The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Strike

  • Kwara workers begin strike

    Kwara workers begin strike

    •Govt decries action

    Academic workers in Kwara State-owned tertiary institutions yesterday began indefinite strike over non-payment of salaries.

    The non-academic workers last Monday went on strike over the same issue.

    The affected institutions are Colleges of Education in llorin, Oro and Lafiagi as well as the College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies in Ilorin.

    The workers said the government owed them six-month arrears.

    The Chairman of the Committees of Unions of Tertiary Institutions, Comrade AbdulKareem Amuda-Kannike, declared the strike after an emergency meeting with the workers.

    He said the action became imperative, as efforts to make the government attend to their plight failed.

    Amuda-Kannike said government’s directive that the institutions should use their internally-generated revenue to settle arrears was not practicable, adding that the letters and meetings with government’s representatives to avert the strike ended in a deadlock.

    According to him, “since the government has expressed its inability to pay the arrears, following dwindling monthly federal allocation, strike is the next option.”

    Representatives of the unions from the institutions attended the meeting.

    The Senior Special Assistant to Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, condemned the strike.

    He said: “The government is surprised that they have resorted to strike when they know that the non-payment of their subventions was because of the drop in allocation from the Federal Government.”

    Akorede said the allocation to the government dropped from N3.2billion to N1.7billion.

    He said the subventions not paid to the affected states were not for the payment of salaries, adding that the colleges should pay salaries from their internally-generated revenue.

    The governor’s aide described the workers’ plight as unfortunate, urging them to call off the strike because of the students.

     

     

  • Assembly workers urged to shun NLC strike

    Cross River State House of Assembly’s Speaker John Gaul Lebo has urged the Assembly’s workers to shun the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) strike and resume work today.

    Lebo said: “The House of Assembly, as an institution, is ahead of the issues raised by Labour. The most critical points by the union with respect to the strike are not arguable issues. They relate to the House of Assembly’s workers’ salaries, which have been paid regularly, at least by the 25th of each month; impress and statutory allowances have been regularly paid.

    “Given the context of the immediate picture analysis, the strike is not the best evacuation corridor to resolve any issue now or in the future. As legislative architects, the House of Assembly workers occupy a special place in the state’s governance machinery.”

  • Strike: Aviation unions give NCAA 14-day ultimatum

    Trade unions in the aviation sector have given the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) a 14-day ultimatum to promote their members who were due for promotion or risk industrial action.

    The ultimatum was issued by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Senior Staff Services of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    The unions accused the NCAA management of nonchalance to the promotion of their members which they claimed had been due since January 2015.

    NUATE General-Secretary, Mr Olayinka Abioye, told aviation correspondents that the unions were prepared to ground activities in the sector if the concerned authority failed to yield to their requests.

    Abioye said it was a worrisome development that those that were due for promotion were yet to be interviewed. He recalled that NUATE had, at its congress on Sept.30, given the management till Oct.14 to effect the promotion of the concerned workers.

    Abioye urged the management of NCAA to respect the terms and conditions of employment as contained in the condition of service entered into by all parties.

  • Cross River workers begin indefinite strike on Friday

    Workers in Cross River State will on Friday embark on an indefinite strike following Government’s inability to meet their demands.
    Bulletins circulated by the Organised Labour Action Committee Bulletin indicated their demands included salaries of local government staff, teachers, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) staff, weighed in allowances and other salary related payments.
    They were shocked that the government claimed that the bailout funds they received was to offset loans acquired.
    “Labour says bailout funds are meant for payment of salary arrears, outstanding gratuities/pension and deduction from salaries.
    “Comrades this is our stand, our demand is that the government offsets all these payments if not please sat at home from October 2, 2015.
    “MDAs are grounded, no activity, no funding. One man show, no exco. Boards, commissions and agencies not formed. Promotion of civil servants stalled. Salaries paid in parts, no release of deductions from salaries. Civil servants are made bad debtors to banks and loan vendors. All we hear is noise and sirens. Comrades, we are tired of waiting,” the Bulletin read.
    After a botched meeting with the Governor Ben Ayade, Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade John Ushie, said the governor never granted them audience to sort out the issues until they had to resort to strike.
    “The strike is organized by the joint council, but as affiliates we are giving them the covering fire, so we just came out from a meeting with the government of Cross River State. We met with the deputy governor and it was smooth and it was going well in the way of negotiations and he pleaded we should meet with the governor.
    “We waited for a long time and when he came and met us he expressed disappointment because he said he has done a lot for Cross River and thought the workers would appreciate that but we did not. We let him understand that it was not true that workers don’t appreciate that he has paid salaries and paid net, because salaries are based on gross. But this other ones remaining are statutory. So if they are statutory and they are made from salaries, there is a need to remit that.
    “So check off dues should go to the union, loans from bank go the bank, then the computer scheme should to the company that supplied the computer, because Labour had given an approval to that in conjunction with government. So if government now sureties us and we now surety our workers, that money should go to where we they are supposed to go, otherwise, it would amount to double deductions.
    “We also let them know things are difficult for workers. Workers are getting loans from banks. That is how they are managing to survive, because the salaries we collect today in the service cannot take us.
    “Therefore these workers access loans from the bank and for the fact that the state government has refused to remit loans that were deducted from them to the banks, the bank has refused to give them loans. Many of them have come to my office to cry. So we appeal to the government to release what is due the workers. That is not government money. It is the money of the workers. That is what we are asking for. It is not something new.
    “We as workers of Cross River State appreciate the government. We are ready to cooperate as Labour, but that we are ready to cooperate does not erase the fact that what is supposed to be done right is not done and we keep quiet. It is not an issue of getting offended that we did not appreciate him, the truth is that there is a disconnect, no communication. We have sought audience severally with the governor to no avail. Since he assumed office this is the first time we are meeting. And if it was not because of the strike action, we would not have been able to meet with him,” Ushie said.
    Chairman of the State Joint Service Negotiation Council, Comrade Thomas Igbang, said the meeting they had with the governor ended in a stalemate because “we did not come to any agreement on issues we raised with the government.”

