…says ‘we cannot guarantee industrial peace’
Indications emerged on Friday that Organised Labour may soon call out workers for yet another round of strike following insinuations that the government was yet to agree on a new National minimum wage with Organised Labour.
The leadership of Organised Labour said they cannot guarantee industrial peace and harmony in the country if the government delayed further the announcement and implementation of the new National minimum wage following the completion of the work of the tripartite committee set up by the President to come up with a new minimum wage for the country.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba had told newsmen that the federal government will announce a new National minimum wage after a meeting of the National Economic Council, but Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told the Nation after the Federal Executive Council meeting that the committee was yet to arrive at a particular figure.
Ngige said the government was still negotiating with Organised Labour as the states and federal government as well as Organised Labour and employers were banding different figures which has not been agreed upon.
Sources close to the committee told The Nation that the Minister of Labour himself headed the subcommittee on figures during the negotiations and came up with certain figures which the committee discussed over two days before arriving at a particular figure which is to be communicated to the President.
Apart from the figures, the committee has also drafted a bill which is to be sent to the National Assembly to give the new National minimum wage wage a legal backing.
Contacted, President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Comrade Bala Bobboi Kaigama said organized labour will not disclose its next line of action for now, but waiting for Chairman of the Tripathite Committee to call them to come and sign the final document which will be submitted to the President.
Kaigama told The Nation on phone that since the committee has concluded it’s work, Nigerians should be patient and await the final document which will made available by the government, pointing out that the statement by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige should not be taken serious by Nigerians.
He said Organised Labour will meet at the appropriate time to take a decision on the way forward, adding that it was rather too early to begin to talk of any formal action.
He said “Like you know, the tripartite committee has concluded its assignment. We are waiting for the Chairperson of the committee and former Head of Service of the Federation, Ms. Ama Pepple to invite them to come and sign a clean copy of the final report which will be submitted to the President.”
In a reaction to the Minister’s claims, Organised Labour had accused the minister of creating unnecessary tension among workers and Nigerians with his statement.
They said “Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige claiming that no amount has been agreed by the Tripartite Committee recommendation to government. The report further claimed that the Minister said that government was still negotiating with Labour.
“It is rather unfortunate and sad if indeed, the Honourable Minister made those statements. For the avoidance of doubt, organised labour representatives Wish to state unequivocally that the Tripartite Committee concluded is work, adopted a figure through a formal motion moved, seconded and adopted In the absence of any counter motion.
“This was after a thorough debate of a report from the subcommittee figure, chaired by Senator Ngige himself which presented four scenarios for consideration.
“The subcommittee worked on the basis of a figure proposed by the Federal Government, figures proposed by a number of state government, as well as proposals submitted by the Organised Private Sector and Organised Labour.
“The Committee formally adjourned its sitting with a decision that a date will be communicated to members for the signing of the report and submission of same to Mr President.
“Organised Labour, therefore frowns at the manipulation and bending of facts in an attempt to delay or derail the processes needed to promulgate a new National Minimum Wage. We call on the government to take immediate necessary steps to ensure the enactment of a new National Minimum Wage as we cannot guarantee Industrial peace and harmony.”
Tag: Strike
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New Minimum wage: Labour threatens to embark on another strike
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Aviation unions end strike at MMA2
Unions in the aviation sector on Thursday night called off their two-day industrial action against Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) at Murtala Muhammed Airport2 in Lagos.
This followed the signing of an agreement by the union leaders and BASL management.
The agreement was brokered by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and airport security agencies who intervened in the dispute between the parties.
Mr Sam Jaja, Deputy President, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) confirmed the suspension of the picketing while addressing the union members after the meeting.
Jaja said BASL had agreed to reinstate the sacked workers and also give recognition to unions in the sector, as well as right of workers to belong to unions of their choice.
According to him, it was also agreed that an inter-ministerial committee should be set up to look into unionism among private organisations in the aviation sector.
The unions had since the early hours of Wednesday embarked on the protest, over the alleged sack of 24 employees who indicated interest to unionise by BASL, operators of the MMA2 in Lagos.
The unions involved were ATSSSAN, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).
Despite a subsisting court order issued by Justice I. N Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos restraining them from the action, the unions had shut down flights and business activities at the MMA2.
Airlines operating from the terminal affected by the action include Arik Air, Medview Airline, Azman Air, Max Air, Dana Air and Aero Contractors.
The airlines were forced to temporarily move their passenger boarding and processing to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), operated by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) as the action lingered -
Electricity Workers threaten shut down of power, demand sack of MD
Electricity Workers Nationwide on Tuesday in Abuja threatened to shut down power, unless the Federal Government immediately sack the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN), Managing Director, Usman Mohammed.
