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Tag: mass sack

  • Kaduna govt set to recruit 10,000 teachers after mass sacking

    The Kaduna State Government has concluded plans to recruit 10,000 primary school teachers to replace disengaged ones in order to improve the quality of teachers in the state.

    The Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, made this known in Kaduna on Wednesday at the inauguration of the distribution of learning materials to pupils in 4,260 public primary schools and 838 learning centres.

    Recall that the state government had on June 19, announced the sack of 2,357 primary school teachers for failing the government’s competency tests.

    The state government had in 2018 sacked 21,780, for failing a similar test while 233 others were sacked in December 2021 for allegedly presenting fake certificates.

    According to the deputy governor, the government shall continue to weed unqualified teachers in public schools and no amount of distraction will stop it.

    “The quality of instruction is very important in determining the educational outcomes of our children and we cannot allow only the children of a few to steal the advantage that education provides.

    “Nor shall we continue to allow poor quality education to be available to the children of the weak and vulnerable in our society, who attend public schools.

    “Children of the poor also deserve competent teachers, and it is our sworn responsibility to ensure that they get it, “he said.

    Balarabe said that the state government had renovated more than 500 public primary and secondary schools and provided perimeter fencing in many schools as required by UN agencies for the security of children.

    She added that new schools were built including new science secondary schools and many blocks of classrooms constructed in primary and other secondary schools across the state.

    Balarabe said that the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) and the state primary education development projects had ensured construction of more classrooms at the primary school level.

    This, according to her, is to accommodate the return of out of school children to classes.

    “However, as important as classrooms and physical structures are in creating conducive learning environments, lack of access to books pose an even greater challenge to learning.

    “Therefore, our free book policy is to increase access to textbooks, exercise books, sandals, sharpeners, pencils, erasers, school bags and magnetic boards.”

    She said that when poor children were exposed to books early, they would learn to read better, adding that the more children had access to books the more likely they would learn better.

    She noted that the problems in education were “simply overwhelming” adding that the government alone could not bear the burden.

    “That is why other stakeholders must come in with more commitments if we are to make any meaningful progress.

    “To the best of my knowledge, the private sector has of recent been relatively quiet in terms of their contributions to education and public schools.

    “We will, therefore, be happy to see the private sector come in with interventions in education as part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities.

    “As government provides leadership, teachers, parents, community-based organisations, religious leaders, traditional rulers and even the school children need to give their support and contributions.”

     

  • FG exempts states from airport concession, allays fears of mass sack

    FG exempts states from airport concession, allays fears of mass sack

    The concession of four major airports in the country is open to all qualified entities except state governments, the Federal Government has said.

    Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, made this known as the drive for the concession of the nation’s major airports gathers momentum.

    He made the remarks at a Zoom meeting held on Tuesday to update the sector on the concession plans for the four international airports.

    They include Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

    Sirika explained that the decision to concession the airports was to ensure that the government was relieved of control of the aviation facilities.

    He also assured industry workers, especially those of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) that no worker would lose his or her job on account of the exercise.

    According to the minister, the concession is a step in the right decision as it will boost the nation’s earnings.

    He disclosed that the Murtala Muhammed Airport terminals would bring investment worth over N30 billion annually, which would be aided by the construction of a rail line to link both the domestic and international terminals.

    The minister, however, informed the meeting that there was an urgent need for infrastructure investments and modernisation, saying the facilities required investments in runway maintenance, among others.

    “There is relatively low asset utilisation due to the limited opening hours of other smaller Nigerian airports; lack of terminal capacity as the airports fall short of gates, stands, and check-in desks.

    “The airports have not been designed as international hubs but operate separate international and domestic terminals,” he said.

  • Labour to withdraw services from public, private sectors to protest mass sack of workers in Kaduna

    Labour to withdraw services from public, private sectors to protest mass sack of workers in Kaduna

    The Nigeria Labour Congress says it will withdraw services from both public and private organisations in Kaduna State for five days to protest mass sack of workers by the state government.

    The NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba made this known while addressing newsmen at end of the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the NLC on Thursday in Abuja.

    Wabba said the decision to withdraw the services of workers for five days in the state would become total if the state government failed to do the needful.

    He said the CWC condemned the decision of the Gov. Nasir El-Rufai to sack close to 4, 000 workers who were mostly from 23 local government areas in the state.

