Labour
Pensioners Task Governors on Review, Gratuities
From Mohammed Muktar UMAR Bauchi
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has appealed to state governors to settle outstanding gratuities owed to its members and to review pension after every five years or where there is increase in the salaries of civil servants with a view to improving their plights.
National Vice President, north east zone of the union Alhaji Muhammad Inuwa Ahmad made the appeal in a press release issued to Journalists Monday in Bauchi where he said that pensioners who rendered selfless services to their states and country need to be well treated by the government.
” As elderly citizens, pensioners remained focused on the major political promises done by their respective leaders most especially governors during the recent general elections.
Though, it is our civic right to be part of the juicy democratic system, we emanate confidence on major of their promises, as known to all and sundry, our prayers are settlement of all gratuity and pension arrears and upward review of monthly pension every five years or where there is increase in salary and wages to civil servants whichever comes earlier.”” The issue of gratuity and pension arrears has started to move a step forward in many of the north eastern states, as the Bauchi state government under Bala Mohammed has placed his positive giant strides on the Bauchi state pensioners, 100 million naira was duly paid on august and subsequently 200 million naira was also paid on september 2019 to both local government and state pensioners with confined expectations of getting higher than the previous payments every month”.
” Governor Babagana Umar Zulum of Borno state has also made good attempt by paying one billion naira on july/ August to the Borno state pensioners , thus, this implies his kind acts toward addressing pensioners’ plight.”
” In the same vein, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe state has paid one billion and one hundred Million to state pensioners which we hope the same to the local government pensioners, and there is a reliable hope that more will be paid in subsequent months, for which we are thankful.
” In another development, Governor Mai- Mala Buni of yobe state has paid six hundred Million to settle the backlog of gratuity, hence he has been a good succesor of Governor Gaidam which Nigerian pensioners recommend him to be their most friendly governor.” The statement reads.
While thanking the aforementioned governors for reducing gratuity debts in their states, Ahmad however, lamented that Adamawa and Taraba states pensioners were still not paid their gratuities hoping that the governors would act on that soonest.
” Lastly, we are calling on government at all levels to frame a reliable blueprint for the development of the teeming Nigerian pensioners. Thus, this will be done by upward review of monthly pension as many pensioners in Nigeria receive as low as N3,000 , hence we will not remain on our toes untill section 173(3) and section 210 of the 1999 constitution as amended which states that “pension must be reviewed every five years or together with any increase in civil servants salary whichever comes earlier” is being immediately put in place,” he said.
Labour
Tribute to Chief Frank Kokori
By Joe Ajaero
We at the Nigeria Labour Congress are deeply saddened by the passing away of Chief Frank Kokori at 80. Our hearts are with his biological family and the NUPENG family where he was General Secretary. To them and other associates, we offer our condolences.
Chief Frank Kokori was Executive Secretary of OMPADEC which later metamorphosed into NDDC among other national appointments held by him.
He was announced as Chairman of the board of NSITF but denied that role by some of the powers that be. He instead chaired the board of Michael Imoudou National Institute of Labour Studies (MINILS) where he made his impact. This was his last national assignment.Chief Frank Kokori will be remembered for many things but top on that list was being among the Labour leaders that gave their all in order for our country to have democracy.
For his stoic and heroic struggle for the enthronement of democracy, he was arrested and detained by the military alongside other Labour leaders for spells of time under inhumane conditions.
Before his arrest and detention by the Abacha -government, Kokori was in the vanguard of Labour leaders who fashioned an alliance with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on the understanding that then Congress President, Comrade Pascal Bafyau (now of blessed memory) would be vice president to Chief Abiola. Although Chief Abiola (due to circumstances) beyond his control) did not keep that part of the bargain, organised labour gave him their generous and unflinching support. This, coupled with Chief Abiola’ s own credentials gave him coast to coast victory at the polls in the freest election in the history of the country.
Nigeria Labour Congress was similarly in the vanguard of national resistance when the military scuttled Chief Abiola’ s election or victory. It was in execution of that resistance that Chief Kokori among other Labour leaders was arrested and incarcerated while others were hounded out of the country. The “lucky” ones were only put on the security watch list and were routinely harassed at their homes, airports and at public functions considered by the State to be subversive. At the risk of sounding immodest, among those arrested and incarcerated at such functions at Ilorin were Comrades Joe Ajaero and Chris Uyot, Deputy General of Congress. There were several others who suffered differing indignities for fighting for democracy.
