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Tag: workers

  • Ogun workers to begin indefinite strike

    Ogun workers to begin indefinite strike

    Ogun State workers are to begin an indefinite strike today, following the alleged failure of the government to honour the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it signed with tripartite labour unions in January.

    The terms include the suspension of the dysfunctional Contributory Pension Scheme, payment of at least two months deductions out of nine and resumption of payment of gratuity stopped in October 2012.

    A statement by the General Secretary of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNC), Olusegun Adebiyi, said JNC had to declare the strike since the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration failed to honour the agreement.

    “Following the apparent reneging on the Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) signed by the tripartite group of labour leaders, Ministry of Labour and Employment and the government on January 25.

    “A 21-day ultimatum was given to the government on January 25 and the government failed to honour its part.

    “Labour has declared an indefinite strike  effective from today.

    “The strike is under the auspices of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNC),” Adebiyi said.

  • Sack of 400 workers pits labour against Ikeja Electric

    Sack of 400 workers pits labour against Ikeja Electric

    The Ikeja Electric (IE), a power distribution firm, has incurred the ire of Labour over the sack of 400 workers, including National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) deputy president.

    NUEE, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG)  have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the company to recall the workers unconditionally or risk an industrial action, including the shutting down of Egbin Power station and related plants across the country.

    Egbin Power station and IE are owned by Sahara Energy. NUPENG said it had directed its members at the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) “to commence a shutdown of supplies of gas to the thermal stations and plants if the 400 workers were not recalled before the expiration of the ultimatum.”

    Demanding for the recall of the workers, NUPENG said it would join NUEE when the timeline given IE to reinstate them lapses. The union said it would shut down NGC that supplies gas to thermal stations and plants all over the country.

    NUPENG President Mr. Igwe Achese, in a statement, said: “The union has put its members on notice in NGC to commence a shutdown of supplies of gas to the thermal stations and plants if the 400 workers are not called back to work when the seven-day ultimatum expires.”

    He said the 400 workers were sacked without due process and in line with relevant labour laws.

    IE, on February 26, sacked 400 workers, including NUEE Deputy President Mr. Christian Omemeh, allegedly without reason.

    Although the management said the action was a strategic step aimed at repositioning its business for better performance, the leadership of the three unions were obviously not impressed.

    The unions lamented that since the takeover of the company on November 1, 2013, the management  had not drawn  up a credible conditions of service for workers.

    Leaders of the unions said they had demanded from the management the parameters used, and it agreed to invite them to confidentially show them the parameters used and how the assessment was done. The union leaders, however, expressed regret that, no invitation had been extended to the union even as the management, contrary to best labour practices, went ahead to sack another batch of about 400 workers.

    The unions called on the relevant authorities such as the Federal Ministry of Power and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to call IE to order so that the nation will not be plunged into darkness in the next one week.

    The management of IE has defended the sack. Its  Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Felix Ofulue, said:  ”The key objectives of the company is to create a high performing organisation, which satisfies the needs of the stakeholders, especially our customers, as we reposition for growth.

    “In the last few months, the electricity distribution company has scaled up the metering programme in order to meet the expectations of our customers and further reduce the agitation on estimated billing.

    “It has also achieved significant strides in human capital development, which is critical to the repositioning programme.”

    Ofulue said as part of the strategic initiative, the company also embarked on a re-engineering exercise focused on aligning its structure with its operating model and optimising human capital capacity for better efficiency.

    “We wish to assure all our customers that the organisation has put in place processes to ensure excellent delivery of quality service to our customers in 2016 and beyond,” he added

    In a related development, the unions have called on the Federal government to quickly address the issue of non-payment of salaries to NUEE members across the country in the last 16 months. NUPENG also called on the Federal Government to intervene in the payment of severance benefits to 5, 000 NUEE members laid off during the last privatisation exercise.

  • Govt removes 23,846 ghost workers from payroll

    Govt removes 23,846 ghost workers from payroll

    Security to take over probe

    N2.293b now saved monthly

    No fewer than 23,846 non-existent workers’ names have been removed from the Federal Government payroll as a result of which the wage bill has reduced by N2.293 billion monthly, the Federal Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

    This is as a result of the BVN process which was carried out.

    A Federal Ministry of Finance statement said: “this figure represents a percentage of the number of non-existent workers who had hitherto been receiving salary from various ministries, departments and agencies”.

    The BVN audit has also reduced the list of military pensioners by 19,203. “The Military Pension Board has revised the amount payable for its due pension contributions on a monthly basis by N575million, following its annual verification exercise for military retirees.

