The Nation Newspaper

Tag: workers

  • LASACO pays N142m claims to dead workers’ families

    LASACO pays N142m claims to dead workers’ families

    LASACO Assurance Plc has paid N142 million to families of dead workers of the Lagos State Government as insurance claims, the Deputy Managing Director, Rilwan Oshinusi has said.

    In a statement in Lagos, he said no fewer than 71 families benefited from the Lagos State Group Life/Group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme insured by LASACO Assurance Plc last month.

    He said the beneficiaries were families of the deceased in all the local government areas in Lagos State and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB)

    He said: “Lagos State is the first state in the country to come up with life insurance package for its workers and the company was committed to best insurance practices, adding that the benefits of government’s employees would not be compromised.

    “LASACO, which was founded in 1979, strives to deliver exceptional value to its teeming stakeholders by offering first class innovative products and services. In achieving this, the Company seeks to remain proactive and flexible in meeting the constantly changing factors in the business environment,” he added.

  • Recall of sacked workers: PENGASSAN canvasses firms’ compliance

    Recall of sacked workers: PENGASSAN canvasses firms’ compliance

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged the Federal Government to take measures against agencies and oil companies that behave as if they are more powerful than the government and not answerable to it.

    Recently, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, met with oil firms and an agreement was reached not to sack their workers and  to recall sacked workers in the oil sector.

    According to PENGASSAN, some of the oil firms reneged on the agreement.

    Speaking at the Third Women in PENGASSAN National Conference in Abuja,  PENGASSAN President, Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson  said such attitude was not acceptable to the union.

    He said: “We have been having a series of meetings with the government team. You cannot have an agreement with the minister standing in for the President of the Federal Republic and when it’s time to take action, you say no. We, only suspended our strike. If these issues are not addressed properly, we may have to resume the strike.

    “But we don’t like taking that route. That is why we are imploring every agency of the government that whatever agreement reached must be respected. We will abide by our side of the agreement, but if they are not ready to honour theirs, we will have no choice than to resume our suspended strike.’’

    “We had an understanding, but today what we are hearing is that some of them are reneging, especially Fugro Nig Ltd. I must be specific here. They are reneging. If the minister, who is standing in for Mr. President, took a decision and they are reneging, that is an affront on the President of Nigeria. If you know you have no respect for the President, then you pack your things and get out of the country.’’

    Johnson also said the leadership of PENGASSAN would meet with the Federal Government over the threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to kill oil workers, warning that the group’s threat should not be taken lightly by the government.

    “We are having a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment. In view of the issue on ground, this is something we should take as priority. Whatever the issue, let government look for a way to fast track everything and discuss so that there can be peace in this country.

    “This is not time for us to start destroying ourselves and our properties and oil installations. We all need to work together as a country so that Nigeria can rise from the ashes of what we are going through,” Olabode said.

  • Lagos pays N142m to families of dead workers

    Lagos pays N142m to families of dead workers

    Lagos State has paid N142 million as insurance claims to families of deceased  workers of  local government and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    Seventy-one families benefited from the insurance package, which was paid through LASACO Assurance Plc at the weekend at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Government Secretariat at Alausa, Ikeja.

    Speaking at the event, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said the welfare of workers was a top priority of his administration.

    Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Muslim Folami, said the payment of insurance package to deceased staff’s families was the second in the series.

    He noted that the first one was carried out in 2013.

    According to the governor, the government cares for the welfare of its workers, even when they are dead.

    He said what accrued to them would be given to their families.

    Ambode urrged families of the deceased not to waste the money on parties, but to cater for the children left behind.

    The governor added that his administration has embarked on infrastructural development with the construction of 114 roads, which would be delivered by August 15.

    Chairman, Local Government Service Commission Babatunde Rotinwa urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the fund, urging those in active service to support the government by giving their best.

  • Union decries plan to sack 700 varsity workers

    Academic and non-academic workers of the defunct College of Education at Ekiadolor, now Tayo Akpata University, have opposed the plan by the Edo State government to sack over 700 workers of the institution.

    It was learnt the action was meant to pave the way for employment of new workers.

    The Chairman of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Comrade Fred Omonuwa, who spoke on the alleged sack plan, said the union was shocked at a statement, last week, by the Chairman of the Governing Council of the university, Thomas Okosun, that some of the university’s workers would reapply for their jobs because they were allegedly “not workers of Tayo Akpata University”.

    But the union leader said the implication of Okosun’s statement was that workers of the defunct College of Education had been sacked.

    He said the union would resist any attempt to sack any of the workers.

    Omonuwa said: “When the chairman of the Board of Council of Tayo Akpata University made that statement, we were disappointed. Apparently, it shows that they are not well informed as to the state of affairs today in the school.

