The Nation Newspaper

Tag: outsourcing

  • Union reaches pact on outsourcing, others

    Union reaches pact on outsourcing, others

    National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) has reached an agreement with employers to ensure fairness for outsourcing and contract staff. 

    National President, Garba Ibrahim, who spoke in Lagos yesterday, emphasised efforts by the union to promote decent work as outlined in the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Act.

    Garba said guidelines have been established to address equality in the workplace and ensure that both permanent and contract staff receive the same benefits. 

    Read Also: LASTMA begins crackdown on unregistered vehicles

    The president added some companies in the sectors gave  palliative before government initiated similar measures. 

    “The guidelines incorporate pension benefits. Upon retirement, workers will get entitlements and collect pension. 

    “The union reviews its collective bargaining agreements every two years, covering dispute resolution, compliance with labour laws, and adherence to national standards. Contract staff are referred to as third-party employees or outsourcing.”

  • ‘Outsourcing’ll create one million jobs, boost GDP by 10%’

    Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) can potentially create about one million jobs and shore up the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 10 per cent, if strategically harnessed, the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, has said.

    He made this known at the yearly conference of Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN) in Lagos.

    The theme of the conference was “Setting global standard for outsourcing in Nigeria.”

    According to the Minister, the development of the BPO sector could create about one million jobs while also growing the nation’s GDP by 10 per cent.

    Shittu said the implementation of the ministry’s collaboration with South Korea on the adoption of e-governance would not only strengthen BPO, but also align the country with international standards.

    He challenged organisations and foreign partners to collaborate and work out a strategic plan for the sustainable development of the BPO sector, including the role of government and submit the proposal to the ministry for consideration.

    “I reiterate government’s support, political will and determination to implement your recommendations for the opening up and flourishing of BPO industry in Nigeria,” the Minister said.

    AOPN President Austin Nweze urged government to tap into the BPO sector through effectiveregulation to ensure operators comply with standards and the provision of critical infrastructure.

     

  • ‘Outsourcing ‘ll create 250,000 jobs’

    ‘Outsourcing ‘ll create 250,000 jobs’

    Experts have urged the Federal Government to grow the economy through Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO).

    They say the sub-sector can generate foreign direct investments (FDIs) that would, in two years, address unemployment and grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Speaking at a workshop with: Improving process efficiency, service delivery, and cost effectiveness in the Nigeria business sector through Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services” as focus, the experts urged the Federal Government to encourage the growth of BPO.

    The Nigeria Association of Information Technology Enabled Outsourcing Companies President, Mr. David Onu, said outsourcing services needed to be backed by law and embraced by domestic companies before gaining international investors into the country.

    “We estimate that domestic outsourcing alone can create a minimum of 250,000 jobs within the next 18 months. There are 23 major banks in the country, on the average they have about 3,000,000 customers on their books, and most of these telcos and banks do not have call centres that have about 100 seats. What that means is that if you have 3,000.000 customers, how many people can 100 customer care attend to efficiently? That is a problem.

    “Just by speaking to that need, the bank will increase customer needs and customers satisfaction and also increase profits, because if you are happy with your bank you will surely do more,” he explained.

  • Casualisation, outsourcing inhuman, says ASSBIFI

    Casualisation, outsourcing inhuman, says ASSBIFI

    The President of  the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Comrade Sunday Olusoji Salako, has described outsourcing and casualisation as inhuman.

    Speaking at the ‘2016 Decent Work’ organised by the association, Salako blamed the three tiers of government for not making the war against the menace easy, noting that governments  also encouraged the  use of contract staff, outsourcing and casualisation.

    Salako, who described outsourcing and casualisation as modern slavery that should be eschewed from the workplace across the country, noted that the 2016 edition of decent work was very crucial based on the danger casualisation and outsourcing posing for workers’ wellbeing.

    The Deputy President of the Union, Comrade Oyinkan Olagunsoye, urged union members to strive to always protect the interest of one another.

