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Tag: workers

  • COVID-19: Niger Government orders workers to stay home from Monday

    COVID-19: Niger Government orders workers to stay home from Monday

    The Niger State Government has directed all workers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state to remain at home from Monday, 21st December 2020.

    The workers were asked to remain at home in a circular to MDAs signed by the Head of Service, Salamatu Abubakar in order to remain safe from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The circular was titled, “Stay Free from 2nd Wave of Coronavirus Pandemic stated that only officials on essential duties were exempted.

    It stated, “Please, refer to the subject matter above. I write to inform you that in view of the 2nd wave of coronavirus pandemic being experienced in the country, His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, Executive Governor of Niger State has approved for all workers in Niger State to stay at home with effect from Monday, 21 December 2020 until further notice, except Officers on essential services.”

  • INTELS sacks 700 workers without benefits in Rivers

    INTELS sacks 700 workers without benefits in Rivers

    Workers of Intels Nigeria Limited on Friday received the shock of their lives when the management of the company formally sacked 700 of them without benefits.

    The aggrieved sacked workers, who began the protest on Tuesday said they would only stop their demonstrations if the firm paid their benefits.

    The protesters and members of the Associated Maritime Services (AMS) barricaded the entrance to the firm’s plant yard displaying placards.

    Some of the placards contained messages such as ‘Kindly do the Needful pay us our Redundancy Money,’ ‘Every Labourer Deserves His Wages, Pay us our Money,’ ‘Please INTELS do the Needful, pay us Don’t Send us home Empty Handed We Were Your Workers’.

    The President of AMS Union Staff Association, Intels, Sunday Atakpo, urged the management of the firm to pay the sacked workers their redundancy money.

    Atakpo said: “AMS is the major part of Intels group. We are here because over 700 of our men were placed on redundancy without following the condition of service.

    “They had tried this three months ago and we blocked the road and protested and we were called for negotiation. While the discussions were on, they went round and terminated the people on the 8 of December when discussions have not concluded and benefits of the people have not been paid.

    “Since 1998, Intels and AMS have been having single negotiations, they are the same people. When we started this negotiation, we sat for about seven times and they said INTELS and AMS have been separated, we agreed. They went into discussions with INTELS 68 workers who were dropped and their benefits were paid to them.

    “When it came to AMS, they brought in about 633 redundant staffs and their benefits were not paid to them. And we are asking where in this world will you work and will not be paid. These are staff who have worked for you for over 25 years and you want to lay them off without benefits.

    “What they are doing is against any known labour law. Let them pay our people and we will leave them alone. You have not paid them off and you are chasing them out of the company, it is shameful and unexpected.”

    Also, Tunde Bolaji, the Chairman of Junior Staff INTELS AMS district of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, appealed to the state Governor, Cheif Nyesom Wike, the Federal Government and Labour Organisations to compel INTELS to clear their outstanding benefits before laying them off.

    Efforts to reach Intels management were unsuccessful but it was gathered that the protesters were not Intels employees but members of staff of contractual firms engaged by Intels.

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  • Photo: PENGASSAN pickets oil company over sack of 64 workers

    Photo: PENGASSAN pickets oil company over sack of 64 workers

    Oil workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), on Tuesday picketed the office of Baker Hughes, a multinational oil company, over sacking of 64 workers.

    The picketing took place at the Mansard House, Victoria Island area of Lagos State.

    Some aggrieved members were seeing chanting solidarity songs, while holding placards of various inscriptions, to drive home their demands.

    Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “We say no to bad labour practices; “BakerHughes stop denying us our rights.”

    Mr Leroy Musa, Industrial Relations Officer, PENGASSAN, Lagos Zone, said that in spite of the pleas and meetings held with the company’s management, it still locked out the employees.

    “The management was with PENGASSAN discussing conditions for separating members which usually is supposed to be a voluntary separation, agreed by law and signed, before implemented.

    “Our members got to the office only to be locked outside the office on the ground that they have been sacked.

    “No pre-notice, no meetings and nothing to prepare the workers’ minds; we are here to say no to the injustice.

    “PENGASSAN is against this, and we will fight against it,” Musa said.

    Also, the Industrial Relations Officer, PENGASSAN, Baker Hughes Branch, Mr Olisa Igwebike, said the company’s management had breached the agreements made earlier by both parties.

    According to him, due process should have been followed before the management locked out the workers.

    “Typically, once negotiation has been done, we now agreed on the numbers of people that will be laid off and decided that we will be having a meeting afterward to complete all other modalities.

    “When the meeting was to take place, the management locked out all the workers including union members; the management has already broken the process chain.

    “It just means that as an entity, PENGASSAN, the management has no respect for authority, laws of the land and flouted the Department of Petroleum Resources and Ministry of Labour rules,” Igwebike said.

    Responding, Mr Olusegun Obagbemi, the Communications Director, Baker Hughes, confirmed the development.

  • Ogun on another shutdown as workers begin one week warning strike today

    Ogun on another shutdown as workers begin one week warning strike today

    Workers in Ogun State on Tuesday declared one-week warning strike after failed negotiation with government on the new minimum wage and gratuity.

