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Tag: Retrenchment

  • ’Labour won’t accept retrenchment over new minimum wage’

    Last week’s election of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)  during its 12th Quadrennial Delegates Conference would go into the annals of the congress as the best organised since its constitution in 1978.

    Workers could still recall the ugly incident that characterised the same election four years ago at the labour house.

    One lesson from the 12th National Delegates’ Conference is the smooth process and the fact that it was rancour-free unlike what happened in 2015.

    The crisis that characterised the 2015 delegates’ conference ended in creating factions in the congress. It  forced two unions, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas of Nigeria (NUPENG), out of the NLC to form the United Labour Congress (ULC).

    The re-election of Comrade Ayuba Wabba amid fanfare has  renewed the hope of workers.

    Wabba was also recently elected as the President of the World’s International Trade Union Congress (ITUC). He will lead the 16-member National Administrative Council (NAC) in the next four years.

    Others elected NAC members included three Deputy Presidents. They were Amaechi Asugwuni, Muhammad Nadir Idris and Najim Usman Yasin. Ibrahim Khaleel was elected National Treasurer.

    Four officials were elected Vice Presidents. They were Abdrafiu  Adeniji, Peters Adeyemi, Lawrence Amaechi and Oyelakan Lateef.

    Others were Marwan Adamu,  the National Financial Secretary and Adewale Adeyanju, National Trustee. Comrade Wabba.

    In all, 15 officials were returned unopposed.

    The conference with the theme: ”Towards a decade of activism for the promotion of labour unity; national rebirth and development.”

    In his acceptance sppech, Wabba vowed to confront the challenges faced by the workers. He said: “We will ensure that the challenges workers face are confronted headlong. Workers are treated as slaves while those that don’t even work hard take higher pay.”

    He said the new leadership must build workers power to change the equation and confront the political power to ensure that workers live decent lives.

    On the new minimum wage, he pointed out that the organised Labour would not allow governments at any level or private employers to hide under the increment to sack.

    Read also: Union urges members to vote out anti-workers governors, politicians

    The NLC President insisted that the struggle would be to ensure the implementation of the new minimum wage by federal and state governments.

    He, therefore, charged all the affiliates and the state councils as well as the partners to be ready for the battle ahead for the implementation of the minimum wage without retrenchment.

    As a leader, he pointed out that his executive would not take unilateral decisions on issues affecting the workers, but assured that the Labour movement would continue to take instructions from the rank and files.

    He said his leadership would always speak the truth to the government to protect the interests of the working class.

    “The new leadership of NLC will respect the will of members and consolidate on what we are doing. We will continue to conform to the tradition of the union and speak the truth to those in power. The daily challenges of workers at work places will be confronted. We have been able to work assiduously in the past four years and we will move forward to build workers poser. I assure our members of our commitment and dedication to the resolutions of the conference.”

    NLC’s General Secretary Comrade Peter Ozo-Eson said the congress had learnt from its past mistakes.

    Asked why all the positions were unopposed and if it was a predetermined arrangement to forestall a repeat of the 2015 crisis, Ozo-Eson said there was no election because there were no constestable positions.

    He said since there were no positions, the candidates were presented by the Credentials Committee at the conference by acclamation; through a motion moved because “there are no positions that is contested”.

    “Every organisation learns from its own mistakes. What happened in the last one, perhaps, influences how people took their positions, but that is a process of politicking and a process of preference.

    “For us, ours is to take what we see in nominations and we processed them forward. We have received the nominations, and as we published it, it is one slate. So, that is what we have seen this time. It is being done before, it has happened before, so it won’t be the first time,” he added.

  • Sacked? Don’t be stuck

    Sacked? Don’t be stuck

    With the global economic recession and technological disruption in professional practices, news of retrenchment, downsizing, rightsizing and whatever employers decide to call it, is very common these days.

    That many employees are going to be separated from their jobs sooner or later is so certain giving the economic challenges companies are facing to sustain their operations. What employees are not sure of is when the inevitable decision will be taken and they will be asked to leave.

