Move over NLC, there’s a new union in town and it’s called ULC.

No fewer than 25 industrial unions on Saturday elected Joe Ajaero as president of a new labour union, United Labour Congress, ULC.

The ULC is a breakaway faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and includes the influential oil workers union, NUPENG.

The unions elected Mr. Ajaero, the General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, at the ULC maiden Delegates Conference in Lagos.

The new labour centre emerged after a two-year internal crisis that split the NLC.

Mr. Ajaero, who was elected unopposed, said that ULC would fight for the interest of workers and ensure a more equitable Nigeria where workers’ dignity and the work place would become less prone to impunity.

He said that the emergence of ULC would strengthen the labour movement and generate a new vigour that would re-awaken elements that would make workers strong.

”The new labour centre instead of weakening the movement will present labour as a creative partner that has strategic benefits for its publics, especially the employers and the government,” he said.

The ULC president said the new centre was aimed at restoring hope to Nigerian workers, the oppressed, the victimised, the neglected and other relegated members of the society

He said that the movement was not contesting with anybody or faction, but would remain a labour centre of its own, adding that “the issue of faction is over.’’

Mr. Ajaero also said that the new congress was emerging because of the exigency of the moment where people work without salaries for months and were being denied their rights at their work places.

The President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Igwe Achese, was elected Deputy President.

Three Vice Presidents, Treasurer, Auditor and Financial Secretary among others were also elected to run the affairs of the centre.

Leaders of the new labour union said their first major outing would be against a leading airline in the country on Tuesday for alleged unfair labour practices, including seven months unpaid salaries to workers affiliated to ULC.

The affiliates of ULC include NUPENG, NUEE, Nigeria Union of Mine Workers, National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Employees and the Nigeria Union of Rail Workers.

Others are the National Union of Lottery Agents and Employees, Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers.

Why PDP lost Edo, Ondo and may lose future elections – Ali Sheriff faction

The Ali Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said it has identified impunity and lack of respect for the party’s constitution and the rule of law as the major problems that led to the its failure in the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.

Many have expressed the belief that the decision of Mr. Sheriff and his supporters to factionalise the PDP led to its failure in the elections.

The faction, at a media briefing on Monday in Abuja, however said the blame for the losses falls on three governors elected under the platform of the party.

Cairo Ojougboh Factional Deputy National Chairman
Cairo OjougbohFactional Deputy National Chairman

Although the faction did not mention the names of the three governors, it has been engaged in running battles with governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State.

Monday’s press briefing, addressed by the Deputy National Chairman of the faction, Cairo Ojougbo, said ” in all these difficult times only three governors have been the architects of the destruction of the party”.

Mr. Ojougbo said only the governors of “Taraba, Gombe, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers and a few others have been very cooperative and are willing to let the party grow. They have shown maturity, understanding and sagacity in the affairs of the PDP.”

THE BEGINNING OF OUR DOWNFAL

The Sheriff faction recalled that the impact of impunity in the PDP manifested itself for the first time in the 2011 general elections when the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, defeated the PDP in Nasarawa State.

“We had a sitting governor then who could not deliver. This was the first warning against impunity. It was ignored.

Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti State Governor Photo:Pulse.ng
Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti State Governor

“Then in 2015 we had governors in Benue, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Bauchi and Adamawa. We lost in all these states for a common reason, the governors were not unpopular but they imposed their surrogates and the people voted them out. We paid for impunity,” Mr. Ojougbo said.

The faction argued that an analysis of the 2015 general election showed that all the ten states the party lost were in the northern part of the country, adding that even south-south states would not have survived if former President Goodluck Jonathan did not hail from the region. It said the figures that emanated from the south-east were also “abysmal”.

Mr. Ojougbo said the outcome of the 2015 election proved that although governors are very important in winning elections for a party, they do not necessarily determine the outcome.

“The running of the party should therefore not be left entirely to their whims and caprices. The party must have a say because party is supreme. In the case of Mimiko’s Ondo, the party was denied the valuable say,” he said.

The party leader also said that the faction had cried to all concerned ahead of the Edo election that the party hierarchy in the state was defective and that the Leadership needed to be changed “to allow the 60 stalwarts of the PDP who defected to APC return to the fold.”