The workers, under the auspices of Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), are accusing Mohammed of high handedness and anti-labour practices.
The union threatened that it would ground the entire power structure in the country, if government refused to heed its advice to relief the managing director of his appointment.
The workers’ threat followed the alleged administrative irregularities and high handedness of the Mohammed-led management.
It is recalled that TCN emerged from the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), following the merger of the Transmission and Operations sectors on April 1, 2004.
TCN represents one of the 18 unbundled business units under the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and was issued a transmission license on July, 1, 2006.
The development prompted workers of the organisation to picket the TCN premise where they disrupted vehicular and commercial activities for several hours.
The workers, who spoke through Umar Abubakar, SSAEAC’s General Secretary, accused Mohammed of allegedly flouting most of the administrative procedures, which they claimed were inimical to their welfare.
According to them, the MD allegedly single handedly conducted examinations for staff due for promotion without recourse to input from other management staff.
They further alleged that the MD had defaulted in remitting appropriate taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), a development that also led to the sealing of the organisation even before the workers staged their protest.
The workers also claimed the MD had hijacked some funds provided by the World Bank for projects in the power sector, including his alleged interference in union activities by his attempt to polarize the union.
They also alleged that the MD cleared a large consignment of electrical materials from foreign donors at the ports but failed to deliver same to the warehouse of the organisation for proper accountability, before distribution to the relevant sections.
The protesters said efforts by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige and his counterpart in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to intervene in the matter, proved abortive as Mohammed failed to turn up in several meetings.
“Our grievances stem from the fact that the MD on his own handled the promotion exercise and started to conduct it in his own way through the aid of consultants that to us is not the ideal process.
“The motive is that he is not prepared to promote any staff, especially those who are due and most qualified for promotion.
” He probably wants to pick people, who are his boys and loyal to him, that is our suspicion.
“We have it on good authority that there were some container loads of equipment that were cleared from the ports but was not taken to the store, this again is not the proper thing to do for accountability.
“His own style of leadership is management of dishing out orders; if he is not around, nothing takes place.
”What then are the functions of the Executive Directors or General Managers?
“To cap it all and to prove his incompetence, the FIRS has sealed off our office over tax default.
”How can a responsible MD claim to be in charge and this is happening,” their allegations read in part.
The protesters were seen chanting solidarity songs against the management, carrying placards with inscriptions such as, “we say no to tax fraud, “sack UG Mohammed now to guarantee hope for power sector, “no to nepotism”
Efforts made by newsmen to get reactions to the allegations failed, as the embattled MD neither picked his calls nor responded to text messages sent to his cell-phone.
NAN
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JUST IN: ASUU disrupts LAUTECH exams, commences warning strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has disrupted the ongoing second semester examination for 2017/2018 academic session at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso.
The secretary of the union, Toyin Abegunrin, confirmed the development in a telephone interview.
“The matter is in public domain. Yes we commenced warning strike today,” he said.
A student of the institution who does not want to be identified also confirmed the incident. ‘The exams have been disrupted. We don’t know how long this will linger. I just want to graduate and forget about this horrible institution’, he said expressing disappointment.
Recall that the students had expressed high hopes of uninterupted academic session after going on a 16-month industrial action between 2016 and 2017.
Earlier on Monday, the striking lecturers raised alarm that the institution might collapse over infrastructural decay in the institution, nonpayment of workers’ salaries and shortage of manpower by the state government of Osun and Oyo.
“Presently, suffering and uncertainty of survival means have become the abiding companions of staff members. After the alarm raised in (the) said release by the Union, one would expect that a sensitive government would have responded positively towards averting the looming crises.”
Abegunrin said nothing was done by the two governors, Rauf Aregbesola and Abiola Ajimobi on all the promises of the University Governing Council that led to the suspension of the previous months strike.
“It is saddening to report that up till now, the members of staff are being owed 10 months salary, promotion arrears, among other allowances.”
“We called on members of the public, up till now, no response of any sort was received”, he said.
Meanwhile, all efforts to get the reaction of the university management were unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.
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ASUU rejects Babalakin-led renegotiation team, might embark on another strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday rejected the Dr Wale Babalakin-led Renegotiating Team of the 2009 ASUU/Federal Government of Nigeria Agreement.
Recall that the federal government recently inaugurated the team with Wale Babalakin as Chairman as part of efforts to end gale of strikes in the sector.
However, the union insisted that the renegotiation had collapsed over the alleged arrogance of Babalakin, who was said to have made a mockery of the renegotiation process.
