The Nation Newspaper

Tag: workers

  • Workers kick as firm plans tank farm for ports

    Workers kick as firm plans tank farm for ports

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) workers are kicking over the planned building of a tank farm and pipeline by the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO) across the NPA dockyard and waterfront in Apapa.

    President of Senior Staff Association of Communications, Transport and Corporations (SSACTAC) Comrade Omeiza Umar told reporters in Lagos that for safety reason the project should not be allowed.

    He said if the project is allowed, it would cost the government a lot in revenue, block entry and exit from the Apapa dockyard, subject facilities to explosion and pose serious threat to lives and properties.

    The Apapa dockyard, he said, had only one entry/exit point, with a pipeline laid by NIPCO. Establishing another pipeline along the quay apron is an invitation to disaster because the only available escape route in case of emergency would have been blocked by the same NIPCO, he said.

    He said: “If NIPCO is allowed to go ahead with its obnoxious intention, the navigational channel of about 1.5km will be blocked and any attempt to check vessels and NPA tug boats shall lead to collision with the pipe and there will be explosion, fire and spillage of product.

    “There exists a pilotage district within Lagos ports. The Joint Venture Company (JVC) handling the pilotage of Lagos district is located at the dockyard where tug boats and dredgers are berthed. The JVC called Continental Shipyard Limited (CSL), repairs ship and vessels of NPA and other third party jobs. This company repairs the tug boats, dredgers and pilot cutters of NPA with priority preference and at half the cost as compared with charges of similar companies such as Nigerdock.”

    Besides, he noted that there also exists a dolphin that anchored the floating dock of NPA awaiting repairs to class. This has cost NPA some fortune. We don’t have another dolphin to anchor the floating dock and we cannot afford to give away the existing one for mere piping of petroleum products to NIPCO jetty because without NIPCO Nigerians will not lack products, he added.

    He also explained that NPA has dredged the waterways and channels of Lagos pilotage district to make them navigable, which cost the government a huge amount of money. This was done for maritime operations and not for NIPCO tank farm and pipeline. Also the port reform that is yielding result would be reversed in the Lagos pilotage district by the unwarranted exercise of NIPCO as congestion at the port will return in an unimaginable level, he added.

    Umar said: “The ports of Nigeria are neither petroleum ports nor tank farm ports; however, there exists jetties for oil terminals. We advise NIPCO to look for virgin area (green field) like Oando did at Takwa Bay and established its tank farms there, for instance, Ogogoro village or Snake Island.

    He said the government should make it a point of duty for investors to invest genuinely not to struggle for existing structures that are of great importance to the economy such as dockyard of Apapa. We members of SSACTAC, will not fold our arms and allow corrupt government officials collude with NIPCO to short-change Nigerians and sabotage government’s efforts at developing the maritime sector.

    Reacting, a NIPCO source told The Nation in confidence that the workers were being mischievous, saying the company was not planning to build any tank-farm or pipeline. The source said what the company intended to do, is to build a jetty where ships bringing products to it would berth to discharge. The source explained that the group was there when the company conducted public hearing on the issue, advertised it in major national newspapers and electronic media and other requisite requirements and didn’t complain.

     

  • ‘Why we formed new workers’ union’

    Crisis rocking the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Ondo State has assumed another dimension following the election of Comrade Bunmi Eniayewu as its new President.

    Already, the aggrieved workers had formed a new group named Association of Local Government Workers (AOLGW) in replacement of the NULGE in the state.

    As a result of this development, the newly formed AOLGW has directed workers at the local government service to resign their membership from the Ogun State chapter of NULGE.

    It has also directed the Local Government Service Commission to stop the deduction of their check-off-dues to the account of NULGE once they get their letter of resignations.

    But, the NULGE President, Eniayewu insisted that there were no factions in the union.

    He said NULGE in Ondo State has continued to remain a unified entity indivisible by any factor or issue of election, adding that the union will continue to work as one.

    According to him, the just-concluded election into various positions of the union showed the true voice of over 13,000 work force of local government workers spread across the 18 local government areas of the state.