    The warning strike will be effective from 12pm on Wednesday.

    The declaration came after a meeting between the state’s chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun in Oke-Mosan Abeokuta, the state capital.

    The labour Chairman, Comrade Emmauel Bankole who addressed newsman after the meeting argued that If Lagos, Oyo and Ondo States had begun payment of the new minimum wage despite the pandemic, nothing stopped the state government from paying too.

    According to the Chairman, other unaddressed issues that triggered the strike were delay in workers promotion and shortchanged of retirees in the State.

    His words “Unfortunately the demonstration is deadlock. The one week warning strike will begin 12 midnight tomorrow over the minimum wage and other issues like gratuity and allowances that have not been paid for years.

    “The decision of the government is unacceptable to us. What they said is that the minimum wage will have to delay for them to do some other things.

    “Having waited for so long, enough is enough. Our findings shows that Ogun State Government is not the poorest in the South West. If Lagos, Oyo and Ondo are paying despite the pandemic, nothing stops Ogun State from paying.”

    Reacting, the state government expressed shock over the action, describing it as strange.

    Speaking on behalf of the government, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Remi Hassan said the request of the workers was legitimate but embarking on strike should not be the next thing when negotiation was still ongoing.

    He said “Every state has its own priority and you cannot use what is going on in other state to determine what happens in other state.”

  • Okowa lifts suspension on minimum wage for workers

    Okowa lifts suspension on minimum wage for workers

    Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has lifted the suspension on minimum wage of some category of workers in the civil service.

    Recall that the Okowa administration reviewed salaries of political appointees and civil servants on salary grade level seven and above for six months with effect from July 2020.

    Delta State NLC chairman, Goodluck Ofobruku who disclosed this to reporters in Asaba, Friday, said the State Government agreed to the suspension of the payment of the new minimum wage for levels 7 to 17 be lifted with effect from September 1st, 2020.

    Ofobruku expressed pain at the sudden hike in both fuel and electricity tariffs by the Federal Government during this trying of the Covid-19 19 pandemic in the nation.

    He praised workers in the state for their patience and understanding all through the period under review and promised that better things were on the way for them.

    He commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for his effective leadership, people oriented policies and programmes and particularly for being workers friendly.

    He stressed that the earlier agreement between the state government and Nigeria Labour Congress was for a six months period, adding that the hike in fuel and electricity bills by the Federal government hastened the decision to suspend the slash in salary.

    The Special Adviser on SERVICOM and Labour, Mike Okeme said government promised to lift the suspension on minimum wage whenever there was improvement in the economy, and praised Okowa for being sympathetic to the plight of workers.

  • Bank sacks 865 workers

    Bank sacks 865 workers

    Lloyds Bank in the UK is shedding 865 jobs, as it resumes cost-cutting measures amid COVID-19 pandemic.

    Lloyds, the biggest domestic banking group in UK, had temporarily stopped job losses and restructuring early in the pandemic, with the commitment running until October.

    Union Unite criticised the cuts, which come alongside the creation of 226 new roles.

    “Unite is extremely worried about the future prospects of the 860 staff being told that they will lose their jobs during these very challenging times,” said Unite national officer Rob MacGregor.

    Lloyds confirmed the cuts and said the majority of the roles were non-customer facing and came from simplifying its business.

    “These changes primarily reflect our existing plans to simplify parts of our businesses, which were in place prior to Covid-19,” a Lloyds spokeswoman said.

    “Any colleague impacted by today’s announcement will not leave the Group until November at the earliest.”

  • Workers protest, reject FG’s plan to concession four international airports

    Workers protest, reject FG’s plan to concession four international airports

    Ibadan Airport workers on Monday held a peaceful march round the major streets of the city to protest against Federal Government’s plan to concession four international airports in the country.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protest was organised under the umbrella of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Union of Air Transport Employee (NUATE).
    The two bodies and representatives of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners carried placards bearing different inscriptions.
    Some of the inscriptions read: “Airport concession lacks transparency,” “Nigerians rise against siege on our common patrimony,” “Job loss looms in the aviation industry” and “FAAN pay our pension liabilities.”
    Other inscriptions are: “Our airports are undervalued,” “Federal Government, please resolve MM2 concession,” “Airport concessioning, a threat to aviation industry,” “Chinese loan repayment threatened by concession” and “selective concessioning, ploy to destroy FAAN.”
    The Chairman of ATSSSAN, Mr Oyewole Olayade, who spoke on behalf of the unions, said the protest was to air their views on the government’s proposed concessioning of the airports.
    Olayade listed the affected airports to include the Muritala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, Aminu Kano Airport, Kano, Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja and Port Harcourt Airport.
    “Federal Government claimed that the airports are underdeveloped and cannot continue to fund them again.
    “Government now believes that it should invite private investors to come forward to invest so that there will be fund to develop the facilities.
    “Our stand has always been transparency. As critical stakeholders, we are supposed to be carried along in whatever government wants to do concerning concession.
    “These four major airports generate the bulk of our revenues,’’ Olayade said.
    He said that workers were convinced that the federal government was not transparent with the process of the concession.
    He further said that the committee set up to examine the modalities on how the airports would be concessioned had yet to brief the national executive of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) unions.
    Olayade said: “The committee met with our national leadership, where our executive asked questions on the area to be concessioned but government could not come up with genuine answer.
    “At the meeting, they promised to get back to us on the modalities and procedure they want to use but to our surprise, they didn’t come back.
    “All we hear, especially the last time the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, appeared before the National Assembly, is that federal government has commenced with the policy.
    “He made it clear that it was a government policy to concession the four airports and that there was no going back.
    “We know it is government property but the critical stakeholders should be carried along,’’ Olayade said.
    Also, the Chairman of NUATE, Gbenga Kayode, urged the federal government to carry the executives of the unions along in major policies that affect FAAN workers.