    “This reduced the number of pensioners by 19,203 as a result of deaths since the last verification exercise in 2012,” the statement by Festus Akanbi, the spokesman for Finance Minister Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said.

    The statement added that further investigation of other suspected cases will continue in conjunction with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The removal of non- existent workers from federal payroll and the attendant savings on salaries was made possible “because of the ongoing BVN-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)”, the statement added

    The Federal Government is also making efforts to recover “salary balances in bank accounts as well as any pension contributions in respect of the deleted workers. This involves active collaboration with the concerned banks and the National Pension Commission (Pencom).”

    The Federal Government, the ministry said, is determined to continue the verification programme on a regular periodic basis in its efforts to reduce personnel cost.

    Since personnel costs represent over 40 per cent of total government expenditure, the Federal Government has vowed to continue to strengthen its payroll controls.

    “It plans to undertake periodic checks and to utilise Computer Assisted Audit Techniques under its new Continuous Audit Programme. This will ensure that all payments are accurate and valid. Requirements for new entrants joining the Federal Civil Service have also been enhanced to prevent the introduction  of fictitious employees in future” the statement said.

    Reacting to recent calls by the leadership of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) that the panel members investigating the cases of indicted civil servants be drawn from both government and labour, the Ministry explained that “the request could not be acceded to, as the investigations were of a criminal nature and would therefore be handled by the appropriate  investigative agencies”.

    The ongoing exercise, which is part of the cost-saving and anti-corruption agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, is key to funding the deficit in the 2016 budget, as savings made will ultimately reduce the amount to be borrowed.

    The strategy of using BVNs, rather than requiring the physical presence of each member of staff for biometric capture at the initial stage of verification, the finance ministry said, has significantly simplified and accelerated the progress of the payroll audit process and reduced the cost of implementation.

    With the adoption of the BVN platform to audit and sanitise the salary payment system, the Ministry has so far checked the details of about 312,000 civil servants currently enrolled on IPPIS.

    In some instances, the exercise showed that the names of some civil servants whose salaries are being processed are not consistent with the names linked to the accounts into which their salaries are paid.

    Individuals in this category are therefore either receiving salary payments from multiple sources (which could be different parastatals for example), or they are non-existent workers.

  • Abia govt orders firm to pay workers

    The government of Abia State has ordered the management of the rubber company operating in Ameke and Ndi Oji Abam in Arochukwu Local Government Area to pay up its workers salaries within two days.

    Commissioner for Agriculture Uzor Azubuike gave the order at the weekend when he visited the rubber estates. He gave the company managing the Abia Rubber Company till Tuesday to clear the salary arrears or have themselves to blame.

    Azubuike also ordered that new rubber lumps should not be carried out of the premises until all outstanding debts are cleared, stressing that the company should not be making money while their workers suffered.

    He expressed disappointment that for more than a year, the investor had not remitted its dues to the state government, even failing to keep to the terms of the agreement, including replacing the ageing rubber trees.

    The commissioner said the government would not allow anyone frustrate its effort of using agriculture to revive the economy, pointing out that the era when government depends of federation account is over.

    Traditional ruler of Ovukwu Abam, Eze Oji Ojembe expressed dissatisfaction with the operations of the investor, Imoniyame, saying the investor has not lived up to expectation since it took over the management of the rubber estates.

     

  • Corruption: CCB, security agencies begin discreet profiling of judges, workers

    Corruption: CCB, security agencies begin discreet profiling of judges, workers

    Security agencies are probing accounts and assets of some judges –  as part of measure to clean up the Judiciary – The Nation has learnt.

    The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) is also part of the “discreet” exercise, which will examine the investments of the spouses of such judges.

    No fewer than three judges have been reported to the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    The profiling of the judges by security’s agencies  began about two weeks ago, a source said.

    The CCB specifically directed judicial officers to “declare their assets or face prosecution if they defy the directive”.

    Some of those affected were alleged to have had unethical allegations against them over the years.

    It was learnt that some of them had wielded influence to avoid reprimand or sanctions by Judicial authorities.

    One of such judges made a fortune from “curious injunctions and rulings” during the countdown to the 2011 general elections, the source claimed.

    It was also gathered that a former Chief Justice of Nigeria once threatened to jail a Chief Judge after receiving report on his “sharp practices”.

    The judge has remained in office after going underground to allow the ex-CJN complete the statutory tenure.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Some judges are currently under investigation by security agencies. These agencies are looking into the assets of these judges and Judicial officers.

    “Some suspicious accounts of these judges and judicial officers and their relations are also being identified. There are some using their spouses and friends for high-profile contracts and investments.