    Speaking on the topic: “Building Workers Power Against Corporate Greed and Week Corporate Governance”, the Guest Speaker, Mr. Martins Smart, said: “Majority of corporate bodies and some government agencies regrettably use work force as tool to remain afloat without putting in place good welfare package that will cater for the interest of the workers.

    Smart said the question is should workers pay the price for the greed and weaknesses of organisations and the utter failures of regulatory bodies to monitor corporate organisations more effectively by ensuring that policies and guidelines laid down in corporate governance template are strictly adhered to?

    Martins, who is the MD/CEO, Martco Consulting Services, said it was time workers no longer be used and dumped by employers.

    He called on union leaders to always be seen as useful tools in the workplace, saying workers need to be more involved in taking decisions at all levels where welfare matters are to be discussed. He said organisations, on their part, should regard people as the greatest assets they cannot treat with levity.

    “The issue of corporate governance should be properly enforced by various regulatory authorities to the extent that they should have zero tolerance for defiance, corporate greed and weak corporate governance. The leaders of workers’ unions should embark on aggressive mobilisation or unionisation of all companies in Nigeria,” he said.

    Worried by the lackadaisical attitude towards workers in the country, Martins said the only way workers could guide against employers’ weak corporate governance was through strict implementation of statutory framework for corporate governance.

    He urged the three tiers of government to ensure the enforcement mechanism are dully carried out so as to safeguard the interest of workers. This, according to him, will encourage more investments in Nigeria and help tackle the current economic recession.

  • ‘Outsourcing, others claim jobs’

    MANY workers may have lost their jobs in the oil and gas industry as a result of the outsourcing of their projects, the President, Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN), Dr Austin Nweze, has said.

    In a  reaction to a report that over 350,000 workers have lost their jobs in the industry, he said the industry rely on people in the allied sectors, arguing that many of its workers were picked from other fields.

    He said the workers were sourced from within and outside the country to ensure that the sector got the best hands.

    Speaking on phone with The Nation, Nweze said though the industry represents a large section of the economy, all the sectors are in it.

    Nweze said: “That is the reason you see engineers, statisticians, accountants, geologists, marine engineers, architects, surveyors and other professionals contribute their quota to the sector. Often times, these professionals are sourced because of their specialised skills and deep knowledge of their fields. Many of them are employed directly or indirectly by the operating firms in the oil industry. Based on this, it is easier to conclude that the sector has lost many of its outsourced workers.”

    He said more people would lose their jobs, if the problems, such as decline in the oil prices, low patronage and others persist in the global oil market. He observed that operators in the upstream and downstream segments of the industry were losing their jobs daily, adding that the sector would continue to either downsize or right- size in tandem with the economic realities.

    “There is a lull in the industry. Aside the attendant loss of business in the upstream sector that greeted the sale of assets by Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other oil majors, the downstream sector is battling problems.There is virtually no new exploration in the industry. This is affecting the capacity of the sector to perform optimally,” he said.

    He said multinational and local oil firms have lost much and are not ready to incur more losses, according to a research by the association.

    He said the firms were not disposed to keeping certain workers to mitigate losses.

    “From the research, oil and gas firms are ready to keep few, but not highly remunerated workers, such as security and maintenance officers, who supervise and watch over their equipment. To oil and gas firms, their services are much needed in view of the unstable socio-economic environment in Nigeria. It is expensive to maintain expatriate workers. Their salaries are in foreign currencies, and it would affect the operational costs of the companies if such workers are kept for long. Now, the industry’s problems have rendered them redundant.

    “Maintenance of security officials is important to the oil and gas servicing firms.The firms spend a lot of money in providing pipelines, building tanks, deploying exploration equipment into oil wells, and they would not be happy losing those things in a swoop.  Though the Joint Task Force set up by the Federal Government to patrol and safeguard oil wells are trying their best, oil firms believe in providing their security to compliment whatever the government has done,” he added.

  • ‘Outsourcing, others claim jobs’

    MANY workers may have lost their jobs in the oil and gas industry as a result of the outsourcing of their projects, the President, Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN), Dr Austin Nweze, has said.

    In a  reaction to a report that over 350,000 workers have lost their jobs in the industry, he said the industry rely on people in the allied sectors, arguing that many of its workers were picked from other fields.