  • Attack: FMC Lokoja shut as workers commence indefinite strike

    Attack: FMC Lokoja shut as workers commence indefinite strike

    Doctors, nurses and other health workers at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja, Kogi State on Thursday announced the withdrawal of their services.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the indefinite strike followed an early morning attack yesterday on the facility by suspected political thugs.

    A statement by the workers in Lokoja said the action was necessitated by the prevailing insecurity, foisted on the centre by the attackers, who they alleged, were sponsored.

    The statement was signed by Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) Chairman Dr. Nnana Agwu and Joint Health Workers Union (JOHESU) Chairman Samuel Obajemu.

    Other signatories to the statement are: National Association of Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Abdulmalik Idris; Medical Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) Chairman John Omoche and Senior Staff Association (SSA) Chairman Usman Gabriel.

    The union leaders expressed the regret that aside the violent attack on workers, all the vital equipment needed for their day-to-day work had been carted away by the hoodlums.

    “Some equipment like infrared thermometers, laptops, ATM cards, car keys and two motorcycles, which are vital in providing care, were carted away by the hoodlums,” the statement said.

    The union leaders said the administrative block of the hospital was completely vandalised by the armed thugs, who, they said, came in unmarked Toyota Sienna buses.

    According to them, the workers will stay off work until security of lives and property at the hospital is guaranteed.

    The unions also demanded adequate provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their members as a precondition for calling off the strike.

    Part of their demands include validation of COVID-19 status of the Accident and Emergency unit staff who were on self-isolation, expansion of triangle points and provision of testing facilities (PCR machine).

  • Eight health workers test positive for Covid-19 in Ogun State

    Eight health workers test positive for Covid-19 in Ogun State

    Eight staff of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ogun State.

    The spokesman for the centre, Segun Orisajo, confirmed this to Channels Television on Friday.

    According to him, the affected staff consist of medical doctors, nurses, and an administration staff.

    “They were part of the team which had contact with a two and half-year-old coronavirus positive toddler currently receiving treatment at the Centre’s Isolation ward.

    READ ALSO: 72 Healthcare Workers Infected With COVID-19 In Enugu

    “The COVID-19 positive status of the affected staff was detected during the round of contact tracing carried out by the hospital Infection Control Team,” he said.

    He explained that none of the staff had so far showed the symptoms of coronavirus.

    Although the Medical Director, Prof. Adewale Musa-Olomu said although none of the staff is asymptomatic, they have however been asked to proceed on self-isolation and basic treatment has commenced for them.

    While wishing and praying for the quick recovery of the staff, the Managing Director of the centre expressed confidence that they will soon return to their duty post.

  • NLC blows hot over call to slash workers’ salaries

    NLC blows hot over call to slash workers’ salaries

    The Chairman, Kano State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Kabiru Ado-Minjibir has cautioned against any attempt to slash salaries of workers in the country.

    Minjibir, who gave the warning in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Kano, said any attempt to reduce the workers’ salaries would be met with stiff resistance from workers in the country.

    The NLC Chairman was reacting on the advice given to Federal and state governments by a lawmaker representing Borno South in the Senate, Mohammed Ali-Ndume to slash the salaries of workers.

    He described the advice by the lawmaker as `ill-timed’ considering the situation in the country.

    “It is not the right time for the lawmaker to give such advice because it’s not the right time to reduce workers’ salaries as they are not being given any palliative.

    “Since workers are not being given palliatives, their salaries should not be tampered with,” Ado-Minjibir said.

    Reacting to the ultimatum the NLC gave to the Kano state government to refund salaries it deducted from its members or face strike action, Ado-Minjibir said the deadline would expire on Monday, June 15.

    He said committee set by the state government under the leadership of Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji had met twice with labour representatives with a view to resolving the issue amicably.

    “Discussion is still ongoing on the issue and we will come up with our resolution on Monday, June 15 when the deadline given to the state government would have expired,” he said.

    Recall that the Coalition of Labour unions in Kano state had on May 28, issued a 14-day ultimatum to the state government to refund what they described as “illegal deduction” from their May 2020 salaries or face industrial action.