    “The outcome of the profiling may lead to the purging of bad eggs from the Bench.

    “The CCB about two weeks ago sent a directive to all heads of courts, demanding update of Assets Declaration Forms by Judicial officers and workers.

    The CCB said failure to comply with the directive might attract sanctions in line with the relevant provision in the 1999 Constitution.

    “The Bureau shall have power to  receive declaration by public officers made under paragraph 12 of part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to this Constitution.”

    “Examine the declarations in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct or any law.

    “Retain custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.

    “Ensure compliance with and, where appropriate, enforce the provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law relating thereto.

    “Any statement in such declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorized in that behalf to verify it shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code.

    “Any property or assets acquired by a public officer after any declaration required under this Constitution and which is not fairly attributable to income, gift or loan approved by this Code shall be deemed to have been acquired in breach of this Code unless the contrary is proved.”

    “Receive complaints about non-compliance with or breach of the Provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law in relation thereto. Investigate the complaint and, where appropriate, refer such matters to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.”

    As at weekend, investigation confirmed that the number of judges reported to the National Judicial Council( NJC) has increased to three.

    A source in NJC said:  “From what was submitted to NJC, three judges are to be investigated. The number can increase depending on security reports.

    “We already have a case of His Lordship, Honourable Justice M. N. Yunusa who was alleged to have been bribed with N225,000 by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), Mr. Rickey Tarfa.

    “All these judges will go through normal processes with the NJC. They are presumed innocent until the allegations are otherwise proven against them.”

    The NJC and the President are empowered to determine a judge’s fate in line with the process outlined by Part I, Paragraph I, Section 21(b) of the Third Schedule to the  1999 Constitution (as amended) and  Section 292(1)( a)(i)

    Part I, Paragraph I, Section 21(b) of the Third Schedule to the Constitution reads: “For the avoidance of doubt, the said Third Schedule, Part I, Paragraph I, Section 21(b) of the Constitution provides that “the NJC shall have power to recommend to the President the removal from office of (the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Justices of the Supreme Court, the President and Justices of the Court of Appeal, and the Chief Judge and Judges of the Federal High Court) and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers”

    Section 292(1)( a)(i) says: “A judicial officer shall not be removed from his office or appointment before his age of retirement, except in the following circumstances (a) in the case of the Chief Justice of Nigeria,  the President  of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the  High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Grand Khadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and President, Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by the President( of Nigeria), acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate, praying that he be so removed for his inability to discharge the functions of his office or appointment (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body) or for misconduct or contravention of the Code of Conduct.”

  • FG removes 23,846 ghost workers from payroll

    The Federal Government says it has removed 23,846 non-existent workers from its payroll.

    Consequently, the salary bill for February 2016 has reduced by N2.293 billion when compared to December 2015 at which time the BVN audit process commenced.

    A statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance on Sunday said “this figure represents a percentage of the number of non-existent workers who had hitherto been receiving salary from various ministries, departments and agencies.”

    The statement added that further investigation of other suspected cases will continue in conjunction with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    ” The removal of non existent workers from federal payroll and the savings on salaries was made possible because of the ongoing BVN-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)”, the statement said.

    The Federal Government is also making efforts to recover “salary balances in bank accounts as well as any pension contributions in respect of the deleted workers. This involves active collaboration with the concerned banks and the National Pension Commission (Pencom).”

  • Workers push for N48,000 minimum wage

    Workers push for N48,000 minimum wage

    Labour said it would soon submit a proposal demanding a new minimum wage of N48,000 based on the impact of the global economic downturn on wages.

    The General Secretary, National Union of Garment and Textile Workers (NUGTW), Comrade Issa Aremu, warned President Muhammadu Buhari not to bow to pressures to further devalue the national currency because the last devaluation eroded the value of the minimum wage.

    “The last time we signed the minimum wage, which is N18,000, which is the current rate, and this was between 2009 and 2010, this translated to $124. But now on account of depreciation alone, this $124 has dropped to less than $60. So wages have been completely eroded on account of devaluation.

    “In nominal terms, if we are talking just on account of the exchange rate, the minimum wage which is currently N18,000 should be about N48,000. And I am leaving this warning, if you dare devalue again, be sure that labour will also have to hike its own price in the market,” Aremu who was also the former Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said.

    Aremu also advised President Buhari to urgently revisit the report of the 2014 National Conference and implement the holistic recommendations for the power sector.

    He said the Federal Government should not allow the electricity tariff increase to sail through because the generating and distribution companies were underperforming.