  • Sierra Leone workers strike at Shandong’s iron ore mine

    Hundreds of Sierra Leonean workers at Shandong Steel’s iron ore mine has declared an unlimited strike, alleging unfair treatment, a union leader said.

    The Chinese firm, formerly a minority partner of African Minerals in the African Minerals-run project, acquired full ownership earlier this year and resumed operations in May.

    Local workers at the site in the Tonokolili District in central Sierra Leone have expressed dissatisfaction with severance packages offered as the Chinese firm seeks to cut costs amid low iron ore prices.

    Chinese workers did not appear to be joining the strike.

    “Some people opted to leave (but) to our greatest surprise they were only paid two months salary regardless of how many years they had worked for the company,” said union leader Thaimu Bundu Conteh.

    Some social security benefits had also not been paid, he claimed. The company could not be reached for comment.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Abia health workers suspend strike

    Health workers in Abia State, under the aegis of Joint Union of Health Workers (JOHESU) have suspended their five-month-old strike. They were protesting unpaid salary arrears.

    It was gathered that the state leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) met with the governor last week, who assured them that he would pay the arrears soon.

    The governor was said to have promised to pay May and July salary within two weeks and to clear the other arrears.

    Following the agreement, NLC convinced the workers to suspend the strike and go back to work.

    A statement by NLC Chairman, Comrade Uchenna Obi-Igwe reads: “NLC Abia State council in collaboration with Joint Union of Health Workers (JOHESU) is suspending its five months strike.

    The suspension takes effect from midnight of Sunday, September 7; normal work resumes on Monday by 8am.”

  • UCH resident doctors suspend strike

    •Obasanjo, Olubadan, others intervene

    RESIDENT doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan yesterday suspended their 105-day-old strike.

    This came following the intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Olubadan-in-Council and other eminent personalities and associations.

    The UCH Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Temitope Alonge, last week, urged the resident doctors to call off the strike.

    He assured them that the hospital’s management was already looking into their grievances.

    President of UCH branch of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) Dr. Luqman Ogujimi and its secretary, Dr. Anthonu Ude, made the suspension broke the news to reporters.

    They said the association agreed that the strike be suspended last Friday at a congress held by members.

    The association said:”Our members are hereby directed by the emergency general meeting of the ARD, UCH, to resume back to their duty posts 8a.m. on Monday, August 17, 2015, while negotiation continues.

    “The congress took this decision on the August 14,2015, following the intervention  of Chief  Olusegun Obasanjo, medical  elders, Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (UCH), the good people of Ibadan and more importantly  for the sake of our patients.  It is our hope that the UCH management will keep its side of the bargain.”

  • Resident doctors at LUTH suspend strike

    Resident doctors at LUTH suspend strike

    The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idiaraba, yesterday suspended its strike after a congress decision.

    This is contained in a statement by Dr Ramon Moronkola, the association’s president in Lagos.

    According to Moronkola, the decision was based on appeals by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president; elders of the profession; civil society groups; and other Nigerians.

    The statement said work would resume at 8 a.m. today.

    “The Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), hereby suspends her ongoing strike action by congress decision.

    “It is our hope that the hospital’s management will reciprocate this gesture by adhering to the terms of agreement.

    “This should be by ensuring smooth implementation of the Federal Government’s directive on the adjusted grade level, amongst other local issues, which have lingered for too long.

    “While we reaffirm the legitimacy of our demands, we appreciate members of the public who were the direct victims of this impasse for their understanding and constructive criticism.