    However, the workers’ association, in a statement by its President, Mr. Isaac Fashina and Publicity Secretary, Felix Oteje said their resignation from NULGE would afford them the opportunity to join the AOLGW, an association which would fight for their rights from government.

    The statement also said the members of the AOLGW would no longer pay their check-off-dues to the account of NULGE once they resign their membership of the union.

    They particularly lamented the election which brought Eniayewu as President of NULGE, saying delegates’ list was improperly compiled.

    “We have 21 branches of which eight delegates would come from each of the branches to vote at the state level. To our amazement, some local government areas like Odigbo, Ese-Odo and Ondo West where there were no elections, the immediate past President went ahead to compile illegal list for the three branches.

    “We complained bitterly and even protested at the NULGE House; we were ignored simply because they have the support of National Executive who came to conduct the election.

    “They had to ratify their concocted lists for the election. On this note, we made our intention known that we cannot allow these men of questionable character to keep leading us and, of course, you need nobody to tell you that such people would not offer better things to the workers,” he said.

    According to the letter sent through the Administrative Secretary, Local Government Service Commission, Fashina said the new association comprises at least 80 per cent of members of the Merit Group of the local government workforce.

    The statement reads further: “The decision to pull out of NULGE and form the new group was in line with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 which stipulates that ‘every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons; and in particular, he may form or belong to any political party or trade union.’

    “Besides, the Trade Union Act Section 12(4) empowers us to belong to any association as it provided that “notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this act, membership of Trade Union by employees shall be voluntary and no employee shall be forced to join any Trade Union or be victimised for refusing to join or remain a member.

    “Some of the leaders of the union were under investigation over allegations of gross misconduct and had been interdicted by the state government.

    “We are tired of the set of leadership we have in the local government. Look at the restructuring exercise going on. We are the most affected and our leaders can’t do anything about it because most of them are also guilty.

    “Many of them are guilty of misappropriation, age falsification and they cannot face the governor to make case for others because the governor does not want to see their faces and we have been clamouring that we should have a change of leadership.”

  • Protesting sacked workers slam Imo govt

    Workers of Imo State origin, who were sacked in the Abia State civil service, yesterday accused the government of neglect and insensitivity to their plight.

    They said government’s action has resulted in the death of their colleagues.

    The sacked workers, who stormed the Government House, Owerri at about 11am to protest the delay in reabsorbing them into the civil service as promised by Governor Rochas Okorocha, frowned at the shoddy manner their disengagement was being handled.

    Security men prevented the over 2,000 protesters from entering the premises.

    They lamented that they had been abandoned by the state government despite entreaties.

    “Two years after we were unjustly disengaged by the Abia State government, our state has done nothing to alleviate our suffering despite our entreaties. We have been abandoned to our fate after spending years serving Abia State in different capacities, while Abia indigenes still work as civil servants in Imo State,” the protesters said.

    They carried placards and alleged that their remunerations, pensions and other entitlements were seized by the Abia State government.

    One of the protesters, a former school teacher, Mr. Boniface Amajuru, said: “We are tired of waiting. In May, our governor promised to re-absorb us into the civil service. Although he said our grade levels would be reduced, we have not heard anything about the matter since then.

    “The most disheartening thing is that our governor promised to be paying N20, 000 to the sacked workers monthly to assist us, but four months after, nothing has been done.”

    He urged the governor to fulfil his promise.

    “We cannot even eat three square meals in a day, neither can we finance our children’s education. Most of us have died of shock, poverty and frustration. We need help now.”

    Dressed in red shirts, the protesters, who became restive after waiting at the gate for hours, rebuffed appeals by security men to disperse and reconvene on a later date.

    The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Sir Jude Ejiogu, enjoined the protesters to sheathe their swords as government would address their grievances.

    He advised them to be law-abiding.

     

  • Varsity promotes 290 workers

    Members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), University of Ilorin Chapter, have praised the Vice-Chancellor, Prof AbdulGaniyu Ambali for the recent promotion of 290 members of the union in one fell swoop.