Olusegun Mimiko
Olusegun Mimiko

“Of course the governors refused. There was no surprise to the result.

“In Ondo State, the script was written in 2013 when Governor Mimiko returned to PDP. All members he met on the ground left the party for him and he took over the PDP. The structure was handed over to the Labour Party.

“If Oke had not gone to AD and Mimiko managed leadership sportsmanly, PDP would have won the election convincingly.

“In the election, APC scored 244,842 votes while PDP scored 150,380 and AD scored 126,889 votes. It is a fact that the AD votes belong to PDP and the simple arithmetic shows why PDP lost; our votes went to Oke and AD,” he said.

He also said that when Mr. Mimiko returned to the PDP, his fellow governors appealed to him to allow for harmonization but he refused.

He said all the PDP members led by Olusola Oke therefore left the party.

Mr. Ojougbo said in choosing a candidate to succeed him, Mr. Mimiko did not allow original members of the PDP to buy forms.

“He mainly anointed Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) who was returned unopposed.

“Party members cried to the high heavens that Jegede is from the central zone where Mimiko hails from. Their cries fell on deaf ears,” he said.

He also said the primary election organised by the Sheriff faction had six participants which returned Jimoh Ibrahim as the candidate.

dickson-jegede-and-mimiko-620x330“Jimoh hails from the South. He campaigned vigorously and convinced the people to vote for him. But alas Mimiko will not allow him carry the party flag.

“Mimiko used the instrumentality of state government to overwhelm Jimoh but could not overwhelm the masses and voters. Of course the result is out there for all to see,” he said.

Sheriff independent of Buhari, APC

Mr. Ojougbo also said the accusation that Mr. Sheriff was doing the bidding of Nigeria’s ruling APC is not tenable.

He said it was PDP governors who invited Mr. Sheriff to be the chairman of the party. He also said when he (Sheriff) assumed office, he put in place a committee to conduct a National Convention to “elect people of good character to run the affairs of the party”.

He added that Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State was appointed the chairman of the zoning committee.

“The Governors met and decided that Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff should continue in office. The question is ‘was it Mr. President, General Buhari or the APC who sourced Senator Sheriff for the PDP’?

“Was it the APC who chaired the zoning committee that zoned chairmanship to Sheriff? The answer is No.

Ali Modu Sheriff
Ali Modu Sheriff

“We therefore call on all Nigerians to discountenance the idea that Sheriff is working for the APC. Sheriff was offered the senatorial ticket in the last general election after he left the APC. Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is a complete PDP faithful whose desire it is to reposition the party.

“Truth be told, Sheriff is insisting that power be returned to the people,” he said.

Mr. Ojougbo also spoke about the belief that Mr. Sheriff was a sponsor of the terrorist group, Boko Haram,

He said it is on record that when Mr. Sheriff was governor of Borno State, he suppressed and completely routed the Boko Haram.

“Boko Haram Killed 5 members of his family in the process of his fight against them.

“But when the current Governor of Borno State, Shettima, took over office, Boko Haram became emboldened, virulent and malignant.

“Note also that Shettima became governor because Boko Haram killed the man who was to be governor. His death paved way for the emergence of Shettima who willingly and deliberately encouraged Boko Haram.

“Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff has taken to court the Attorney General of Borno State who claimed that Sheriff is Boko Haram in Suit No. FCT/HC/CU/2494/2016 between Senator Dr. Ali Modu Sheriff vs. Barrister Kaka Shehu Lawan and 3 others which is currently ongoing,” he said.

Mr. Ojougbo said although the faction does not comment on individuals, but “for the sake of the survival of the party we take exceptions to the utterances of Prince Adeyeye”.

He said Mr. Adeyeye, spokesperson of the Ahmed Makarfi PDP faction, is attacking Mr. Sheriff’s faction believing that he will be awarded the governorship ticket of Ekiti State.

The sheriff faction, however, warned that if the PDP is not restructured, even if he ( Adeyeye) is awarded the ticket “which we know Fayose will not do, it will be an exercise in futility and a waste of time like Eyitayo Jegede’s”.

