The Nation Newspaper

Tag: workers

  • Benue workers shun offices

    Civil servants in Benue State have shunned offices, following the non-payment of their salary in the last six months.

    Traders have cried out for lack of patronage.

    Investigations by The Nation showed that primary school teachers are the worst hit, as they are owed five months’ salary without any hope. Although there was an announcement on the state-owned radio that Governor Gabriel Suswam ordered that their salary should be paid.

    When our correspondent visited the state secretariat, most of the offices were empty. Those who reported for duty were idling away in parks and gardens, discussing the hardship caused by the non-payment of salary.

    A civil servant, who works with the Ministry of Agriculture, Comrade Paul Omale, said his two children had been sent away from school because he had not paid their fees, adding that he was finding it difficult to feed his family.

    He said he had parked his vehicle and resorted to trekking because he could not afford petrol sold at N105 per litre.

    Mrs. Torkwase Ugoh said she could not afford the transport fare of N100, hence she decided to stay at home until her salary was paid.

    At the Ministry of Land and Survey, civil servants plucked unripe mangoes and ate them as breakfast.

    They said the non-payment of their salaries for almost six months had made life unbearable for them and their families.

    Beer parlour operators complained of low patronage.

    The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Godwin Anya, debunked a report that teachers had been paid, saying government owed them five months’ salary.

    A teacher in LGEA Primary School, Ayilamo, Tombo Ward, Mrs. Ukeyima Ucha, said Governor Suswam did not mean well for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Prince Terhemen Tarzor, if he owed salary.

    “Suswam wants Tarzor to succeed him, but he has forgotten that the best campaign for Tarzor is for the PDP-led administration to pay workers’ salary. Election is near and people will reject an administration that does not pay civil servants,” Mrs. Ucha said.

    A government source, who preferred anonymity, told The Nation that the shortfall from the federal allocation and fall in oil prices caused the delay in the payment of salary.

     

     

  • Ajimobi orders payment of workers’ salaries

    Ajimobi orders payment of workers’ salaries

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has directed that all outstanding salaries be paid this week.

    Commissioner for Finance Zach Adelabu said salaries were delayed following the late payment of states’ allocation from the Federal Government.

    He said the state received the January allocation on February 26, which was a far cry from what was expected.

    Adelabu denied the opposition’s claim that local contractors were not being patronised.

    The commissioner said over 60 per cent of the contracts awarded by the administration were to local contractors.

    His words: “What did they know about capital flight? These people who are talking just ask them what they understand by the word capital flight. We have 33 local governments building roads that are having a direct and positive bearing on our people.

    “They are building schools; supplying furniture; yet they say that those that did these and are still working are not from here? The jobs that the local contractors cannot handle are the ones we are giving out to outsiders.

    “One of such projects is the Mokola flyover. And apart from that flyover and the one done by the military at Molete and Secretariat Bridge, no civilian administration has done such projects in the state.

    “We have expanded many roads in conformity with global standard and we are not stopping at that. Other areas as qualitative health care delivery, education, among others, are receiving attention.”

    Adelabu assured retired primary school teachers, who are yet to get their salaries, that the government was working to put smiles on their faces.

  • 47,913 PHCN workers cry for payment

    47,913 PHCN workers cry for payment

    About 47, 913 bona fide staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) are yet to receive their severance package after the privatisation of the electricity sector.

    The workers protested the non-payment of their housing allowance, totalling about N400million by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).

    They said the money was deducted from their salaries in  2013 before their disengagement.

    The workers carried placards bearing various inscriptions, such as “President Jonathan, please help us locate where our money is hanging”; “There is God o o o”; and “Why delay payment of our housing allowances since 2013?”

    The protest took place at the secretariat of Oyo State Correspondents at Mokola, Ibadan.

    Addressing reportesr, their spokespersons, Oyedele Edna Owesiri, Julius Adeleke Taiwo, Adesina Olayinka, described as unusual the delay in the payment of the allowances.

    They said some of their colleagues have been paid while their own payment was being unduly delayed.

    The aggrieved workers claimed that the money has been paid to batches one to 10, but for reasons best known to those concerned, they have refused to pay batches 11 and 12.

    While pleading with President Goodluck Jonathan to look into their plight, the visibly angry ex- workers lamented that some of them have died waiting for the money.

    They explained that the affected workers are spread across Ogun, Kwara and parts of Kogi, Osun and Oyo states.

    Specifically, they asked the National Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO), a body set up by the Federal Government to see to all liabilities incurred by the government during the privatisation, to intervene.

    Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and other relevant government agencies have embarked on the last round of verification to sort things out.

    Director-General of the BPE,  Benjamin Dikki made this known when he featured at a radio programme in Lagos.