    He said the workers were sourced from within and outside the country to ensure that the sector got the best hands.

    Speaking on phone with The Nation, Nweze said though the industry represents a large section of the economy, all the sectors are in it.

    Nweze said: “That is the reason you see engineers, statisticians, accountants, geologists, marine engineers, architects, surveyors and other professionals contribute their quota to the sector. Often times, these professionals are sourced because of their specialised skills and deep knowledge of their fields. Many of them are employed directly or indirectly by the operating firms in the oil industry. Based on this, it is easier to conclude that the sector has lost many of its outsourced workers.”

    He said more people would lose their jobs, if the problems, such as decline in the oil prices, low patronage and others persist in the global oil market. He observed that operators in the upstream and downstream segments of the industry were losing their jobs daily, adding that the sector would continue to either downsize or right- size in tandem with the economic realities.

    “There is a lull in the industry. Aside the attendant loss of business in the upstream sector that greeted the sale of assets by Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other oil majors, the downstream sector is battling problems.There is virtually no new exploration in the industry. This is affecting the capacity of the sector to perform optimally,” he said.

    He said multinational and local oil firms have lost much and are not ready to incur more losses, according to a research by the association.

    He said the firms were not disposed to keeping certain workers to mitigate losses.

    “From the research, oil and gas firms are ready to keep few, but not highly remunerated workers, such as security and maintenance officers, who supervise and watch over their equipment. To oil and gas firms, their services are much needed in view of the unstable socio-economic environment in Nigeria. It is expensive to maintain expatriate workers. Their salaries are in foreign currencies, and it would affect the operational costs of the companies if such workers are kept for long. Now, the industry’s problems have rendered them redundant.

    “Maintenance of security officials is important to the oil and gas servicing firms.The firms spend a lot of money in providing pipelines, building tanks, deploying exploration equipment into oil wells, and they would not be happy losing those things in a swoop.  Though the Joint Task Force set up by the Federal Government to patrol and safeguard oil wells are trying their best, oil firms believe in providing their security to compliment whatever the government has done,” he added.

  • Experts mull benefits of outsourcing

    Experts mull benefits of outsourcing

    Businesses  have a lot to gain from outsourcing.

    The foregoing submission was made by a cross-section of experts under the aegis of the Outsourcing Professionals Association of Nigeria (AOPN), the umbrella body of outsourcing practitioners in the country.

    To create awareness about what outsourcing is, the body recently hosted an expo in Lagos, tagged: ‘Building the Nigerian outsourcing model.’

    The event which drew participants from far and near, saw experts shed more light on the achievements, potentials and challenges of outsourcing.

    Among the facilitators include: Peter Bamkole, Managing Director of the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University,  Nicholas Nyamali , Group Managing Director, Investment One Financial Services Limited, Femi Ogun, Oyiza Salu, Group Head Human Resources, Guarantee Trust Bank, Ify Osineme and Jacqueline Odiadi, the organisation’s counsel.

    “The platform seeks to address the burning concerns of developing a value-driven, global best practices framework for the provision of outsourcing services in Nigeria. As economic trends unfold the world over, we recognise the need to build an outsourcing model that provides a structure that works and delivers value to both providers and users in Nigeria,” informed Obiora Madu, the organisations vice president.

    For Soji Oyawoye, the organisations, chairman policy and strategy, said verifications of claims are very important to avoid fraudulent practices and sustain the credibility. “Not just for money but people that have presented fake credentials and you would be amazed at the number of cases that we have to upload the data of somebody presenting fake credentials.”

    He adds: “Interestingly, in the last one year, we have about 346 such details uploaded. This is an appeal to as many that have not subscribed to do so because it is in our collective interest. Otherwise, we would keep passing the same people around and don’t forget, once there is a problem, it becomes a liability to the practitioner.”

    Interestingly, outsourcing is one of the fallout of globalisation, though it has not completely gained traction in Nigeria, more companies are said to be embracing the practice in their bid to cut cost and focus operations on their core objectives, experts said.