Mr. Ojougbo said Mr. Sheriff is the agent of change for the PDP and multiparty democracy in Nigeria.

“Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff remains the only and authentic National Chairman of the PDP and the NWC remains the only administrative body authorized by law to run the party.”

He concluded the briefing by calling on all party members to unite or the PDP will be dead forever.

Man Allegedly Rapes Pregnant Woman While She Was In Labour

A woman in Hull, East Yorkshire has accused her boyfriend of raping her after she began going into labour in their bedroom at home.

According to the Daily Mail, the woman was allegedly on her hands and knees in order to try and relieve the pain from her contractions when her husband woke up and saw her. He then allegedly claimed he was “horny” before proceeding to rape her, even though she repeatedly asked him to stop and was screaming from the pain. After the attack occurred, the woman alleges that her partner “acted as if nothing happened” and offered to run her a bath.

A few hours later, she gave birth to their son at a hospital.

During the court proceedings on Wednesday, the woman’s lawyer Michael Greenlaugh went into further detail of what allegedly happened on the evening the rape occurred.

“She was in bed, naked as she normally would be,” he said. “In order to try and relieve the pressure and the pain of the contractions, she got onto all fours because she had been told that was a way of relieving the pain.”

The prosecutor went on to state that she was in this position when her boyfriend woke up, and declare he was aroused — to which she responded, “Are you serious?” He then allegedly got behind her and began to rape her, despite the fact she was “crying in pain from the contractions” and said to him “please don’t.”

After their child was born, the Daily Mail reports that the woman went to stay with her mother due to a heating problem at the couple’s home. When she returned to the home and the scene of the alleged attack, and saw that her boyfriend was acting in an “inappropriate way” with their child, she decided to report the incident to police.

Meanwhile, the woman’s boyfriend plans to fight her allegations in court, and claims he is not guilty and does not remember having intercourse with her.

Credit: cosmopolitan

Labour Vows To Resist Sales Of National Assets, Says It Won’t Solve Our Problem

Labour warned yesterday that the Federal Government should reject the clamour for the sale of the nation’s assets to fight the recession.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) described those pushing for the measure as enemies of the country, who are only bent on acquiring the nation’s assets for their personal use.

NLC President Ayuba Wabba told The Nation in an interview that the congress was against the suggestion that the Federal Government should sell off national assets to address challenges. To Wabba, experience has shown that privatisation has not worked. Most of the national assets Nigeria sold off have not done well; selling off the assets will not be in the interest of Nigerians, he said.

Said the NLC chief: “First, most of our national assets they have sold under the banner of privatisation, non of them has succeeded. Many countries of the world has passed through this same period of recession and their approach to addressing the issue is not to sell their commonwealth, leaving them in the hands of a very few.

“It is worrisome that those canvassing for this are looking forward to buying these assets themselves. I don’t think it will be productive for us as a nation to dispose off these assets to meet short time need. It will certainly not be productive and not in the interest of the larger Nigerian public.
“As NLC, we are against the sale of those assets because we have tried it even in the power sector and the result is very obvious. Those people are looking for opportunity to buy those assets themselves. We are against it, especially selling them to individuals because of the gee viols effect of those assets that have been sold in the last.

“In the past, they were sold at give away price and people just amassed them for themselves.
“There can be a coexistence with people coming to invest side by side and for the government to strategically hold on to these assets. NLC is totally against the sale of these assets in the name of trying to address a short time need to address the challenges we are passing through. That is not what other countries have done.”
Wabba said should the government listen to the proposal and sell off the assets, organised labour will lock down the nation until the decision is reversed. “If they go ahead to sell the assets, we will protest. We have done that in the past,” he said.

“When it comes to selling off our national assets, if you remember, there was a time when they tried to sell the refineries when Obasanjo left office. We protested against it and that was how that decision was reversed. It is not as if these assets cannot add value, but because they have not been allowed to operate maximally.
“Take the refineries, for example. Our refineries are still among the newest in the world and so, if we add value to them, it is possible for the refineries to stop importation. It is because of inherent corruption that these refineries have not been allowed to work.