    “The point cannot be overstated; power/energy is so strategic to the industrialisation and the well being of the people,’’ Aremu said.

    He also appealed to the Federal Government to review the privatisation contracts with the electricity generation companies (GenCos) and DisCos.

    Aremu said the firms should be given a two- year time-frame to allow them stabilise and provide efficient power supply to Nigerians before they could contemplate any tariff increase.

    He urged more transparency in future disposal of the nation’s assets in the name of privatisation.

    He said: “The point cannot be overstated. Between 30 per cent and 35 per cent of textile and garment manufacturing costs are energy related expenses. Without electricity, there can be no industrialisation.

    “The promise and expectation that President Buhari will revive textile industry generally is not possible without electricity,’’ the labour leader said.

    According to Aremu, it is time for the Buhari-led administration to critically review the power sector reform with a view to increasing public sector investment.

  • 23,000 ghost workers: Minister summons bank MD, PENCOM DG

    23,000 ghost workers: Minister summons bank MD, PENCOM DG

    •Releases evidence to ACSN leaders

    Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun yesterday summoned the Managing Director of a first generation bank on alleged complicity of the bank in the payment of salaries to 23,000 ghost workers on the payroll of the Federal Government.

    Also summoned by the minister is the Director General of the Pension Commission (PENCOM), Ms Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who is expected to answer questions from a probe panel in her ministry on how Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) allegedly generated fake PFA numbers for the “ghost workers”.

    All suspects in the ghost workers saga may be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The minister has already stopped the salary of the ghost workers and pledged to conduct the ongoing probe in a manner that innocent workers will not suffer.

    Sources said that the affected bank was used by civil servants to perpetrate the crime. “The managing director of a first generation bank was summoned to Abuja today (yesterday) Friday in connection with the salary scam,” one source said.

    Details of the discussion with officials of the Ministry of Finance were not made public.

    However, sources said the MD pledged to cooperate with the probe panel on the salary scam.

    The source added: ”Some of the startling discoveries so far indicate that salary accounts were opened for non-existing workers in some ministries where curious payments were made.

    “The ghost workers syndicate is virtually in all ministries.”

    Ms Anohu-Amazu was  at the Finance Ministry on Thursday following a summon by the minister, it was gathered yesterday.

    The summon was a result of the alleged involvement of Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) in generating fake pension remittance numbers for the ghost workers.

    A top source added: “The DG of PENCOM was invited by the minister  to  a meeting with the probe panel where she was shown proof that some pension fund administrators may have colluded with some civil servants to perpetrate the crime.

    “The PFAs allegedly generated fake PFA numbers for the ‘ghost workers’. The DG promised to launch a high-powered probe into the activities of PFAs and bring to book those found wanting.”

    It was also gathered that the minister on Thursday gave an insight into salary fraud when the representatives of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) visited her.

    At the session, the minister made some documents from the salary probe panel available to the union leaders.

    The documents included letters written to some ministries and parastatals for information on personnel cost.

    One source said: “The revelations generated by these letters are mind-boggling, as evidence showed that most of the names of some individuals which featured on government’s payroll on a monthly basis do not exist in the nominal register of those ministries and departments.

    “For instance, out of 24 of such workers being investigated in the Federal Ministry of Works, whose names appeared on the payroll, only the name of one staff corresponded with file and nominal roll. The names of 11 other staff are not on the nominal roll but are on the ministry’s payroll, while the names of 12 staff are on the ministry’s payroll and on nominal roll with file numbers not corresponding with their names. This is an indication that the other 23 workers are either ghost workers or have incomplete Bank Verification Number registration.

    “A similar exercise was carried out in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation where seven staff were investigated. According to the report forwarded to the Minister of Finance, only one of those investigated has his name both in the nominal roll and pay roll. The other six have their names on the pay roll but the names are not in the nominal roll.”

    The Secretary of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Mr Isaac Ojemhenke, who led the union delegation, praised the minister for the painstaking effort to ensure fairness in the ongoing purge.

    He said if previous administrations had been sensitive to consult the labour unions before any fundamental issues like the current one were tackled, the nation wouldn’t have suffered untold economic problems as in the past.

    Ojemhenke said the union would not in any way make case for any workers proved to have been involved in the fraud.

    He, however, appealed to the minister to ensure that modalities for the planned dismissal of indicted staff be made available to the workers’ union.

    However, his plea that the names of such staff be forwarded to Labour was turned down by the minister.

    She said it would be “unfair to expose them, especially since they haven’t been found guilty yet”.