    He said: “This is the last verification exercise. After this exercise, all staff that did not  come for verification will be declared ghost workers.”

    Dikki appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the evolving electric market in the country as the ains in the sector would not manifest overnight. He explained that unlike reforms in other sectors, which brought immediate results, the power sector reform requires time as investment in the sector is capital intensive.

    Dikki said over N300 billion worth of investments has been injected into the power sector since the take over, one-and-half years ago.

    He pointed out that the investment was for the upgrade of power infrastructure, adding that they become obsolete over the decades, saying that new technologies are evolving.

    He said because of the infrastructural development by the power investors, power interruptions in the country have reduced to the barest minimum, while over 2,000 engineers and technicians have been employed since the takeover.

    Dikki noted regretted that for over 16 years as a public monopoly, PHCN neither employed nor brought in new investments into the sector.

  • Don’t sell your PVCs, workers urged

    Don’t sell your PVCs, workers urged

    Stakeholders in the labour sector have cautioned workers to resist the temptation of exchanging their permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) for money from unscrupulous politicians in the country.

    They made the call in Lagos at a one day-interactive session organised by the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN)  with the Voters Education and Publicity Department of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    A communiqué signed by the union’s  President, Comrade Dele Hunsu, urged workers and other electorates to make sacrifice and ensure that they comply with the schedule and directive of the electoral officers.

    “Nigerian workers must ensure that they arrive the election venue early as accreditation is expected to commence at 8.00am and close at 1:00pm whilst voting commences at 1:30pm,” he said.

    He said workers should embrace the use of PVC and the card reader and join forces with INEC in forestalling electoral fraud.

    He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the observed improvement in the PVC distribution leading to over 52 million voters having received their cards.

    On the botched elections of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which held in Abuja last month, Hunsu urged Nigerian workers to put the ugly development behind them and elect progressive leaders that will work to defend the rights of workers.

  • Judiciary workers threaten legal action

    Judiciary workers threaten legal action

    The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has vowed to institute a legal action against state governments that have not implemented the Federal High Court, Abuja verdict that granted financial autonomy to the judicial sector.

    JUSUN President, Comrade Marwan Mustapha Adamu, made the threat after an emergency meeting of its national officers, saying the union has notified its lawyers to approach the court to freeze the accounts of defaulting states.

    Speaking on the union’s ongoing strike in some states in the country, Adamu said the strike will continue alongside the intended court action, stating that the suspension of the strike in Enugu, Niger, Kogi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Delta and Bayelsa followed compliance of union’s demands by the governments.

    JUSUN suspended its nationwide strike recently following a memorandum of understanding reached with the Federal Government, but directed state chapters not to do so until an understanding is reached on the implementation of the court judgment.

    Adamu lamented the decision by the Jigawa State Government to withhold the January salary of its members, saying that the union would use all legal channels available to challenge intimidation of its members and ensure that Nigeria’s labour laws are respected.

    “States facing various threats and intimidation from their state governments, including non-payment of salaries, are to continue with the struggle as the union, among other opinion is considering taking appropriate legal action to address each case on its merit.

    “State branches are not to submit the struggle to the whims and caprices of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) chairmen, such as in Abia which has arrogated to themselves the power to determine conditions for suspending the strike. Any strike suspended without due process shall be nullified by the national headquarters of JUSUN.

    “The union remains focused and will take all appropriate legal steps to enforce its resolutions on the strike for the implementation of the constitutional provision of judiciary autonomy confirmed by the court judgment of 13th January, 2014,” he said.

  • Guest House workers retool

    Guest House workers retool

    The Management of FUNAAB Guest House has organised an in-house training programme on Hotel Management aimed at improving productivity of workers employed at the FUNAAB Guest House, International Scholars’ and Resource Centre, Royal Greens Guest House as well as the Royal Kitchen.

    Chairperson, Board of FUNAAB Guest House, Dr. Helen Bodunde, said the training is the first of three planned for this year.

    She commended the professionalism of the resource persons, Messrs. Abioye Adedipe and Emmanuel Adeyefa, of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism. She charged the trainees to abide by what they were taught in areas of Customer Relations Services, Decorum and Service Delivery.  Appraising the programme, Mr. Oyewole Olaniyi, a receptionist at the Royal Greens Guest House, commended the management for the initiative, which will not only add to their knowledge in the hotel business but also enhance service delivery. Miss Adekola Omotola of the International Scholars’ and Resource Centre added that the training is an eye-opener.

  • ‘Wada unfair to workers’

    The dissolved Kogi State local government councils’ chairmen have accused Governor Idris Wada of being insensitive to the plight of council workers.

    The governor procured a High Court judgment to dissolve elected council chairmen towards the end of last year, a source alleged

    The source said for the last five months, the state, through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, took over direct payment of local government employees, but paid 50 per cent of workers’ salary, less than what the chairmen paid.