    I was therefore not surprised when I heard of the news of the termination of the contracts of the employees of Royal Media Services (RMS), Kenya, involving a colleague, Terryanne Chebet, Citizen TV news anchor. The massive termination of appointments according to the company was due to the changes witnessed in the broadcasting industry.

    Just some weeks back, I, Terryanne and other journalists from Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya participating in the ALI Media fellowship sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies were in New York discussing the future of the media in Africa.

    It is really sad that a brilliant and experienced broadcaster who has just completed an international media fellowship will suddenly have her contract terminated for whatever reason. Just when the company and station’s audience should be benefiting from what she must have learnt from the fellowship, she has been asked to leave.

    Terryanne is one of many employees worldwide who have been excused from the job they have diligently done for years due to the various disruptions the global economy is going through. Under the present circumstance, it doesn’t matter how good some workers are. They simply have to go to keep their company afloat. In some dire situations, some companies have had to shut down and send everyone packing without adequate severance package.

    However, what gladdens my heart in Terryanne’s case, which is what I once wrote about in this column, is her ability to quickly recover from the shock of her sudden exit. With the present global recession, every employee must not to be taken by surprise when the inevitable happens. They must be ready to move on with their careers in whatever way they can instead of getting stuck.

    Within days of leaving her former place of work, she got an opportunity to speak to entrepreneurs at Cytonn Foundation training as founder of Keyara Organics, a company started in 2014.

    She spoke on personal branding and its essence in entrepreneurship at the programme organised by one of the biggest investment companies in Kenya. Terryanne’s Instagram’s post on the speaking opportunity captures the kind of attitude everyone who suddenly finds himself or herself out of paid employment.

    “So refreshing to jump onto this train. I’m learning with great humility, that God does open other doors and I must be bold enough to find and knock on them. If you are where I am, don’t stay down… find a light and run towards it,” she wrote.

    Like another Kenyan colleague said, when you find yourself at the cliff of life, like when you suddenly lose your job, you can either choose to fly or fall. The secret of surviving the present uncertain economic times is to be prepared for the worst case scenario – sack your employer or be prepared to be sacked.

  • ‘Retrenchment is affecting unionism’

    ‘Retrenchment is affecting unionism’

    Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) Deputy President and Chairperson of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Women Commission Comrade Oyinkansola Olasanoye has condemned the retrenchment of workers. The exercise, she said, was taking a toll on the union as most of its members are affected.

    Speaking with The Nation, Olasanoye said the strength of any union is the women, who constitute more than 55 per cent of members.

    She said ASSBIFI has over 20,000 members, with 55 per cent of them women.

    In the past, she said, people believed  that for a woman to be a unionist, she must have been a layabout. “Even  in my organisation, anytime my Managing Director called for a  meeting, he would come with the union’s file.

    “On a particular day, he was talking  and I tried to offer some ideas, he just banged the table and said ‘who  are you to chip in an idea?’

    “Jokingly, I said, ‘sir, I have the same  qualification as you,’ and he opened my file and said ‘well, I have  a Diploma in Theology, but you don’t have.’

    “So, I went back to a Bible College and the day I got the certificate I went back to him and said ‘Sir, I’ve also got it.’ What I’m trying to say in essence is that for us to be union leaders in this modern day, you must be hardworking,” she said.

    The unionist counselled members who need additional qualification to go and get it “because the management and the government would always see you from what you present to them. So, because the economy is more on the shoulders of women these days, we don’t  want additional responsibility.”

    Pointing out that 55 per cent of workers, especially in the financial sector are women, she said it meant that financially and numerically, women are the strength of the union.

  • NECA backs banks on retrenchment

    NECA backs banks on retrenchment

    •’Ngige’s directive uninformed, populist’

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has backed banks on workers’retrenchment, accusing the government of meddling in the matter.

    It disagreed with  the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, on his directive to banks and financial institutions to suspend the exercise.

    NECA Director-General  Olusegun Oshinowo said labour laws did not empower the minister to issue such a directive, which he described as “uninformed and populist”.