    “I want to say that Okosun may not have read the Agbonlahon Report set up by the state government to verify whether or not that place would be good for a university. The recommendation of the report states that over 130 workers are qualified to lecture in the university, having gone through their curriculum vitae (CVs), their credentials and their published conference papers.

    “In the same report, it was even recommended that those who are with Master’s degrees should be given five years to do their PhD while those with first degrees should be given three years to complete their Master’s degrees. Then, they can lecture in the university.

    “How can you say someone with 20 years’ experience can’t lecture 100-level students? So, when we read Okosun’s comment, we and the college community were disturbed. We were trying to resist them so that government can look into that issue.

    “What that means is that it is tantamount to say you have sacked workers of the defunct College of Education by saying the people should apply afresh. So, a man who has spent 20 years should now apply, for what position?

    “Look at the law establishing universities. Section 7 says news universities inherit assets and liabilities of a defunct college. We are the assets of that college, not just the buildings and the salaries owed are the liability.

  • TUC condemns shooting of workers in Nasarawa

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has condemned the shooting of unarmed workers by the police men posted to the Nasarawa State Government House during a joint visit of the leadership of organised labor to the governor which left one person dead and two other injured.
    The leadership of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had visited Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura on Friday over the 50 percent cut in the salaries of workers when policemen opened fire on workers who were protesting the government decision.
    In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, and Acting Secretary General, Comrade (Barr.) Simeso Amachree, the TUC asked the Inspector General of Police to immediately prosecute those responsible for the action, warning that failure to do that will force workers int the street to protest against police brutality.
    The statement made available to newsmen in Abuja said: “We are distraught that labour leaders who were in the state to dialogue with the state government over the unlawful 50 percent cut in salaries of workers in the state were confronted with such dastardly act.
    “We are especially shocked that the incident happened while the new Commissioner of Police in the state was also there visiting the governor. It was certainly uncalled for because the workers were unarmed and their protest was very legitimate and peaceful. There is absolutely no reason why bullets should be employed to intimidate and cow workers from insisting on their fundamental rights.
    “It is simply inexcusable for the police to employ maximum force against innocent workers who, apart from not being paid promptly, had their salaries unlawfully cut by 50 percent. Security operatives are supposed to protect life not waste same.
    “While we urge the workers in the state to remain calm and law-abiding, we also call on the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the trigger-happy officer or officers responsible for the shootings are promptly disengaged from the Nigeria Police Force and fully prosecuted.
    “We want to see justice done in this matter. Unless this is done within the next few days, Nigerian workers shall not hesitate to embark on indefinite nationwide protest against police brutality. Meanwhile we warn the Nasarawa State Government to immediately pay it’s workers their full salaries and other entitlements, or be ready for a total industrial face-off”.

  • Workers reject planned concession of airports

    Workers reject planned concession of airports

    Workers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) under the auspices of the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have rejected plans by the federal government to concession the four major airports in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt.

    The federal government said the plan was because it could no longer fund the development of airport facilities due to its lean resources.

    It welcomed private sector investment in the growth of the facilities through Public, Private Partnership (PPP).

    But reacting to the plan, Assistant General Secretary of NUATE, Olayinka Abioye, accused government of not putting the interest of the workers into consideration.

    Speaking at the weekend, he threatened workers would resist the planned concession.

    He recalled when the defunct Nigeria Airways was liquidated, workers were left to die without pay off or pensions, which rose to over N72 billion.

    According to him: “There is nothing wrong with it if it is done with honesty and purpose- driven.

    “Unfortunately we do not believe, particularly with what we are seeing that Nigeria is ripe for concession and privatisation of public utilities.”

    Abioye added all efforts in the past to concession airport facilities failed due to lack of objectivity or transparency.

    He claimed the few that could be described as successful were skewed in favour of investors and against the interest of government which represent the public interest.

    He wondered why government chose to concession the most lucrative airports, which are the mainstay of FAAN’s revenues.

    According to him: “So why would it be Murtala Muhammed Airport, Kano airport and Port Harcourt airport that government wants to sell?

    “What is the reason why the other 16 airports that are underutilised are not considered for this purpose?

    “This is because my understanding is that PPP is very good to bring about quality service and so on and so forth.

    “We are aware that people have been going round our airports making inspections and all that but unfortunately the government is taking us for granted.

    “What do you want to concession? Is it the building or the facilities inside? What happens to the federal public servants that are working in those airports?”

  • Pay sacked Owena Motel workers, Labour tells Mimiko

    Labour has urged the Ondo State government to settle the outstanding entitlements of 187 workers of the Owena Motel, who lost their jobs, following the motel’s closure, two years ago.

    The Hotel and Personal Service Senior Staff Association (HAPSSSA) said the July 2014  closure of the hotel has been devastating as  many of the workers have died.