“Instead of addressing the corruption, what they did was to shift the to the larger Nigerian people without addressing the inherent challenges in the system.
“Our position is very clear and that is the fact that we are against their sales because they are for our children and generations yet unborn. We will be doing a lot of disservice if we sell such items. How are we sure that if we sell them, it will address the current challenges.”

Labour Hails INEC’s Decision To Go Ahead With Edo Election

Mr Issa Aremu, Secretary General, Textile Workers’ Union of Nigeria ,on Thursday hailed the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to postpone the Edo Governorship Election.

Aremu, in a press statement issued in Kaduna, said that the decision had reinforced confidence in the ability of the commission to protect the sanctity of elections.

The labour chieftain said INEC’s resolve to defend its independence “is a practical demonstration of the fact that “Change truly begins with INEC”, in line with the new national reorientation campaign.

“The sanctity of electoral calendar is the minimum requirement for free and fair election.

“If the electorate trust that INEC keeps to its announced dates and times for polls, they have no cause to mistrust and doubt the integrity of its results,” Aremu said.

He canvassed support for security agencies to ensure that the plot to scuttle the polls by desperate elements fail.

“Labour also called on all the contesting parties in the state to collaborate with the Independent Electoral commission for a free and fair poll.

“We hail the decisions of the police and DSS to raise the alarm about the threats posed by militants and insurgents adding that all must support the security agencies to nullify the threats of anti-democratic forces.”

Credit: NAN

Labour Wants FG To Negotiate Minimum Wage

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday urged the federal government to urgently reconstitute the tripartite committee to negotiate a new minimum wage in view of the current economic recession facing the country.
NLC president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who gave the advice at the 59th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the congress in Lagos, said the National Minimum Act should be renegotiated every five years as agreed by the tripartite partners.

He said: “The developments within the economy which has made nonesense of the purchasing power of workers, makes the case for a new minimum wage urgent.

Credit: dailytrust

Labour Certifies Ambode, ElRufai, Abdulfatah, Others, “Labour-Friendly” Governors.

Organized labour has hailed state governors that “promptly pay” monthly salaries of workers and pensions of retirees as it charges defaulting governors to put an end to what it calls “crisis of workers’ compensation” in their respective states. Comrade Issa Aremu, General Secretary, Textile Workers’ Union and member NEC of NLC in a statement in Kaduna at the weekend commended the renewed energy of NLC leadership to ensure public employees in states are paid as at when due. Comrade Aremu also backed the joint Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) 30-day ultimatum issued to Kogi state Government to pay 7-month outstanding workers’ salaries failing which the state faces total labour protests as he also urged government ministries at Federal and State levels to remit contributory pensions of their workers to Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

 

Comrade Aremu singled out  Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode of  Lagos State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, ALHAJI ABDULFATAH  AHMED OF KWARA STATE and Malam Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State as “labour-friendly” state governors who pay salaries, pensions, promotion increments and yearly increments of their civil servants. According to the labour leader “the greatest assets of states are their employees” saying governors can only demand for discipline and improved productivity from their employees if their workforce are well motivated.

 

Aremu observed that nothing including declining oil revenue could justify delayed or non-payment of workers’ salaries adding that payments of salaries and pension are legitimate entitlements and mark of corporate responsibility of any employer and urged governors to reorder their resources in such a way that labour is seen as a critical factor of development before anything else. “Who ever employs must pay the working man or woman as at when due” he said. He likened non-payment of salaries to what he called “economicide”, which he describes as “a systemic destruction of lives of workers on account of lack of means of livelihood adding that many workers have died due to non-payment of salaries that were never adequate even when promptly paid”.

 

Meanwhile Comrade Aremu also urged Governors who regularly pay their core civil servants to ensure their local government employees and teachers are also regularly paid. He said “state workers are not divisible” when it comes to compensation just as when it comes to workers’ service delivery and productivity to the state. He said governors can only be certified “labour friendly” if all workers in their states, private and public sectors, local and state employees are equally dignified with prompt salaries payment.

 

While hailing President Buhari for bailing out debtor states in meeting the pay obligations to their workers, he said state governors must apply same principle to debtor-local governments adding that 1999 Constitution says that the primary  duty and responsibility as well as the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the people which can only be made possible with “suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national (minimum) living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled”.