    He added that the laws had envisaged redundancy, which was why provisions were made in Section 20 of the Labour Act to guide the actions of parties in the event of retrenchment or redundancy.  Oshinowo said the minister seemed not to have understood the fundamentals of industrial relations and labour laws in Nigeria and, thus, acted ultra vires.

    His words: “NECA affirms that no employer will take pleasure in declaring redundant employees which it has invested significant resources in developing over the years. Usually, redundancy exercise is foisted on employers on account of an unhealthy economy and the dynamics of the business, which often demands staff rationalisation”. Oshinowo said it was part of the inalienable right of an employer to determine the optimal staff level it requires to sustain its operations, adding that employers have rights, which include the right to hire and fire within the rules governing such employment contract.

    “Employers’ rights are employers’ prerogatives, which are not subject to ministerial directives.

    ”Where an employer has found it necessary to carry out retrenchment, it would respect the laws of the land and the laid down procedures for redundancy.

    ”Employers’ expectation from the Minister of Labour and Employment is that he will work hand in hand with other government ministries in the establishment of the desired enabling environment to ensure business sustainability, competitiveness and job creation,” he said.

    Oshinowo said the Ministry of Labour and Employment runs on the principle of tri-partism, which entails regular interactions with trade “unions as represented by NLC/TUC, the employers as represented by NECA, and government as represented by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. The ministry is expected to respect the rights and interests of employers and workers alike on issues that relate to labour and industrial relations,” he said.

    Meanwhile, NECA has written to its members to ignore what it described as the “illegal directive from the minister.”  

  • NECA disagrees with Ngige on retrenchment

    NECA disagrees with Ngige on retrenchment

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has disagreed with  the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, that private sector employers, especially the oil and gas companies, should not sack workers  and falling oil prices.

    Speaking in Lagos, NECA Director-General Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo said: “We have noted the recent meetings of the minister with employers’ representatives in some sectors of the economy and his directive not to retrench. The minister seems not to have shown an understanding of the fundamentals of managing a business in an economy bedevilled by a drastic fall in the price of crude oil, scarcity of foreign exchange and gross erosion of purchasing power.

    “The truth is that retrenchment is not a palatable option for any business. No employer will take pleasure in declaring redundant employees, which it has invested in developing over the years.”

    Speaking further, he said job security cannot be decreed by ministerial pronouncements, but can only be encouraged and promoted through strong macro- economic fundamentals and an enabling environment. He said it is part of the inalienable right of an employer to determine the optimal staff level it will need to sustain its operations.

    “Where an employer has found it necessary to carry out retrenchments, it would respect the laws of the land and laid down procedures for redundancy. Employers’ expectation from the Minister of Labour and Employment is that he will work hand in hand with other government ministries in the establishment of the desired enabling environment that will ensure business sustainability, competitiveness and job creation,” Oshinowo said.

    The NECA chief pointed out that the Ministry of Labour and Employment runs on the principle of tri-partism, which entails regular interactions with trade unions as represented by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), the employer as represented by NECA, and government as represented by the Federal Ministry of Labour, and respect for their rights and interests on issues that relate to labour and industrial relations.

    Mr. Oshinowo particularly deplored a situation where the Minister will invite a key constituent for an important meeting and keep the party waiting endlessly.

    He said: “This has not been the practice of the Federal Ministry of Labour. We appealed to the minister to show respect to the social partners by being timely and punctual at meetings which he has called.”

    In a related development, the minister met with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum, Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in Abuja,  to get an update on the challenges in the oil and gas sector.

    At the meeting, Ngige said: “The oil sector is the backbone of the economy and as long as we are in charge of labour issues in this country, we will do all we can to avoid crises in the sector. We want to assure you that workers in the oil sector will be protected and nobody or company can bribe when it concerns workers.”

    PENGASSAN President, Mr. Johnson Olabode, called for urgent passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in the National Assembly, noting that it would address most of the challenges in the oil and gas sector. He noted that there were a lot of issues affecting workers that the ministry needed to address urgently.