    “Some are in bad health conditions now; their children are out of schools while the remaining few are surviving on family and friends’ goodwill,” the union said.

    The National President,  Adeyemi Ademola, said the hotel’s closure was done verbally, without the workers being given letters of disengagement and due process.

    “To clean the stain this might cause, we advise Governor Olusegun Mimiko to address all the issues raised without delay. It should be clear that the salaries and other benefits of the workers are still accruing since their appointments were not legally terminated and we challenged him to show the contrary. Posterity is waiting by the corner, as it is never too late.

    ”What is the fate of more than 187 people employed in the hotel  who are laid-off without letters of disengagement? Is the government not compounding and increasing unemployment in the state?

    “Our findings revealed that the State Governor has sold the hotel at a mouth-watering amount to an investor for the construction of a  Shopping Mall. We considered it as a waste of public asset and destruction of heritage of the people built by founding fathers in order to provide employment for the upcoming generation,” he said.

    Ademola, who hailed the first governor of the state, Chief Adekunle Ajasin for building the hotel, said workers were locked out when the government was owing them 19 months’salary.

    The government had also failed to comply with the payment of pension, making it difficult for the workers to access any pension.

    He added that the government had failed to pay the retirement benefits and gratuity of the workers.

  • Ekiti tertiary institutions’ workers reject ‘oppressive tax’

    Workers in tertiary institutions in Ekiti State have condemned what they called “oppressive tax” slammed on them by Governor Ayo Fayose administration, calling for immediate reversal.

    The workers described the tax policy as “obnoxious”, saying “a government that claims to be friends of the masses should not come through the backdoor to compound the already unbearable economic conditions of the same people”.

    They condemned the alleged withholding of the subventions to all state-owned educational institutions for the past six months, which has financially crippled them and subjected them to dehumanisation, abject poverty and immeasurable hardship.

  • Borno workers to return to liberated council areas

    Borno workers to return to liberated council areas

    The government of Borno State has directed civil servants in the 10 local government areas liberated by the military to return to work.

    The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Usman Zannah, gave the directive yesterday while fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

    His words: “Governor Kashim Shettima has directed workers in the 10 liberated local government areas to return to work with immediate effect, following the return of peace to the towns.

    “Councils like Mafa, Magumeri, Dikwa, Konduga, Benisheikh, Askira Uba, Kala Balge and Kaga, among others, are free from Boko Haram and they are habitable. They were also rebuilt by the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement with the support of NGOs.

    “It is in line with this development that governor Shettima directed that salaries of workers must be paid in all liberated councils. We see no reason why workers should remain in Maiduguri when many have returned to their communities.

    “As you can see, we passed through Benisheikh, we are in Tomsukawuri now; we are moving to Metakorori and Ngamdu, and majority of the residents of these villages have returned.”

  • Governor, Reps urge workers to resume work

    OYO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and a member of House of Representatives, representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency, Abiodun Awoleye Dada, have appealed to the workers to return to work and negotiate with the government.

    They urged the workers, especially the teachers, to consider the future of their pupils and return to work.

    Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy governor, Moses Alake Adeyemo at the inauguration of constituency projects facilitated by Awoleye, hailed the anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari. He added that it has been yielding a positive result.

    According to Ajimobi, the shortfall in the international price of crude oil was responsible for the cash crunch Nigeria is battling with at the moment.

    The governor was optimistic that the nation’s economy would rise again despite the present condition.

    “In 2003, the price of crude oil in international market was $125 dollars per barrel but now, it is below $50 dollars per barrel. I want to appeal to the workers to resume work and embrace dialogue with government. Governor Ajimobi is not a wicked leader. He understands our plight and he is ready to put things in order.

    “I can assure you that this country will rise again despite the problems we are facing now,” he noted.

    Awoleye urged the workers to consider the damages the strike is doing to the state in terms of revenue generation and growth.

    “I am using this medium to appeal to the civil servants to please for the interest of our people resume to work. The labour leaders should embrace dialogue and negotiate with the government in solving the lingering issues. The state government has invited them for a dialogue, which I believe would yield positive results. The Labour leaders should embrace dialogue. The governor is ready to listen,” he appealed.

    On his empowerment and the inaugurated projects, Awoleye implored the beneficiaries to safeguard and protect the infrastructure, adding that they should desist from destroying government property because the masses were at the receiving end.

    The inaugurated projects include model public toilet at Oke-oloro, model Health Centre at Mokola, Extension of the Aduloju Health Centre Bodija, security post for members of NSCDC at Morayo Bodija, 500KVA transformer at Adeyi, Motorised borehole at Ashi Bodija and Motorised borehole at Atenda.