  • Refinery outsourcing as solution to fuel scarcity

    There are no ways to spin it; it is undeniable shame that in an oil-producing country as big as ours, in Nigeria, fuel scarcity is a perennial problem. The recurring sighting of long queues at our filling stations should disturb any thoughtful mind and make one ask why this situation has remained so till now, after many years of supposed management in this sector of our national life.

    I believe it simply requires thinking beyond the surface to proffer a lasting solution to the recurrent ill. Now that the present crude oil price has fallen, the federal government can solve this problem of fuel scarcity by outsourcing the processing and refining of out crude oil, and afterwards bring back the refined product for distribution and sale, at 50% off the present cost.

    Since we produce crude oil, it only makes sense that we shouldn’t continue to have persistent fuel scarcity; it makes us a laughing stock in the comity of nations. We shouldn’t be starved of what we have the ability to produce in abundant measures.

    It isn’t rocket science to understand that a decision by the country’s NNPC/PPMC, to simply employ or contract the refining of our crude offshore, and just pay only for the cost of that refining, will help allay this current unpalatable situation

    With this arrangement, the price of refined product would not be more than N30/litre. This will not only solve the fuel scarcity, it will also deflate the economy, thus, reduce the cost  of creating energy, cost of generating electricity, cost of transportation, and the cost of running industries,  etc.

    The overall effect of this is a favourable and drastic reduction in the cost of products and services, making general livelihood better.

    It is only when this is done, that is, employing the wisdom of outsourcing crude oil refining for both short term and long term benefit that the country can then talk about practical developmental ideals of industrialization, incentive-driven attraction of foreign investment, and the development and encouragement of entrepreneurship.

    We will remain in this awkward and strange situation that leaves us a mere laughing stock, if we refuse this idea of outsourcing and leave the fate of the whole country in the hands of few cartels who control the production and distribution of Petroleum products.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, should be ready to take necessary steps to encourage this move that will not only ensure fuel flows readily, but also at half the present pump price.

    It only takes careful thought to know that if we were selling PMS at N97/litre when the price of crude oil was $140/barrel, how much should we now be selling PMS when the crude oil price is at an average $35 per barrel? From this, it takes mere elementary mathematics to decipher that the pump price of fuel shouldn’t be more than even N20 per litre.

    Added to outsourcing, the federal government should also remove the present restrictions on the importation of fuel, and make it open, while the job of the NNPC in this regard would be just to regulate this unrestricted access to importation via monitoring and assessment of quality. The present draconian system, where only the NNPC and very few licensed people import, has continuously proven not to be sufficient enough to handle the demand of our giant population. With this restriction, it seems like tying both the hands and legs of the people. I mean, when it is consistently clear that a few licensed importers cannot meet the demand of the huge population, why not remove restrictions and grant open access to importation to enterprising Nigerians, and give incentives to Nigerian entrepreneurs to set up refineries in the country by giving them crude oil lifting permit with the intent of using the profit for part take-off for the refineries? Why not?? This will do a lot to complement fuel availability and supply.

    For the sake of installing human value into our policies, this present progressive government should be honest enough to abandon the mundane and archaic way of doing things, unlike the past administration, if we truly desire progress for the people. This present archaic style of policy management in the petroleum sector favours corruption at the expense of the people, many small scale businesses are on the death row because of it and it dislocates the economic realities of our people as they are forced to pay for their livelihood at extremely inflated rates.

    We must be quite honest with ourselves and get very open to the benefit of outsourcing and the removal of oil importation restrictions; we must forget economic diplomacy in this regard in order to take advantage of the present fall in oil prices to diversify the economy.

    We can sensibly manage the situation to get productive results instead of constantly being perennial victims that live the shame of recurring fuel scarcity and grueling queues.

     

    • Dr. Abraham, a Chartered Engineer, is governorship aspirant of the All Progressive Congress in the Ondo 2016 election.

  • ‘Outsourcing without social safety net wicked’

    Outsourcing, which is one of the new forms of employment relations, is a global/legal phenomenon, but embracing it without social safety net is evil and criminal, the General Secretary, National Union of Electricity Workers (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has said.