    NUPENG President, Mr. Achese Igwe, said some of the challenges faced by members of the union included job outsourcing to expatriates, downsizing, restructuring, re-engineering, among others.

    He said workers in the sector had been enslaved for a long time by the foreign employers. “I am sure that they have not been able to tell you that there are permanent jobs that are outsourced as contract staff job and those workers are operators and engineers, among other professions,” he said.

  • Labour squares up against workers’ retrenchment

    Labour squares up against workers’ retrenchment

    Organised labour has issued a warning to the Federal and state governments, as well as the  private sector of the danger in retrenching workers due to the economic downturn, saying the body would resist such a move since there is an alarming rate of unemployment in the country, reports TOBA AGBOOLA.

    The organised labour has read the riot act to the Federal, states and private organisations, that it would react to any downsizing measure against its members under the guise of harsh economic condition the country is passing through. They said reducing staff strength cannot be the only  solution to the problem.

    It warned that such an action  may further fuel the uncertainty in the labour market.

    The warning by Labour may not be unconnected with the statement credited to the former Coordinating Minister of Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that government is living on borrowed money to pay workers salaries.

    In addition, strong indications have also emerged that workers in both private and public sectors are faced with mass retrenchment as crude oil price continues its descent.

    However, the organised labour is accusing the states, and particularly, the past government of diversion of money resrved for wages payment to prosecute the just concluded 2015 general elections.

    According to them, it is worrisome to note that the general elections gulped a lot of money which has taken a toll on governments’ finances.

    They said both the private and the public sectors should not retrench workers at this  time when the purchasing power of the average Nigerian worker is at its lowest ebb, adding that already, there is  high unemployment rate in the country.

    Stakeholders in the oil sector painted a gloomy picture of the economy and the prospects of workers this year. They based their projections on recent happenings in the Nigerian and global economies.

    Oil prices have been on a steep decline since June 2014 as a result of slow demand and the United States’ oil boom, which has resulted in  over-supply. The global oil benchmark, Brent, against which Nigerian oil is priced, recently, tumbled below $58 per barrel, hitting its lowest level since May 2009.

    Recently, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), gave indications to this effect when it raised the alarm that companies, especially petroleum companies, have plans to retrench some staff.

    According to the association, non-core employees of oil firms in the country may be asked to quit their jobs, if the fall in oil prices persists till the end of June.

    The Media Officer, PENGASSAN, Mr. Babatunde Oke, said employers have grown weary of the slump.

    “The effect might be severe if it continues till middle of the year because some employers are already complaining that they may need to shed weight, if it persists.  Of course, it will affect contract staff, if the slump persists,” Oke added.

    The President, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, warned of dire consequences if the both the  government and private sectors decide to retrench workers under the guise of bad economy.

    “Any attempt by the government to sack workers or reduce their salaries in the name of bad economy will amount to a declaration of war on Nigerian workers and would be resisted by the labour movement.

    “0ur warning is very clear because when the economy boomed, the political office holders were freeloading as if there is no tomorrow while most Nigerian workers live below $2 per day.

    “While workers called for better pay package in the past, but were rebuffed by the ruling elite, especially those in government, then, the  helpless workers roasted as if they were not stakeholders in the system,” Kaigama said.

    According to Kaigama, labour is worried that indeed, as at today, the meagre N18,000 monthly minimum wage approved in 2011 by the Federal Government has not been fully implemented by some state governments and as such, it will be the height of insensitivity for any government to contemplate sacking civil servants or reducing their pay in the name of austerity measures.

    “Our union has urged the Federal Government to reduce their pay packets and mouth-watering allowances of political office holders and check other leakages that encourage corruption in the system, but the wise counsel fell on deaf ears.

    “Records will also show that this union on several occasions advised the Federal Government to stop the depletion of foreign reserves and needless rush to seek foreign loans for white elephant projects because such mindless profligacy can only lead to the collapse of the economy.” he said.