    The junior workers, who had earlier held a special general meeting, burst into praise songs as the VC, accompanied by some principal officers, entered the university’s main auditorium where they had gathered.

    Of the 290 beneficiaries, 96 moved up from CONTISS 05 to CONTISS 06, while 35 were also promoted from CONTISS 04 to CONTISS 05.

    Also, a total of 126 workers were promoted from CONTISS 03 to CONTISS 04 while 31 moved from CONTISS 02 to CONTISS 03 and two moved from CONTISS 01 to CONTISS 02.

    Speaking on behalf of the staff, the NASU Chairman, Mr. J. J. Bello, said most junior staff members had nearly lost hope until God sent Ambali to lift their sorrow and put smiles on their faces.

    “You have changed everything for the better; “We cannot but appreciate you. You are God-sent and we are happy that you always solve our problems before we even table them before you,” Be;;o told the VC.

    In the same vein, the state NASU Chairman, Mr. A. A. Bukoye, who was also present on the occasion, thanked Prof Ambali for promoting the members of staff who, according to him, “do the odd jobs.”

    In his response, Prof Ambali prayed God to enable him to continue to do more for the benefit of all members of the university community.

  • Five abducted workers freed

    The five kidnapped workers of indigenous dredging firms, Beks Kimse Nig Ltd and M. Sidom, on Monday evening regained freedom.

    Their captors were said to have set them free at Nembe in Bayelsa State.

    They were abducted by gunmen along the creek of Opuama in Southern Ijaw Local Government by the kidnappers, who operated on a speedboat.

    The victims were working for the companies engaged by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to carry out shore protection and reclamation work at the erosion-ravaged riverside of Opuama.

    Three of them were identified as Inoku Godwin, Sam Ede and Jackson Ibani.

    The bandits later demanded N6 million ransom for each of the victims, amounting to N30 million.

    A source close to one of the firms said the workers were rescued after a series of negotiations.

    He said they have returned to Port Harcourt.

    It was learnt that some former militant leaders were involved in the negotiations.

    The suspects were alleged to be youths from Lorbia and Azuzuama in the state.

    Police spokesman Alex Akhigbe confirmed the development.

    But he claimed no ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

    He said: “They were released about 7pm on Monday and taken to Nembe community where the police anti-kidnapping team rescued them.”

  • Health workers threaten to down tools

    Health workers threaten to down tools

    The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to implement the ruling of the National Industrial Court (NIC) on the 2009 agreement between the union and the government.

    Justice B.A. Adejumo ruled in favour of JOHESU, but dismissed their prayers on the National Health Bill.

    JOHESU, in a letter to the Minister of Labour, said: “All items on part 2 of our agreement of December 2, 2009, are deemed as accrued rights, and therefore should be implemented to the later; those earlier appointed as Consultants and their letter withdrawn should be immediately returned to their hitherto status with full pay and arrears; negotiation should commence towards the review of Shift Duty, Call Duty and other allowances and members who were adversely affected by the circular on skipping of CONHESS 10 should be appropriately placed with accrued arrears from the date they were reverted paid to them.

    “We urge your ministry to give life to the judgment by immediately complying with the ruling and decisions of the court within 21 days from the date of this letter.

    “In the failure of your ministry to do this within the aforesaid 21 days, JOHESU shall not be able to guarantee industrial peace and harmony in the health industry within the length and breadth of the federation of Nigeria, and the body should not be held responsible for this.”

    It would be recalled that the Minister of Labour and Productivity after failing to resolve the dispute between the Ministry of Health and JOHESU, in June 2012, referred the case to NIC to resolve the contending issues.

    “The contending issues included: none- skipping of salary CONHESS 10, national health bill, consultancy and specialist allowances and call/shift duty and other professional allowances.

    Chief Press Secretary to the Ministry, Isiaka Yusuf, however said: “I am not aware of the judgment nor the letter you are talking about, so I cannot comment on it.”

