “For the police to therefore fire live ammunition at peacefully-protesting doctors asking for their legitimate rights runs counter to any known rule of engagement.

    “But the shooting of this medical doctor who is lying critically ill, is not an isolated case but part of a growing terror culture instituted by Governor Okorocha.

    “In the past two weeks alone, his armed militia had beaten a Medical Doctor at Uboma Hospital to a state of coma as well as brutalised several others.

    “His militia, given cover by the state Police Command, funded and armed by workers’ taxes, have embarked on a campaign of brutalisation and dehumanisation against workers as they (militia and police) forcefully sought to enforce the closure of 19 government parastatals whose sale or privatisation was announced on the radio the previous day. “The use of the armed police and militia against law-abiding workers by the governor of Imo State is unlawful, immoral and betrays the principles of democracy and should be resisted by all.

    “We must warn that if no appropriate action is taken against the governor and his band of marauding militia and procured police personnel, in the well- known principle of self defence, we   shall respond in our own time. “Our calm and deference to the rule of law should not be mistaken as cowardice. Workers, like any other group of Nigerians, have rights guaranteed by the law.”