ASUU at the end of its three-day National Executive Council meeting, which held at the University of Calabar in Cross River State, said anything could happen if nothing was done about a letter it had already written to the Minister of Education over the development.
The National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, described Babalakin as a stumbling block in the renegotiation process.
He said, “Recall that in January 2017, the NEC meeting of ASUU held at Bayero University, Kano, welcomed the reconstitution of the government renegotiation team to enter into a renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU/FGN Agreement, which was long overdue.
“The renegotiation commenced in March 2017. At the inauguration of the committee, the Minister of Education declared that he expected the renegotiation to be completed within six weeks. Since then, for over 14 months, our union has had a series of negotiation meetings but it has been a fruitless exercise.
“The Chairman of the Government Renegotiating Team, Dr Wale Babalakin, has constituted himself into a stumbling block in the process of the renegotiation. He has arrogantly exhibited the I-know-it-all attitude and also conducted himself as a judge, instead of a negotiator.
“With unwarranted arrogance, he has disregarded the cardinal principles of collective bargaining, deliberately slowed the process and made a mockery of the core tenets of industrial democracy. He has arrogated to himself the power to decide matters that should be collectively debated, analysed, and agreed upon by the two parties.
“He has also consistently attempted to substitute core constitutional provisions of Nigeria on education, including university education, by market principles of trading in and purchasing higher education, putting Nigerian children in debt in order to acquire higher education. This situation is not acceptable to the union.
“ASUU has tried through several entreaties to make him see reason and return to the path of collective bargaining and respect for the constitutional provisions on education to no avail. Since March 2017, a period of over fourteen (14) months, the discussion has hovered only on funding and Babalakin’s insistence that a tuition regime must be introduced into the public universities in Nigeria.”
He said NEC took reports on the status of the implementation of the September 2017 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action and the FGN/ASUU renegotiation which commenced in March 2017 and resolved to condemn in strong terms the Federal Government’s failure to faithfully implement many items on the 2017 MoA.
The NEC also approved the decision of the ASUU team to withdraw from the re-negotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement as a result of Babalakin’s insistence on the commercialisation of tertiary education in the country.
They also resolved to update ASUU members on the failure of the government to keep its promises on the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and September, 2017 MoA and meet in due course to consider the next line of action.
However, it is not yet clear if the union will be embarking on another strike should Wale Babalakin remain as the chairman of the renegotiating team.
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Fiat workers strike over Ronaldo’s move to Juventus
Workers at a Fiat Chrysler plant in Italy are to strike after its main investor decided to pay €112m (£99.2m) to sign footballer Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus.
Both the football club and the carmaker are controlled by the Agnelli family through their holding company.
For the USB union, the decision means Fiat is missing out on investment.
It said the firm needed to guarantee the future of thousands of people, “rather than enriching only one”.
The union added that it was “unacceptable” that while Fiat Chrysler workers were making “huge economic sacrifices”, millions of euros were being spent on the purchase of a player.
The four-year deal to woo Ronaldo from Real Madrid was announced on Tuesday amid concern that Juventus might have overpaid for the 33-year-old forward.
However, football finance expert Rob Wilson, of Sheffield Hallam University, said Juventus should earn more than enough money from Ronaldo to cover the transfer fee and his wages.
He added: “The marketing leverage that Juventus will be able to create will be significant. Added to that the likelihood that he will strengthen the team, it seems plausible that they will be more successful domestically and qualify routinely for the Champions League. That means more sponsors, more TV money and more prize money.”
Born on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where the airport is named after him, Ronaldo has had a successful career at Real Madrid, scoring 450 goals in 438 games for the club.
As captain of the Portuguese team in the 2018 World Cup, he scored four goals, including a hat-trick against Spain. Portugal made the last 16 of the tournament, in stark contrast to Italy, who failed to qualify for the first time since 1958.
Limited impact
Although Juventus and Fiat Chrysler are run as entirely separate businesses, they are both controlled by Exor, the investment holding of the Agnelli family.
The USB union has called for a strike at the Melfi plant in southern Italy, which makes cars including the Fiat Punto and the 500X.
Its members will walk out at 22:00 local time on Sunday and remain on strike until 18:00 on the following Tuesday.
However, the impact of the stoppage is likely to be limited. The factory is just one of seven Fiat Chrysler plants in Italy and the USB does not represent many workers there.
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Strike: Cross River threatens no work no pay
Cross Rivers state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Joe Abang, has said the State will invoke the no work no pay policy of the federal government over a planned strike by Ministry of Justice workers.