    “We hereby call on the Federal Government to institute a probe into the immediate and remote cause(s) of this seemingly recurrent crisis in the health sector in a bid to putting an end to it.

    “This particular strike could have been averted since. This is because the Federal Government, through a circular from the Office of the Head of Civil Service, issued on the Dec. 19, 2013, adequately addressed the issue,’’ the statement said.

    On Monday, June 29, the ARD of LUTH commenced an indefinite strike over working conditions at the hospital.

  • Benue varsity lecturers suspend strike

    After four months of industrial action, the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Benue State University (BSU) in Makurdi, on Monday, called off its strike and asked members to return to work. The lecturers downed tools because former Governor Gabriel Suswam did not pay their salaries.

    The strike was called off after a peace meeting held by the ASUU leadership and representatives of the management and the state government. The parties, CAMPUSLIFE learnt, reached a “realistic” agreement after hours of meeting.

    The ASUU Chairman, Dr David Ikoni, said lecturers were satisfied with the commitment of Governor Samuel Ortom to the agreement.

    “We told our members that we agreed to the terms of the governor and suspended the strike on the governor’s appeal. He gave us his commitment and we felt that we should give him a benefit of the doubt,” Dr Ikoni said.

    He said the lecturers would not hesitate to embark on strike again if the governor failed to keep his promise.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Charity Angya, said the governor would do his best to ensure the school is not shut down again. She said: “Gov. Ortom has entered an agreement that is realistic. He had a good discussion with ASUU members and he agreed to the demands of the lecturers.”

    The development excited students, some of who expressed happiness. Mary Anyogo, a 300-Level Mass Communication student, said she could not afford to stay at home any longer. “I am so happy when I heard the news. I can’t wait to go back to school,” she said.

    Nana Ugoor, a 300-Level Psychology student, said he was no prepared to return to school, because of his financial challenge. He said: “Calling off the strike is good news, because it is what has been expected by students. But, I am not ready financially. I sponsor myself and it is not easy, getting money to return. I will resume in due time.”

    The management has advised both staff and students not to waste time in resuming back to work to make up for the lost time.

     

  • NAFDAC workers insist on strike

    NAFDAC workers insist on strike

    The crisis that is rocking the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control in the past few weeks, over allegation of corruption levelled against the Director-General, Dr Paul Orhii, by the former Director of Finance, Mr Ademola Mogbojuri, has taken a new dimension. The staff of the agency has vowed to go on another strike over failure of the management to pay all their outstanding allowances.

    In a communiqué issued at the end of the congress of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), NAFDAC chapter said it was unfortunate that outstanding arrears that led to last year’s strike were not settled by the management, despite that they have the resources.

    The congress unanimously enjoined the management to begin the payment of 2014 Productivity Allowance (13th Month) one week from the end of July, and finish paying within a week or risk an industrial action.

    Its chairman, Comrade Ibrahim Attah said the organisation is generating about N9 billion yearly, adding that it had no cause not to settle the outstanding allowances owed workers.

    The latest face-off between Mogbojuri and Orhii revealed that  NAFDAC generates N9 billion annually

    Mogbojuri had alleged that  Orhii spent all the money generated by the organization to the tune of N9 billion annually on phony contracts to some of his cronies and business associates at the expense of the welfare of workers.

    “Before he joined the agency in 2009, the annual total revenue of NAFDAC was about N2.5 bn and he met around N600m in the account. Now, the total internally generated revenue is about N9bn and the agency owes about N5bn in debt.” he alleged.

    Against this backdrop,  Attah pointed out that it was  unfortunate that all along the management has been economical with the truth that the agency was broke, adding that with the latest revelation, all outstanding arrears owed the staff should be paid otherwise the union will embark on another strike.

    He debunked the allegation that the union backed the management on the ongoing crisis engulfing the agency, noting that there is nothing concerning the union and the award of contracts in the organization, therefore “we are neutral and all what concerns us is that all our outstanding allowances should be paid.”

    He regretted that as at the time of the press briefing a lot of claims and outstanding training allowances of the staff were on the table of the Directorate of Finance with nobody attending to it, this is an act of wickedness and poor administrative system”

    Although the NAFDAC Director of Special Duties, Dr Abubakar Jimoh said the entire allegation was malicious and lacked the element of truth. “Ordinarily, the publications would have been ignored except for the wrong information it would send to the public. However, for concerns expressed by the public and our stakeholders, we wish to state categorically that these allegations are baseless, false, misleading and frivolous because nothing of such has happened under the watch of Orhii as Director-General of NAFDAC,”

    According to him, “It is a curious paradox that the so-called director of finance and accounts who has been superintending over contract awards, payments and other due processes since 2010 would now turn around to make such false and disparaging allegations against the chief executive just when he was redeployed to another directorate due to his incompetence and insubordination”.