    On the fate of the innocent workers, the top source said the “Minister told the labour that a careful arrangement to ensure that innocent ones among those being investigated are not unjustly punished has been put in place.

    “The minister said the first step being taken is to stop the salary of those in this category. She promised to dispatch letters to the various agencies to explain why salary will be stopped. She said arrangements have been made to clear any of the affected workers who is able to come up with relevant documents including letters of their last promotion, details of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) and BVN, among others within a period of 30 days.

    “She told us the exercise would be done in batches. The minister said arrangements have been made to allow the affected staff defend themselves at the Federal Pay Office in their respective states.”

    Contacted, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media Matters, Mr Festus Akanbi, said investigations on the potential 23,000 ghost workers in the federal civil service is ongoing.

    He said some investigative agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had been briefed on the matter.

    He declined to speak on the outcome of the meeting with Labour and the status of the ongoing probe.

    During a budget defence session with the Senate Committee on Finance last week, the minister said the Bank Verification Number (BVN), and Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System had led to the discovery of 23,000 ghost workers in the civil service.

    She said: “As we speak now, we have about 23,000 that we need to investigate. Those whom either the BVN is linked to multiple payments or the name on the BVN account are not consistent with the name on our own payroll.

    “If we are able to get everybody onto the BVN platform, we will be able to save a considerable amount of personnel cost.

    “My job is to get them off our payroll, what happens from there on goes to the investigative agencies; we will pass our files onto them and they will take a decision as to what sanctions they will take.

    “Not only will we remove those people from our payroll, but we will also be going after the banks involved to collect our money.”

  • Construction workers seek more pay

    The National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) has demanded the review of its members salaries nationwide.

    Speaking to newsmen in Lagos during the week, its National President, Comrade Amaechi Asugwuni, said its members in the sector were facing economic hardship that necessitated the demand for salary review to cushion the hardship and also create industrial harmony in the sector.

    Asugwuni said it was the responsibility of the Federation of Construction Industry (FoCI) as the employers’ regulatory body to call for salary review, adding that in accordance with the collective bargaining procedure, the salary review was due in December last year as the last review was in 2013. He said the employers’ body had failed to respect or honour the procedure.

    The union chief said FOCI being the employers’ body was deliberately delaying the review of the salary in spite of several negotiations between it and the union’s leadership.

    He emphasised that the employers must be in line and guided by global best practice in industrial relations, quality of working conditions and regulations.

    Asugwuni said the union is acting in accordance with rules of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) agreement over negotiating a review of workers salary every two years.

    He said the workers have been supportive and tolerant of the employers’ action, even when they embark on massive retrenchment in the sector which they blamed on the present economic downturn.

    Asuguni added that employers have continued to sack workers as a result of the dwindling fortune of the economy as one person now does the job of three persons adding that the only way to compensate workers for excess job is to increase their salaries.

    He said the union has begun nationwide interactive consultation and mobilisation of  members to map out action plans on the way forward for the union, stressing that the union would not hesitate to embark on a nationwide industrial action to compel FOCI to implement the salary review.

  • Workers of Akwa Ibom acquired schools seek intervention

    About 478 teachers and non-teaching staff of six community secondary schools taken over by the government of Akwa Ibom State  since 2012, have appealed to Governor Udom Emmanuel for attention.

    The group under the aegis of “Absorbed teaching and non-teaching staff of state secondary education board (SSEB)”,  said they have  not been paid salaries and other entitlements since the takeover of their schools, a situation they said has resulted into hardship and death of seven of their members.

    In a letter a titled: “A passionate appeal for intervention”, addressed to the state commissioner for education through the Chairman, State Secondary Education Board and  copied to  the governor, Head of Service, Accountant-General and Commissioner for Finance, they recalled that in 2012, former governor Godswill Akpabio took over six community secondary schools from their owners  and posted them into the said schools.

    They regretted that five years after the takeover, the government is yet to begin payment of salaries and other emoluments to them.

    “Consequently we are using this medium to sincerely appeal to you to use your good offices to find a lasting solution to this festering and lingering crisis, which has been pending for years now. We are, indeed, aware that this government is concerned about the future of this state and ultimately, we think that quality education holds the key that unlocks a people’s greatness,” the letter, which was signed by six representatives from the six schools, read in part.

    The commissioner for education, Aniekan Akpan, in his reaction, said he is aware of the predicament of the affected people. He assured that the matter is receiving adequate attention from appropriate quarters.

    He lamented that Governor Udom Emmanuel, who is about eight months in office, inherited a lot of issues, noting that efforts are being made to find a lasting and acceptable solution.