Even while some of its leaders were in detention with Chief Abiola, Labour leaders did not give up on their struggle for enthronement of popular democracy.
For their “obduracy”, the organised labour paid a heavy price. The Nigeria Labour Congress and NUPENG for instance, were illegally dissolved by the military and their assets seized. Sole Administrators were appointed to oversee their affairs until 1999!
It is in light of this that we find it a big irony that those who collaborated with the military yesterday while Labour was in the trenches would have the audacity to say today that Labour has no business in politics. It is a shame they are allowed to eat their cake and have it because quite a number of them through the roof or the back door are in government or positions of influence. And clearly, the dilemmna in which we have found ourselves as a people and as a nation cannot be divorced from this syndrome of opportunism and messiah complex…same faces, same cases, same places ( Akinola Aguda).
Chief Kokori, a dogged and fearless fighter has played his role and gone, history has the next chapter.
Meanwhile, while the wheel of history turns, we urge the federal government and the Government of Delta State to immortalise him, for what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Comrade Joe Ajaero is President, Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC)
President
Aviation
Passengers Stranded as NLC Locks Down Abuja Airport
By Idris Umar Feta Abuja
Many air travellers were left stranded following the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Thursday.
A combined team of NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) blocked both the entry and exit ways of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The protest was part of the series of actions that the two labour unions say they would zero in on Imo, following the attack on the NLC president, Joe Ajaero.
The NLC and TUC had on Tuesday, declared a nationwide strike, which will commence on Tuesday, November 14, due to the face-off with the Imo State Government.
COVER
Strike: FG Okays 30 Days Implementation of MoU with Labour
The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday approved a 30 day implementation plan for the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU between the Federal Government and the Organized Labour.
The government also is taking a decision against any external interference in unions activities by external bodies.
This is as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong alongside the Minister of State, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha have met with the factional leaderships of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, presided over by President Bola Tinubu, at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, Lalong said a Memorandum was presented to the council on the implementation of the agreement with labour.
He said, “We presented a memo from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the memo was basically on the agreement between government and the labour. You are already aware that 15 items are parts of the agreement.
“But we went beyond mere agreement, we told them that something different this time is happening because one, part of the agreement is to file it in the court of law which we have set the process already.
“And the other one was the presidential approval. There cannot be any presidential approval more than the Federal Executive Council. So we presented them to the Federal Executive Council. We analyzed each and every aspect of the agreement and to show the genuineness and also provide for harmonious and good industrial relationship and that was why it was presented and it was approved for implementation.
“It was agreed that within 30 days, there must be evidence of implementation and that was the basis of presenting to the Federal Executive Council the memo and the Federal Executive Council also approved it and within this 30 days, we will go on with the implementation of the agreement between labour and government.”
Fielding on the item six of the MoU which was the government alleged interference in the activities of the democratically elected leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW and the mandate to him (Lalong) to resolve the crisis in the union on or before October 13, the Minister said he had already met with the various factions
He said, “Item six in the MoU is about interference specifically with issues that were about road transport workers. Immediately the next day, we embarked on meetings between the two organisations.
“As of today, they have already reached out and have concluded that of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, today they are making a report to the ministry about their agreement because they went into agreement too and we are also going to get back to their parent association.
“The next one is the NURTW. Last week we were with them. Of course if some of you were there, you knew why we postponed it, I reminded them that we are keeping to the date of the agreement but they said they cannot strictly keep to the date because it is very important to them that we realized the aim. So we shifted the meeting till tomorrow. Today, we are going to get the report, by tomorrow we will fix a meeting.
“The reason why we presented these items to the Federal Executive Council is for them to note and approve that after these things we will not want to be tolerating interference into union activities.”But those that are pending are within the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. Our own is to dispense with conflicts and we are going to continue to do that and these two items we have mentioned, were really the particular things they hammered on when we met. By God’s grace in the next few days, those ones are going to be sorted out.”