 

As the economy is officially acknowledged to be in recession, the labour leader urged Buhari administration to intensify move towards reindustrialization through diversification and what he called “wage-led economic recovery”.  He observed that Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had raised the alarm about low demand for locally produced goods, leading to high inventories and low capacity utilization. “Nigeria can only diversify its economy if workers as consumers are well paid to patronize locally produced goods and services”. He also observed that Anti-corruption campaign cannot be sustained when workers do not receive adequate salaries on time. “A hungry worker is not only angry but vulnerable to graft. There is a link between economic growth and wage payment” he noted.

Fuel Price: Youths Urge Labour To Cancel Planned Strike

A group of youths under the aegis of Buhari Youth Organisation, has called on the Nigerian Labour Congress to cancel its planned strike in protest against increase in price of petrol.

The call is contained in a statement signed by the group’s National President, Mr Ubale Nalado and made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

The statement said NLC should join other workers unions that have declared support for the increase in the price of petrol, as a sacrifice for the future of the nation’s economy.

It said that the group was confident that the Buhari administration possessed the sincerity of purpose to judiciously use the savings from the removal for subsidy to build critical national infrastructure.

According to the statement, Buhari’s antecedents as an elder statesman further laid credence to the fact that his personal interest would never supersede the national interest.

“It is very conspicuous that President Buhari who would never allow his personal interest to be above that of the Nigerian masses.

“Significant percentage of Nigerians agreed with the decision of the NNPC to deregulate the sector.

“They also believe and trust President Buhari’s administration on using the savings from the removed subsidy to build our infrastructure.

The group, therefore, called on the NLC to rethink their position by adopting the opinions and interest of the larger society who have agreed to support the position of government.
It reiterated its determination to intensify their collective effort towards sensitising and propagating the economic policies and ideology of the President for overall development of the country.

The statement added that the NLC should support the current administration in its avowed commitment to creating growth through massive diversification of the economy.

Credit: Guardian

Kogi Workers To Resume Strike Over Non-Payment Of Salaries

Organised labour in Kogi said on Monday in Lokoja that it would resume strike to impress it on the state government on the need to pay outstanding five-month salary arrears to workers.

 

This is contained in a communiqué issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) at the end of an emergency meeting.

 

The communiqué was jointly signed by Mr Onuh Edoka, the state NLC Chairman; Mr Ojo Ranti Matthew, Chairman of TUC and Mr Aaron Akeji, the Chairman of JNC.

The communiqué stated that previous promises by the state government to pay the salary arrears had not been kept.

It also condemned the payment of salary in piecemeal; adding that salaries for the months of October and November, 2015 were paid three months after each of the month was due.

The communiqué also decried the exclusion of workers employed between January and December, 2015 from receiving the November, 2015 salaries.

It urged the state government to pay those affected because they worked for the month.

According to the communiqué, “the state government is claiming that the employment of the concerned workers was irregular, since there was an embargo on employment in the state.’’

In a reaction, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov.Yahaya Bello, said it would be inappropriate for the workers to blame the government for the failure of the past administrations.

Fanwo said Bello’s administration was able to offset two months’ salary arrears within his 57 days in office.

“Labour was on an indefinite strike before the inauguration of the present administration, but the governor intervened to settle the industrial dispute”, he said.

He said the governor would undertake a holistic appraisal of the situation after the ongoing screening exercise with a view to addressing the salary issue once and for all.

Sack Of 3,000 Workers: Labour Urges Imo Residents To Stockpile Foodstuff

As the 14-day ultimatum given to the Imo State Government to recall 3000 sacked workers and clear months of salary arrears among others, expires, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has urged the residents of the state to stock-pile food stuff and prepare for a long battle to force the government to yield to labour demands.

 

Congress called on civil society allies, market women, elders and community leaders including students to join forces with in order to restore sanity to the state.

 

A statement by Mr. Igwe Achese, President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, and a member of the six-man action committee on Imo set up by leaders of the two factions of NLC, insisted that the planned industrial action would not only cripple the government in Imo State, but would help it to understand and appreciate the principles of respect for the moral and legal rights of her workers and citizens.