    “The CWC has decided and also recommended to the National Executive Council that labour will withdraw all services from either public or private. When I mean all services, it means all services for all sectors of the economy for five days in the first instance.

    “And where there is no remorse, it is going to be a total action because we believe that El-Rufai is not alone in this action; we believe that there is a neo-liberal forces and some governments are also part of it.

    “This action is going to be total and unconditional and therefore, all unions will be issuing statements and directives to their members to take this directive seriously and that the action will go ahead, ” he said.

    Wabba said that the action was taken as a last resort due to all the communications that were written on the issue to the state government and was yet to receive any attention.

    He said the CWC therefore thought that workers should not be allowed to die in silence as thousands of workers who had been sacked were yet to be paid in line with the provisions of the law.

    “More worrisome is the policy targeted at workers that have spent more than 30 years in service. In fact, the policy said that once you are up to 50 years in service you will be disengaged and be sent off like slave or at worse like a dog without any entitlement.

    “Secondly, the letter which we have seen, indicated that their entitlement will be paid in due course and that is the same letter that was issued to those teachers that were disengaged a year ago and therefore we look at this as very serious.

    ”In fact, it is something every Nigerian must condemn. That is why Nigerians must back labour on this action that labour has proposed against the Kaduna state governor, ” he said.

    Wabba noted that the governor violated all the known laws that regulate labour and industrial relation in Nigeria with some sort of disdain while carrying out his decision to sack the workers.

    He also said the CWC condemned the conversion of workers to casuals by the Kaduna state government under the pretext of paucity of funds or drop in revenue.

    “The issue of using as an excuse, the paucity of funds is also faulted because of the fact that the same state declared an excess of over N50 billion as internally generated revenue.

    ”We know as a matter of fact that Kaduna state is one of the states receiving fat revenue from the federation account and therefore one wonders why Kaduna state government will indulge in this anti-people and anti-workers posture and decision, “he said.

    The NLC president said the CWC condemned the insecurity in the country, in particular Kaduna state, saying that the mass sack would therefore compound the security situation.

    He said that the May Day would be celebrated on May 1, at the Eagle Square with only 2,000 workers instead of the 5,000 capacity with the COVID-19 protocols that would be duly observed.

    ”The theme for 2021 Workers Say is ”Covid-19 Pandemic, Social and Economic Challenges for Decent work, Social Protection and Welfare of the People”.

    ”The theme is central and captured the essence of the workers due to the fact that COVID-19 is still ravaging the countries but importantly it is also occasioned by the challenges of the economy, ” he said.

  • Mass sack: Pilots, engineers threaten to withdraw services across all airlines

    Mass sack: Pilots, engineers threaten to withdraw services across all airlines

    The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), has issued a two-week ultimatum to airlines, who have sacked or plan to sack their pilots and engineers under the guise of COVID-19, to reverse the decision.

    Its President, Mr Abednego Galadinma, at a news conference on Wednesday in Lagos, said pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers had resolved to withdraw their services to all airlines, if colleagues were sacked.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that there had been a spate of terminations of contract of pilots and engineers across various airlines, all linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    About 170 pilots have been sacked from Bristow Helicopters and Air Peace airlines, so far.

    Galadinma criticised Bristow helicopters for sacking 100 pilots and engineers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the company was not saying the truth, since it operated throughout the lockdown period, servicing the oil and gas sector as essential service provider.

    He urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) to, as a matter of urgency, prevail on the airlines to stop the unilateral dismissal of pilots and engineers.

    “We demand that Bristow and Air Peace should immediately recall all sacked pilots and aircraft engineers until all labour issues are resolved or be grounded by NCAA because of attendant safety concerns created by their action.

    “As a result of the known consequences of these illegal actions and our commitment to patriotic fervour, we shall be forced to withdraw our guarantee of industrial peace within the industry if this call is not heeded within two weeks.

    ”Our union will be left with no other option but to withdraw the services of pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers across all the airlines,” he said.

    Responding to questions, the NAAPE president rejected the Bristow statement which indicated that the sack of 100 pilots and engineers would affect both Nigerians and expatriates, stating that it was just a ploy to get rid of Nigerians.

    Galadinma said: “To say the 100 pilots and engineers are not only our members is unsubstantiated and we do not know this because the management did not engage us.