TheNewsGuru reports workers in the state ministry of justice under the aegis of Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) planned on shutting down the ministry of justice on Monday the 2nd of July 2018.
The workers are claiming the Government of CRS has approved but not implemented the harmonization of their salaries with that of Judicial Officers in the Magistrate cadre.
The Justice Commissioner in a statement on Sunday said, “This issue is in the 2018 Budget and presently being handled by the HOS Barr Ekpenyong Henshaw and the Accountant General of CRS”.
He further stated that “The SA Labour to the Governor has said this group is not part of NLC and TUC and therefore cannot declare a strike against a Governor who has performed creditably well!”
“We, therefore, urge the general public and the service to ignore anybody claiming to or purporting to be in support of this group. Our Digital Governor remains open to negotiations in this respect.
“But the Attorney General and commissioner for justice CRS will not hesitate to implement the “No work No pay policy” of the Federal government should the need arise,” he added.
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BREAKING: JOHESU suspends strike, members to resume on Friday
The Joint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, on Thursday called off its 43-day-old strike, directing its members to resume work on Friday.
The body also lambasted the Federal Government for failing to meet its demands.
The directive was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of JOHESU and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations in Abuja.
The communiqué read in part, “The various gains from the meetings with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, were presented to the NEC of JOHESU.
“After exhaustive deliberations and discussions, the NEC in session approved that the six-week old strike be suspended this day Thursday, May 31, 2018 because of the sympathy the unions have for the suffering Nigerian masses and also to pave way for further negotiations to continue on Monday, June 4, 2018.”
The union maintained that the strike was not political but was based on the principle of fairness and justice.
It, however, had harsh words for the Federal Government for failing to honour its promise of increasing the salaries of health workers.
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Resident doctors mull nationwide strike over sacked members
The Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), on Thursday warned that it may proceed on strike if the Federal Government failed to facilitate the reinstatement of its members sacked by the University of Jos Teaching Hospital.
The Publicity and Social Secretary of NARD, Dr Ugochukwu Eze said at a press conference in Kaduna that the 21-day ultimatum issued for the reinstatement of the sacked doctors expires today, May 31.
He recalled that the first ultimatum issued on the matter expired on May 2, 2018, and was extended by another three weeks to give room for proper dialogue.
According to Eze, the doctors also want the government to meet up with all outstanding agreements contained in the September 6, 2017 Memorandum of Terms of Settlement entered with the government.
“The September 2017 strike was suspended to allow government complete implementation of the terms of settlement but there are still unmet agreements.
“NARD leadership may not be able to guarantee continuous industrial harmony should our legitimate agitations be ignored by government,” he stressed.
He noted that since the commencement of strike by the Joint Health Sector Workers Union, healthcare services in the country has been anchored on the shoulders of resident doctors, as such government should reciprocate the good will by addressing their problems.
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Strike: We are ‘unmoved’ by court order directing resumption of work – JOHESU
…wants Minister of Health, Labour sacked
Sequel to the National Industrial Court judgement ordering the striking Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) to return to work within 24 hours, the union has dared the court order, insisting it is ‘unmoved.’
Recall that Justice Babatunde Adejumo gave the judgment on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Daily Trust newspaper, the order followed an ex-parte motion filed by a non-governmental organisation challenging the industrial action by the health workers.
The NGO, Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, in the motion, prayed the court to order the workers to resume work and go back to the negotiation table.
The judge also ordered the ministers of Health, as well as Labour and Employment to immediately set up a committee to address issues raised by the parties.
Responding to the development on Friday, an official of JOHESU said the union was yet to be served with the order.
“There is no paper to that effect. It is only on the pages of newspaper and television that we saw it,” Olatunji Tajudeen, JOHESU Lagos State Council Chairman said. “There should be a notice properly served,” he added.
The official however said the union was ‘unmoved’ by any judgment and that the strike will continue until the workers’ demands are met.
He said the unions’ new demand is that both the ministers of health and labour be ‘removed’.
Tajudeen described both officials as ‘biased’ in the ongoing negotiations between the union and government.
JOHESU, an association of health workers except doctors, has been on strike for more than a month.
The strike began on April 17 at federal hospitals across the country until a week ago when members of JOHESU in the employ of state and local governments joined in.
Meanwhile, JOHESU has directed its members in Lagos, Yobe and Kano to return go work following efforts by the state governments to meet their local demands.
On that, the Lagos union leader said, “Yes we have returned to work and opened up our emergency unit following efforts made by our state government to meet our local demands.
“We only do skeletal and emergency response at the moment.”