    The Secretary-General, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, Mr. Alade Lawal, said workers should not be made to bear the burden of the country’s distressed economy.

    Lawal said: “As for the issue of resorting to retrenchment as a result of the drop in the price of crude oil in the international market, labour will surely resist it.

    “We have already sensitised and mobilised our members on the matter.

    We workers did not create the problem and we will surely not allow the ruling elite to use us as tools to be dumped because of the temporary setback in the pricing of oil.

    “When the going was good, we were left unattended to. Now that the chicken has come home to roost, they, and not innocent workers, should bear the brunt.

    “We are fully prepared and on red alert, waiting for signals from the two labour centres in the event of any attempt to retrench workers as part of recently introduced austerity measures.”

    He  added that there is high hope among Nigerians that the new government would bring fresh perspective to bear on governance as is the case in civilised countries of the world.

    His words: “There is no doubting the fact that the challenges that lay ahead are enormous. We nonetheless believe that with hardwork, perseverance and selfless service to our fatherland, you will overcome and move the country to the next level.

    “Today, Nigerians yearn for good governance, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression so that they can participate actively on how they are governed as free citizens entitled to fundamental human rights in a democratic society.

    “Consequently, we solicit that this administration should hit the ground running and live up to expectations of many Nigerians who crave for change by healing the wounds and bitterness occasioned by the electioneering campaigns and lift Nigeria to greater heights by addressing the myriads of problems facing the country, including economic problems, infrastructural decay, energy crisis, joblessness and corruption.”

    He enjoined the new government to be focused and wary of public officials or anybody who may want to advise him to toe the path of retrenching workers in the name of reforms citing the temporary setbacks in the global oil market as reasons.

    “We need to caution that such step, if taken, will only worsen the already precarious situation the country has found itself in.

    “Our take is that with the plugging of loopholes where heavy leakages from the treasury are experienced on a daily basis, coupled with robust management of government’s expenditure profile, Nigeria as a nation will surely get it right and be better for it,” he said.

    On his part, the General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, warned that the NLC would meet to take an appropriate decision, should any state government decide to sack workers.

    He said: “Our position, as already stated, is that there are adjustments that government can make by cutting the cost of governance.

    “We have already warned that they shouldn’t allow workers to be victims of the downturn in the oil price.

    “We believe that the down-turn should not be used to sack workers, they should cut excess waste and the cost of governance. We have a situation where a governor has a retinue of excess aides and entourages; all these can be cut. These are areas where we feel adjustments should be made.”

    Deputy President (South), National Association of Small Medium Enterprises, NASME, Mr. Orimadegun Agboade, said retrenchment had already begun in some sectors.

    He said: “With the way things are right now, many companies may reduce their staff.

    “Based on recent events, federal, state and local governments still owe salaries. It is an indication that things are not right at all. In fact, many of us are afraid of what will happen.”

    Agboade stated that the current foreign exchange rate is the harbinger of the gale of retrenchments that would sweep workers out of the manufacturing sector.

    “For instance, I am a manufacturer of medicine; I received a notice from my bank recently that the Federal Government had placed an embargo on all letters of credit. The implication of this is that immediately we run out of the raw materials we have now, the hope of getting more will be slim, or it won’t come on time.

    “In the pharmaceutical industry, where I belong, close to 98 per cent of our raw materials are imported. A lot of companies are already cutting salaries,” Agboade added.

    He said the scale of retrenchment could be as high as 25 per cent, adding that if things were not sorted out quickly, it could reach 50 per cent.

    Similarly, the Chairman, National Association of Small Scale Industrialists, Lagos State chapter, NASSI, Mr. Segun Kuti-George, said the fact that the foreign exchange rate was not in equilibrium with the naira was a sign that mass retrenchment might be closer than expected.

    “We have more naira chasing fewer dollars now. Also, the monetary policy is moving from 12 per cent to 13 per cent higher interest rate. We now have a higher rate of exchange, which inherently means inflation.