 

 

According to the statement, “It is important to inform the Governor that the movement is united on this if he is consoling himself with current events in the Congress.

 

His disappointment should also increase if he knows that the Congress has set up a Joint Action Committee, JAC, to oversee our engagement with his government. We hope that this will send a clear message of our determination to get him to align with the sovereign will of the people and workers in Imo State.

 

 

“We know the capacity for chicanery which the government possesses. Perhaps that is what has emboldened the unlawful actions he is bent on foisting on the workers in the state but we assure the government that we are fully prepared. We have seen all manners of wicked behaviour directed against Nigerian workers in the past and fortunately, we have withered all of them and are still standing unbent.

 

We assure the government that after this struggle, we shall remain standing as this has always been the historical truth. The Police are also advised not to collude with the government to continue suppressing the people because it will only add to the battered image of the force and will not stop the people from expressing their desire for equity, justice and fairness.

 

“We call on our allies in the civil society movement, market women and men, businessmen, elders and community leaders including students to join forces with us as we prepare to restore sanity to Governance in Imo state.

 

 

We advise residents of Imo state especially those in Owerri to stockpile food and other necessities as we will go the entire hog to ensure that the government is made to subject itself to the sovereign will of the people.

 

 

We also warn those who use the roads that may lead in or out of Owerri to seek other routes as traffic in these areas will be seriously affected.”

 

 

Credit : Vanguard

Electricity Tariff: NLC Says It Will Not Relent On Its Agitation

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said on Monday that it would not relent in its agitation for a reverse of the increase in electricity tariff until government listened and acted.

 
The Chairman of NLC, Sokoto state chapter, Mr Aminu Muhammad stated this during the nationwide peaceful protest against the 45 per cent increase in electricity tariff which took effect from Feb. 1.

 
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the protest by the organised labour and civil society organisations took place across the country.

 
Muhammad who led officials of the union to picket the office of the Kaduna Electric Company, said the organised labour would do all things within the confine of the law to ensure their demands were met.

 

“We are out to conduct a peaceful protest and ensure we picket all the electricity offices across Sokoto to send the message from the masses to the government. This picketing organised by NLC became necessary to ensure that the present administration withdraws the exploitative tariff.
“The labour congress will ensure it passes the message to the government, to ensure that the tariff increase is withdrawn,’’ he said.

 
NAN reports that members of NLC locked the premises of Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom
The Akwa Ibom state Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Akamba Awah, said TUC and NLC believed that there was no rationale behind the increase.

 
The union leader argued that there was no reason for the hike, adding that the state has Ibom Power Plant producing gas for electricity.
According to him, electricity is subsidised in Akwa Ibom by the state government.
Reacting in a telephone interview, the Public Relations Officer to PHEDC, Mr John Onyi, said that the company had invited labour for a meeting.
He said that as soon as the issue was resolved at the headquarters, all the state offices of the organisation would resume work immediately.
In Ado-Ekiti, NLC and TUC members also picketed the state headquarters of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, (BEDC) over the issue.
The workers who were chanting anti-government songs, carried placards containing various anti-government inscriptions throughout the 30 minutes period the protest lasted.
NAN reports that the protesters vacated the area on sighting the police and members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

 
The protest also took place in Makurdi with union leaders assuring that they would vehemently resist the increased electricity tariff in the country.

 
The organised labour lamented that the decision to step up the tariff was taken without recourse to critical stakeholder in the business of electricity consumption.

 
In Benin, the state Chairman of NLC, Emmanuel Ademokun?, accused the distribution companies of disobeying a court order which he said ordered a stay of action on the increase.

“We are here on picketing as directed by the national body of the TUC, NLC and the civil society organisations, against the electricity tarrif increase. The civil societies, pensioners and market women are here with us. It is a fight for everybody; it is not a fight for only the workers.

 
He said the organised labour would continue to kick against the action until they reverse the decision.?

 
NAN reports that the labour movement in Gombe also picketed the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) in reaction to the increase.

 
Haruna Kamara, chairman, NLC Gombe, called on NERC to reverse the 45 per cent increase in tariff.