     

  • How lack of adequate sleep affects workers

    How lack of adequate sleep affects workers

    Over half of workers in West Africa (59 per cent) report that they have to sacrifice sleep to fit in personal and work commitments, either by waking up too early or by burning the midnight oil.

     

    Although flexible working is highlighted as a way to reduce commuting, creating more hours in the day for sleep or family life and improving productivity and staff retention, only 34 per cent of firms are rewarding management for encouraging the creation of a flexible workforce.

    According to Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplace solutions, workers also highlight that a shorter commute (19 per cent) and greater flexibility of location (24 per cent) would give them more time spend with their families as well as to catch some extra sleep, but businesses can also benefit from introducing greater flexibility which is reported to improve productivity (51 per cent) and help retain staff (90 per cent).

    These are some of the key findings of a global survey by Regus, based on interviews with more than 24,000 business-people from over 90 countries. “Lack of sleep is clearly detrimental to workers health and happiness with long working hours closely linked to heart disease,” says Joanne Bushell, Vice President Africa, Regus.

    Respondents highlight that a shorter commute and more flexibility over work location would help them spend more time with their families, finally spelling an end to sleepless nights filled with catching up on work or personal tasks that couldn’t be squeezed into the day.

    Key Findings and Statistics

    Globally about 29 per cent of workers are sleeping less than they wish to fit all their commitments and in West Africa about 59 per cent of workers are sacrificing sleep to fit in work and personal commitments, while over 27 per cent feel they have to overcompensate for time taken off for personal matters.

    Workers highlight a shorter commute and location flexibility as ways of helping them spend more time with their families. But businesses can benefit too, as flexible work is thought to improve productivity and help staff retention. Yet currently management is being rewarded for encouraging a flexible work environment only in half of firms.

    Bushell continues: “This survey shows that allowing employees to work closer to home in professional and fully efficient environments can have an important impact on family life and provide workers with a few more minute skip each morning.”

    The Regus boss added, “But the benefits are not just for workers, firms can also improve productivity and retention by introducing flexible working. In spite of the win-win benefits that flexible working can bring on both employee and company side, there is evidently still plenty of grounds for improvement as over half of West African firms do not recognise or reward managers for encouraging the creation of a flexible workforce.”

  • Justice for disengaged workers

    In Nigeria, employers have a way of engaging workers without paying commensurate wages. The underpaid employees are called “casual workers”.

    It may be trite to say that most casual workers in Nigeria are shortchanged by their employers in terms of right to certain benefits and allowances. Even with the meagre pay package, the “casual work” they do is not guaranteed. Any attempt by these so-called casual workers to demand for certain rights to enhance his or her welfare become issues that may result in dismissal.

    This is the reality of employment in Nigeria and some parts of Africa. As Nigerians continue to suffer in the name of casual work, some analysts have blamed the government for its failure to effectively address unemployment rate, which is put at 71 per cent.

    Every year, thousands of graduates are churned out by higher institutions, but the youths are not productively engaged. Ones that eventually get employed are left with option to work as a “casual staff” or its modified form known as “contract staff”.

    I read in National Impact magazine last month, where the disengaged downstream employees of defunct Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc accused Chevron Corporation of duplicity and greed in computation of their severance payment arising from Chevron’s sale of its downstream operation in 2009, notwithstanding the recorded windfall profit it realised from its downstream asset sales in Nigeria.

    According to the report, Chevron did everything possible to avoid decent severance payments for the employees that spent years of their lives working for the firm. This drama resulted to weeks of strike by the employees during which they carried placards with inscriptions, such as “Chevron is fuelling death in Nigeria’.

    The poser for the authority is: will this inhuman treatment of Nigerians stop? What is the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) doing? What has been the role of the Minister of Labour and Productivity to address the injustice? We may not be surprised to learn that nobody is doing anything because Nigerian laws are not being respected even by foreigners.

    The disengaged Chevron employees alleged that it was the firm’s duplicity that made it to lose reputable companies that indicated interest in the buying of its downstream interest and settled for a rather unknown company as its choice in a deal initially reported to be $1 billion but was later put at $800 million. The report also hinted that the company that bought Chevron downstream interest had been sanctioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which barred it from getting loans from the country’s financial institutions due to its bad debt.