  • NTDC workers’ strike enters second week

    NTDC workers’ strike enters second week

    The strike by workers of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), the country’s apex tourism body, has entered the second week.

    The workers have vowed to continue with the industrial action until the agency’s director general, Mrs. Sally Mbanefo, is removed from office.

    Last week, official activities at the parastatal’s Abuja and zonal offices were stopped.

    The workers, through their union, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), have made several allegations against Mrs. Mbanefo.

    They accused her of starving the agency of fund under the guise that the Federal Government was no longer funding the parastatal.

    The workers accused her of “going behind to collect huge allocation from the Federal Government”.

    The NTDC Chapel Chairman of AUPTCRE, Sam Unwuchola Okpomo, said as at July 2014, the Federal Government released N52,014,821 as capital budget and N342, 654,807 for training and other logistics to the agency.

    However, when The Nation called Mrs. Mbanefo, she denied any wrongdoing, insisting that there was no problem at the NTDC.

    She said: “There is no problem at NTDC; everything is going on fine.” When told that NTDC chairman of AUPTCRE had spoken to The Nation to confirm the problem in the agency, she said efforts were on to resolve it.

    She claimed that she will be meeting with the union officials tomorrow.

    However, the NTDC chapel chairman said this was not true, asking why she was not coming to the office, if all was well.

     

     

     

     

  • Health workers’ strike paralyses activities

    Barely two weeks after the National Joint Health Sector Union called off the three months nationwide strike, the Joint Health Sector Union,  Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, Kogi State chapter, yesterday embarked on an indefinite strike over internal crisis.

    This paralysed activities at the medical centre,  as patients were asked to go home, while the workers refused to attend to them.

    When reporters visited the hospital, it was deserted,  as the Records Office, Accounts Section, Pharmacy and other departments were shut. Patients were not allowed access to the hospital.

    The workers, it was learnt, demanded the payment of the backlog of unpaid allowances.

    A source said the union was worried over the inability of the management to remit union dues deducted from the workers’ salaries.

    It was gathered that the management owed the newly-employed workers one month salary.

    The source said the union was also asking the management to upgrade the entry point salary of laboratory scientists from Grade  7-2 to 9-2, as obtained in other federal hospitals.

    The union was said to have written a warning letter to the management, but when there was no response, it embarked on the strike.

    Contacted on the phone, the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Debo Elesho, urged reporters to visit the hospital, but later said he could not attend to them because the management was in a meeting with the union to sort out things.

  • Judiciary workers suspend strike

    Judiciary workers suspend strike

    •JUSUN denies alleged manipulation by AGF

    Lagos State judiciary workers will resume for work today following the suspension of their 25-day  industrial action.

    Sources said the union leaders under the umbrella of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) met at the weekend on the strike.

    They also met with officials of the state government led by the Attorney General, Mr. Ade Ipaye.

    At the end of the meeting, JUSUN’s state chairman Emmanuel Abioye sent a text message to Ipaye informing him of their decision to suspend the strike.

    Ipaye, in a text message sent to The Nation yesterday, gave insight into the meeting held by the two parties.

    The text message reads:  “At a meeting with JUSUN, we made it clear that Lagos State already had a Judiciary Self Accounting  Law since 1995, which is being implemented to date with the judiciary getting its recurrent vote as first line charge on the consolidated revenue fund once a month.

    “We explained that capital fund cannot, however, be transferred monthly as it has to be accumulated and used for many projects programmed for simultaneous implementation. Besides, projects are better managed by the Ministry of Works, which was set up to serve all arms of government.

    “In the end, our position was that Lagos State was already implementing the provisions on autonomy of the judiciary. JUSUN promised to go and look into these. Now, they have resolved to suspend the strike”.

    Meanwhile, the General Secretary of  JUSUN, Isaiah Adetola distanced himself yesterday from a statement alleging threat to his life and manipulation of the union by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN).

    The statement, which was widely circulated in the social media last week, claimed that Adetola was opposed to the move by Adoke and the Federal Government to manipulate JUSUN’s leadership and exploit the strike by the union for political gains.

    Speaking at the JUSUN’s National Secretariat in Abuja last week, Adetola said he was embarrassed by the statement, “authored by some enemies of the union with the intention to divide it and distract it from the struggle for the independence of the Judiciary”.

    He urged everyone to disregard it.

    JUSUN President Marwan Adamu said the union decided to suspend the strike in federal courts alone because the Federal Government gave assurance to always release funds standing to the credit of the judiciary when due.

    He said the decision to sustain the strike in state courts was because the states were unwilling to give similar pledge.

    Marwan denied the allegation that his union was being manipulated by external forces for political gains.