    He spoke on the sideline of the ‘Tripartite interactive session to address labour issues and challenges relating to labour outsourcing in the financial sector in Nigeria’ in Lagos.

    He admitted that outsourcing, which entails the process of replacement of in-house provided activities by subcontracting it out to external agents, allows organisations the opportunity to concentrate on their core competences and add more value for customers.

    He, however, expressed regrets that in most cases, employers in Nigeria opt for outsourcing without the necessary social safety net, which leaves workers holding the short end of the stick. “Workers are the actual victims of outsourcing. It’s a way of impoverishing the worker,” Ajaero said.

    He said the practice of outsourcing remains an age-long battle between labour and capital.

    “Labour creates wealth, but the best way to weaken labour is through outsourcing and casualisation, he said, insisting that embracing outsourcing and leaving the key elements of social safety net is criminal. “Why are you outsourcing when you know you have no social safety net in place?,” he asked.

    Social safety net is a collection of services provided for workers by the state, institutions or organisations such as welfare, unemployment benefits, healthcare, shelter, and sometimes subsidised services such as public transport, among others.

    Ajaero argued that outsourcing without these ingredients is evil.

    Experts say that if done right, outsourcing can help solve the unemployment problem in Nigeria. It could also help improve organisation’s efficiency, lower costs, improve flexibility and higher quality as well as help achieve competitive advantage.

    But Ajaero argued that most times, outsourcing, especially in Nigeria is done without considering employees’ welfare.

  • Nigeria can become outsourcing hub, says don

    Why is Nigeria not considered a place for Global Software Development (GSD), like many Asian countries?

    Sanjay Misra, a Professor of Computer Engineering at Covenant University (CU), Cannanland, Ota, Ogun State, said this is so because of poor ICT development as well as economic, social and political instability.

    Becoming a GSD destination means being a viable platform for international companies to outsource services through software technology.

    Speaking on the topic: “Global software development: Challenges and opportunities in Nigeria” at the university’s 43rd public lecture, last Friday, Misra said he arrived at his position based on a research he conducted in Europe and Africa both representing the outsourcing and outsourced countries.

    “In general, it can be deduced from this analysis that factors that affect sourcing decision in Nigeria and other African regions are significant enough to reduce the probability of competing with Asian countries. However, there are many positive factors to be optimistic about concerning the future of a country like Nigeria. Its relative political stability, economic strength achieved in recent years and increased development of its workforce, make Nigeria a nation to watch in the medium and long term,” said Misra.

    On the outcome of his research, Misra said while respondents from Africa identified English, Nigeria’s official language as well as training in technology discipline as the main GSD attraction, European informants also agreed with the language in addition to the same time zone. However, the Europeans expressed worry about high costs, absence of a strong software industry and legislative, fiscal as well as commercial practices. Respondents from Africa on the other hand, express disgust at perennial corruption and lack of transparency occasioned by administrative and bureaucratic bottlenecks.

    He said: “All European informants agree that corruption or the so called dash culture is a key factor that can affect the decision of foreigners. Dash practice is meant to provide a gratuity or money that these people expect to receive for a service, but the peculiarity is that the ‘service’ can be almost anything. It is considered an entitlement. It is culturally offensive when a foreigner does not make a small donation to these people when they really think they have earned it. It is illegal, but it is a very common practice that the foreign employer has to take into account. Respondents also mention the bad image of Nigeria as a result of famous fraud and scams through internet.

    “Other factors include: terrorism or conflict situations which often makes the environment not conducive to business, lack of work discipline among African workers, as well as status differences, among others.”

    To become a GSD destination, Misra advised the government to accord ICT same priority as oil and gas by “ensuring that right from kindergarten, students develop basic development skills required in the 21st century workplace among which are software development skills.”

    Establishing outsourcing services in friendly zones in the country is another means.

    “The proposed plan to set up a technological park in Bauchi State is a welcome idea that, if fully implemented and properly managed, will set the nation on an upward trajectory technologically,” Misra concluded.