    Also, the disengaged downstream employees of defunct Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc alleged that Chevron’s action to short-change them was in line with the firm’s notorious attitude to suffer vulnerable and weak stakeholders, especially in Nigeria, where bribery and corruption is the order of the day.

    In the United States, reports had it that a community near San Francisco where 70 per cent of the population are either black or Latino, Chevron caused almost 1,000 people to be hospitalised as its refinery exploded, spewing poisonous hydrocarbons across the city and forced thousands to remain indoors.

    In a legal action brought against it in Ecuador, a community won $19.04 billion judgment against Chevron after a court found the oil company guilty of dumping toxic waste into Amazon waterways for a period of 26 years.

    From Ecuador to Nigeria, Chevron lacks respect for community development. The degradation being experienced in the Niger Delta is a case study. Chevron is one of the multinational oil companies listed among the 14 worst corporate evildoers in the United States.

    To the heart of the matter, I am of the opinion that the disengaged downstream employees of Chevron would have been employers of labour if they were properly paid before they were sacked; perhaps, some of the affected workers would have used their gratuities to open small and medium scale businesses that would boost the local economy.

    Since their case has been filed at the industrial court and waiting to be heard in October, let the workers keep on praying for justice to prevail.

    We must call on the NLC, Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Federal Government and well meaning Nigerians to rise in defence of these workers and to address inhumane treatment being meted out to Nigerians by foreign and indigenous firms in the name of labour. Nigerians can no longer be slaves in their country.

    Countrymen, let us all condemn this act and ensure the future of our youths, especially the graduates seeking employment in these companies is not jeopardised.

    Mark, 300-Level Business Education, School of Technical Education, YABATECH

  • Trade ministry workers protest non-payment of salaries, allowances

    Workers in the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment last week protested in Abuja the non-payment of their salaries and allowances, calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to do something.

    After many months of bottled up annoyance and frustration, the workers marched and danced to the beating of drums.

    The workers under the aegis of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria Association of the Ministry took to the street in protest, singing and also dancing.

    Addressing reporters during the protest, the Secretary of the workers’ union, Comrade Alimi Olanrewaju, alleged that the Minister has turned the ministry into a private business.

    He said: “The protest may not be unconnected with the affairs of the ministry. Our minister has absconded from the ministry on notice. He is operating from Bank of Industry (BoI) in Abuja. For the past three to four months, he has been operating from an unknown office, which is why we are here to register our displeasure about his attitude and that of the Permanent Secretary of the ministry in relation to our welfare.

    “We are here to demand for our outstanding arrears and other benefits. Nobody has been trained in connection to money allocated to the ministry; there is serious infrastructural decay in the ministry, the ministry building is an eyesore, the minister is spending hundreds of millions to call for foreign investors that have not yielded any benefit to the country. “

    Reacting, a source from the ministry, who pleaded anonymity, stated that there was no protest . He said contrary to what was shown on television and carried by some papers, there was no protest, but mere gang-up.

  • Council trains workers on leadership

    The Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State has organised a two-day leadership workshop. Held at the council’s secretariat, it was tagged: ‘Leadership Skill for Local Government Administrative and Executive Officers’.

    The workshop, which was opened by the council’s chairman, Hon. Jide Jimoh, was aimed at sharpening the leadership effectiveness and self-confidence of workers.

    He said: ”Our staff should exhibit confidence and honesty in everything they do. They must have the confidence to manage people, show them the right path, and be more dedicated to work for the betterment of the others and the organisation.”

    “What is important for every worker is that he must be diligent and committed to his responsibility. Even, if the boss is not around, the work of the local government must not stop. There must be someone who is trustworthy with confidence to do the job for him”.

    He stressed that the workshop would also provide an excellent opportunity for participants to exchange ideas on how to fashion out enduring strategies that enable local government perform its responsibility of making life worth living for the people at the grassroots level.