 
The organised labour in Kano was also not left behind in the peaceful protest.

 
Kabiru Minjibir, the Kano state chairman of NLC, who presented a protest letter to the Special Adviser on Labour Matters, Isah Danguguwa, expressed concern over the tariff increase.

 

We consider the increase in the electricity tariff as illegal and unjustifiable. There is no significant improvement in the power supply. The increase does not consider the current economic situation in the country,” he said.

 
The Special Adviser assured the labour that the letter would be forwarded to the governor for onward submission to President Muhammadu Buhari.

 
In Ilorin, the protest was led by the Chairman of the Kwara chapter of the NLC, Alhaji abdul Yekini Agunbiade and the state Chairman of the Trade Union (TUC), Mr Kolawole Olumoh.

 
NAN reports that hundreds of protesters picketed the office of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company in the state capital.

 
The TUC Chairman Mr Kolawole Olumo said there had not been any quality service delivery to justify the new increase.
He called on federal government to find a lasting solution to the issue of epileptic power supply in the country. (NAN)

Lazy People Won’t Gain Access To N5,000 Stipend – FG

Federal government has revealed that only hard working Nigerians who are unemployed would be paid the N5,000 stipend promised by the ruling All Progressives Congress during electioneering for 2015 presidential election.

This statement was made by the minister of labour and employment on Thursday, January 14 during a visit to the secretariat of the APC in Abuja.
Ngige explained to reporters that there is nowhere in the world where government would pay people for being lazy adding that Nigeria would not exception.

The minister pointed out that some people will get N5, 000, some will get N10, 000 and other will get
N15, 000 as they undergo training and after training they will be employed by both the federal and state  governments.
He stressed that the programme will be jointly carried out in collaboration with some state governments.
Ngige said: “We won’t pay N5, 000 for people to be indolent. No country in the world would pay people to go home and sleep and collect cash.
“Some people would get N5,000; we will pay some N10,000, and even for people in teacher conversion scheme, we would get more than N10,000, N15,000 as stipend during training, and they are going to be employed by state governments and the federal government in different institutions.
“It is not a programme we shall run alone; the state governments are going to buy into it, they are going to synchronize with us, we are going to do it in synergy.

“So, we want to get back our youths, capture them, teach them to use their hands, and when they use their hands, they can earn money by employing themselves.
“If you get a bricklayer or a painter today, you cannot pay less than N5, 000 for a daily job. And if somebody is able to work 20 days in a month for N5, 000, he already has N100,000.
“But, it’s a sad story today. That is why Togolese, Ghannians, and people from Benin Republic, Niger Republic, are the ones who do all these skilled job for us.”

Labour To Present New Minimum Wage Proposal To FG

The two labour centresin the country has unfolded plans to present a new minimum wage proposal to the Federal Government for promulgation into law, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, has disclosed.

Speaking at the sixth quadrennial national delegates conference of Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) in Abuja, Wabba said both the NLC Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) are currently working on the modalities on wage structure that would be in tune with the prevailing economic realities in the country.

He declared that the declaration of inability to pay in the face of dwindling fortune of the country by some governors would not deter labour from demanding a new minimum wage.

He argued that beside the fact that the National Minimum Wage Act is due for review after five years it become law, the current purchasing power of the Naira is making the N18, 000 minimum wage unsustainable.
The struggle to ensure the continuation of the payment of the N18, 000 by government has received a major backing of the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

The Edo State Governor has vowed to lead protest by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) against any governor that attempts to reduce national minimum wage of N18, 000.

His words: “I have told my fellow governors that when the going gets tough, everybody will answer his father’s name. I am not and I will not support any government, any governor, federal or state that misunderstood the problem to focus on the weakest link. “Be assured that you can count on me. If you want to organize protest, I will join. I will not only join to protest against refusal to pay minimum wage, but to press for the idea of minimum wage to be sustained.”

Credit: Guardian

Falling Oil Prices: TUC Boss Tasks Govt., Labour, Employers

The Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Rivers, Mr Chika Onuegbu, on Monday called for partnership between government, labour unions and employers to tackle the challenges caused by falling oil prices.