    “Operators, especially Bristow Helicopters, have rendered our members redundant despite assurances by government of support for their businesses in return for operators not laying off staff.

    “These operators are already running on lean manpower with disproportionate number being expatriates, yet, without regards to our expatriates and local content laws and executive order 5, they have gone ahead to lay off staff under the guise of COVID-19 pandemic.

    “They cannot be using COVID-19 as an excuse because the cessation of flight operations did not affect essential services like oil and gas supply. Besides, Bristow and Caverton were operating during the lockdown.

    “In fact, you would recall that our members were held by the Rivers State Government during the lockdown, so how can they be using COVID-19 as an excuse?

    “It is on record that Bristow Helicopters operated throughout the lockdown, supporting oil and gas operations with government’s approval and guarantees service contracts in the same national interest, but they are now using COVID-19 to force redundancy on our members,” he fumed.

  • Strike: FCTA threatens resident doctors of mass sack

    Strike: FCTA threatens resident doctors of mass sack

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Thursday in Abuja, issued a 24-hour ultimatum to striking resident doctors to resume work or face mass sack.

    The FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, who issued the ultimatum at a news conference, explained that the decision was reached after an emergency meeting of top management staff of the FCTA.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Capital Territory Administration (ARD-FCTA) chapter embarked on an indefinite strike over non-payment of salaries.

    Aliyu also said that the measure became imperative to ensure that the FCT residents do not suffer as a result of the strike by the resident doctors.

    She said the FCT administration noted with dismay, the continued strike embarked upon by the resident doctors, over irregularities in their salaries for the month of January and February 2020.

    ” Despite entreaties that the problem was not peculiar to the doctors, but affecting all staff of the FCTA; and efforts made by the office of the FCT Minister of State, with the Accountant General of the Federation, and an appeal to call off the strike, the doctors are yet to resume work.

    ” In the meantime, the administration has given the striking doctors 24 hours to resume work, after which they should consider themselves as having exited the FCT administration,” she said.

    Aliyu, however, expressed the appreciation of the FCT administration for the commitment and dedication to duty of the Medical and Dental Association of Nigeria, nurses and midwives, medical laboratory technologists, pharmacists and other medical and health workers, who remained true to their calling by putting social needs above self.

  • ‘Mass sack of Resident Doctors will totally collapse Nigeria’s health sector’

    The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) on Sunday cautioned that mass sack of striking Resident Doctors could result in unpalatable consequences for the country.

    The word of caution is contained in a communique jointly signed by the MDCAN National President, Prof. Balarabe Sani-Gwarzo and National Secretary, Dr Abdulkadir Rafindadi and made available to newsmen in Kaduna.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the communique, which was read out to journalists by the national president, was an outcome of MDCAN National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    The association said any such move was inimical to the nation’s public health sector and called for urgent steps to safeguard the nation’s public health sector from total collapse.

    “The meeting noted with utmost dismay the highhandedness of the Federal Ministry of Health as evident in a circular dated 19th Jan. 2017 ref DHS/828/T/199.

    “The circular directed the Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors (MDs) to replace striking resident doctors with locum staff.

    “We observed that the ongoing strike action was avoidable as the MDCAN had earlier intervened by calling the attention of the Honourable Minister to activities of some staff in the health ministry.

    “Activities of these staff aimed at frustrating the implementation of earlier agreement reached in a meeting with Honourable Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives on 14th July, 2016,” it noted.

    The association advised the Federal Ministry of Health to urgently work towards resolving the current strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), by implementing all previous agreements reached.

    It also lamented the deplorable condition at the 13 camps that accommodated 319,749 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

    “We strongly advocate for urgent implementation of the resettlement plan by the Federal Government for the IDPs, in addition to ongoing efforts in addressing their various health challenges.

    “Members of MDCAN are ready and willing to partner with government and stakeholders in the effort to combat the health challenges of IDPs,” it said.

    MDCAN also frowned at continued non-payment of members’ salaries and allowances for several months in various health institutions across the country, particularly Federal Medical Centre Oweri and state-owned institutions.

    “Employers, especially state governments, still owing our members salaries and allowances should without any further delay, defray all such outstanding emoluments.

    “Continued delay is a violation of the extant labour laws and workers’ right to legitimate wages.

    “NEC further strongly advocates the universal application of agreements regarding implementation of appropriate emoluments to all members particularly at the state level,” it said.