    “It means that prices of imported and locally-made goods will go up, which would mean lower demand and, therefore, lesser profits for companies. This may then lead to layoffs,” he said.

    The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, predicted that the year would be challenging for businesses, as the cost of production would increase, while purchasing power would decline.

    He explained that businesses would have to look at all possible options for survival, including cost reduction in other areas. The process of reducing costs, according to him, may result in cutting the number of employees.

    Recently, the International Labour Organisation, ILO, in its report predicted that unemployment and retrenchment will continue to rise in the next five years in Nigeria and other countries, as the global economy has entered a new period combining slower growth, widening inequalities and turbulence.

    By 2019, more than 212 million people will be out of work, up from the current 201 million, according to the World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015, released by the ILO.

    “More than 61 million jobs have been lost since the start of the global crisis in 2008 and our projections show that unemployment will continue to rise until the end of the decade. This means the jobs crisis is far from over so there is no place for complacency,” the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, said.

    The report noted that the employment situation had improved in the United States and Japan, but remained difficult in a number of advanced economies, particularly in Europe.

    The employment situation according to ILO, has not improved much in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite better economic growth performance.

    It stated that the steep decline in oil and gas prices, if sustained, might improve the employment outlook somewhat in many advanced economies and several Asian countries according to some forecasts.

    By contrast, it will hit labour markets hard in major oil and gas producing countries, like Nigeria.

     

    Way forward

    For this challenge to be addressed, the organised labour has advocated cut in the cost of governance, describing the country’s presidential system as the most expensive in the world.

    TUC urged the government to work towards reducing  the cost of governance in the country.

    It stressed the need to cut down on political appointments, insisting also that the situation whereby lawmakers fix their own salaries and allowances must be discouraged and discontinued.

    “We condemned all the state governments owing workers salaries, as it is unhealthy for the nation. We urged both the Federal and State government to cut their expenses in order for them to meet with workers’ salary”, he said.

    The NLC President also canvassed a drastic reduction of the cost of governance in the country which he said was unacceptable.

    He said the high cost of governance could be rectified not by workers’ rationalisation but through fighting corruption and removal of waste in the system.

    “The  cost of governance at all levels, including the legislature, is very high and morally reprehensible and must be brought down, not through rationalisation of personnel (as personnel emoluments constitute an insignificant fraction of cost of governance) but through wiping off of corruption and reduction of waste in the system.”

  • Retrenchment at Ondo Varsity not political, says VC

    The Vice-Chancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), Akungba-Akoko in Ondo State, Prof. Femi Mimiko, yesterday said the recent sack of some lecturers and non-academic workers in the institution was not political.

    He said there was need to reorganise the university to meet the required standard, adding that the institution is not a social service centre.

    The VC said the reorganisation would be a continuous exercise to meet the standard set by the founding fathers.

    He spoke with reporters in Akure, the state capital, on the institution’s fourth convocation, slated for March 22.

    The VC said: “We do not want our university to fail. We are doing everything possible to turn AAU into the university of first choice in the country.”

    Indigenes and groups have condemned the sack of the institution’s workers. Many hinged the development on political factor and the protracted strike by the workers over the non-payment of their entitlements.

    Activist lawyer Morakinyo Ogele threatened to sue the university’s management, if it failed to recall the workers.

    The convocation ceremony is for the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 sets.

    Mimiko said of the 4,874 graduating students, 10 made First Class; 843, Second Class (Upper Division); 3,294, Second Class (Lower Division); 693, Third Class and 34, Pass.

    Three eminent Nigerians – the retired Anglican Bishop of Akure Diocese, Rev. Bolanle Gbonigi; a Professor of History at the University of Texas, Austin,US, Toyin Falola and Maj.-Gen.Olufemi Olutoye (rtd.) are to be conferred with honorary doctorate degrees.

    Other highlights of the occasion are sporting events; a play titled: Aikin mata; Parents’ Forum; the inauguration of five infrastructural projects and a convocation lecture to be delivered in Yoruba Language by Prof. Akinwumi Isola.