Onuegbu told the newsmen in Port Harcourt that TUC was worried by the state of the economy following the over 60 per cent fall in crude oil prices.

He said that President Muhammadu Buhari might not be able to deliver effectively on his campaign promises if the price of crude oil continued to hover around $50 per barrel.

According Onuegbu , the fall in crude oil prices is negatively impacting on the nation’s oil and gas sector.

“Already, there are strong fears that some 120,000 direct and indirect jobs may have been lost in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

“The situation in Nigeria is made worse by the fact that there were existing challenges in the industry which are yet to be addressed by all stakeholders.

“Key amongst these challenges are the 400,000 barrels of crude oil being stolen daily through pipeline vandalism, well head vandalism and illegal crude oil diversion.

“There is also the escalating insecurity and kidnapping in the Niger Delta leading to significant increase in the cost of doing business,’’ he said.

Onuegbu, however, appealed to labour, especially those in the oil and gas sector, to partner with government, employers and other stakeholders to evolve appropriate strategies to resolve outstanding challenges in the sector.

He canvassed strategies like adoption of partnership approach to industrial relations in order to create solutions to the current challenges facing the industry.

The labour leader also called for diversification of the economy, review of fiscal federalism, passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill and conclusion of the reforms in the oil and gas sector,” he said.

 

 

(NAN)

Fayose, Labour Conspiracy Won’t Stop Impeachment- APC

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has said the conspiracy between labour union leaders and Governor Ayodele Fayose won’t stop the impeachment proceedings, if the lawmakers wanted to carry out their constitutional duties.

The party said it was vindicated over the alarm it raised that the state labour leaders had conspired with Fayose to stall his impeachment by the House of Assembly.

APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said in a statement on Friday that the governor’s latest directive that workers should fill verification forms that would last for one month before he could pay workers’ salary was a confirmation of its allegation.

He alleged that the provocative action was in the full knowledge and cooperation of labour leaders who had been deceiving the state workers in a scheme clearly against their interests while the labour leaders smiled to their banks.

Olatubosun said the labour leaders were in the picture of the governor’s new initiative to fill verification forms. “The exercise is billed to end on May 19 after which there will be a report to be submitted at the end of May.

“This will make workers angry and the labour leaders will pretend that they are unhappy. They will then mobilise workers for an indefinite strike to stall the governor’s impeachment,” he explained.

Olatubosun advised workers to be masters of their own fate as no amount of strike could stop the impeachment if the lawmakers wanted to carry out their constitutional duties. “The lawmakers are not civil servants. The constitution does not say lawmakers cannot sit when workers are on strike. It is a pity that workers are facing their current challenges because they have a lawless, deceitful and uncaring governor.”

The APC spokesperson stated that the governor would have short-changed beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme of the Millennium Development Goals instrument by N70,000, if not for its outcry in the media. “This morning, the governor quickly instructed that the remaining N40, 000 to the beneficiaries who may start receiving their alerts any moment from now be paid.”

Olatubosun said if Fayose was not planning to pocket the balance of N70,000 per head totalling N155.7m, why didn’t he pay at once when the money had already been released by the MDGs office in Abuja more than five months ago”?

Meanwhile, the state government said it had commenced the payment of N100, 000 to each of the 2,250 beneficiaries of the CCT scheme, which will be released to their wallets accounts in four tranches on daily basis, starting from Wednesday.

Credit: Punch

Labour Threatens To Paralyze Public Service From Next Week

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, has threatened to pull out thousands of its members on an indefinite strike from next week, if the management of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, goes ahead with the plan to issue sack letters to over 1,000 employees of the commission.

The association, in a statement issued yesterday by its secretary-general, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, said it regretted that the federal government had continued to condone and encourage the lawlessness of the NIMC management even after reports were submitted to it on the happenings in the organization, expressing dismay that the NIMC director-general, Barrister Chris Onyemenam, had continued to flout court processes in respect of his unpopular decision to sack more than 1,000 senior employees for no just cause.

“The directive by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity that parties should maintain status quo pending the determination of the trade dispute on the matter and that of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation that he must subject himself to court process at the Federal Court of Appeal, Abuja, by staying action on the planned sack have been treated with contempt.

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