Stories by Bimbola Oyesola, 08033246177
Federal Government has charged Organised Labour to support the backward integration campaign geared at providing raw materials locally for the industries operating in the country.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige at the weekend said labour unions should support the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari led administration at reducing the country’s over dependence on imported goods and raw materials which are inimical to the nation’s foreign reserve.
Ngige gave this charge while addressing the executive of National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), who were in his office on courtesy visit.
According to the Minister, “I wish to ask your union to do more than you have been doing by assisting the federal government proffer solution to the excessive reliance on imported goods and raw materials.
“We want you to put on your thinking cap and devise ways and means of lessening reliance on importation by sourcing your raw materials locally to preserve our foreign exchange.”
Speaking further, Ngige emphasized that the Federal Government was unwavering in its efforts at ensuring that industries remain operational, so as to check the incidence of job losses.
“The Federal Government has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that the backlog of applications for items needed to make industries remain operational are accorded priority in foreign exchange allocation to forestall job losses”, he said.
In addition, the Minister lauded NUFBTE for not only focusing on workers’ welfare, but also diversifying into job creation ventures, hence complementing the efforts of the Federal Government in stemming youth unemployment.
Earlier in his remarks, the President of NUFBTE, Comrade, Lateef Idowu Oyelekan appreciated the Minister for his intervention and pro-activeness at nipping in the bud, industrial issues that could snowball into crisis.
He further appealed to the Federal Government to help beverage companies address the challenges they face in accessing foreign exchange for the importation of raw materials.
Over 5m workers in Nigeria, others to earn less than $3 daily –ILO
…As global unemployment rises to 3.4 million
With the increase in poverty among the working class, the International Labour Organisation has raised the alarm that the number of workers earning less than $3.10 per day is expected to increase by more than 5 million over the next two years in developing countries.
This is even the global body warned that the global unemployment rate is expected to rise modestly from 5.7 to 5.8 per cent in 2017 representing an increase of 3.4 million in the number of jobless people.
According to a report by the ILO, reductions in working poverty are slowing which endangers the prospects of eradicating poverty as set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The ILO said the number of unemployed persons globally in 2017 is forecast to stand at just over 201 million – with an additional rise of 2.7 million expected in 2018 “as the pace of labour force growth outstrips job creation”, ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2017 (WESO), added.
“We are facing the twin challenge of repairing the damage caused by the global economic and social crisis and creating quality jobs for the tens of millions of new labour market entrants every year,” said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder.
“Economic growth continues to disappoint and underperform – both in terms of levels and the degree of inclusion. This paints a worrisome picture for the global economy and its ability to generate enough jobs. Let alone quality jobs. Persistent high levels of vulnerable forms of employment combined with clear lack of progress in job quality – even in countries where aggregate figures are improving – are alarming. We need to ensure that the gains of growth are shared in an inclusive manner,” he added.
The report shows that vulnerable forms of employment – i.e. contributing family workers and own account workers – are expected to stay above 42 per cent of total employment, accounting for 1.4 billion people worldwide in 2017.
“In fact, almost one in two workers in emerging countries are in vulnerable forms of employment, rising to more than four in five workers in developing countries,” said Steven Tobin, ILO Senior Economist and lead author of the report.
As a result, the number of workers in vulnerable employment is projected to grow by 11 million per year, with Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected.
The authors also warned that unemployment challenges are particularly acute in Latin America and the Caribbean where the scars of the recent recession will have an important carry-over effect in 2017, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa which is also in the midst of its lowest level of growth in over two decades. Both regions are confronted with strong growth in the numbers of individuals entering working age.
By contrast, unemployment should fall in 2017 among developed countries bringing their rate down to 6.2 per cent (from 6.3 per cent). But the pace of improvement is slowing and there are signs of structural unemployment. In both Europe and North America, long-term unemployment remains stubbornly high compared to pre-crisis levels, and in the case of Europe, it continues to climb despite the receding unemployment rates.
At the same time, it warns that global uncertainty and the lack of decent jobs are, among other factors, underpinning social unrest and migration in many parts of the world.
Between 2009 and 2016, the share of the working age population willing to migrate abroad has increased in almost every region of the world, except for Southern Asia, South-Eastern Asia and the Pacific. The largest rise took place in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Arab States.
Turning to policy recommendations, the authors estimate that a coordinated effort to provide fiscal stimulus and an increase in public investment that takes into account each country’s fiscal space, would provide an immediate jump-start to the global economy and reduce global unemployment in 2018 by close to 2 million compared to our baseline forecasts.
However, it explained that such efforts should be accompanied by international cooperation.
“Boosting economic growth in an equitable and inclusive manner requires a multi-facetted policy approach that addresses the underlying causes of secular stagnation, such as income inequality, while taking into account country specificities,” Tobin said.
NUPENG hails army take-over of Sambisa Forest
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have commended the men of the Armed Forces for the successful takeover of the Sambisa forest.
The National President of NUPENG, Igwe Achese, praised the Armed Forces for their gallantry and courage of over-running the dreaded Sambisa Forest, which is the last enclave of the Boko Haram.
The Union stated that the capture of Sambisa forest was a good New Year gift for Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari and the Nation in general with presentation of the Boko Haram and Shekau’s Quran found in the forest to the Commander-in-Chief.
Achese equally commended the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar for the strategy they put in place to wipe the last hold of the Boko Haram.
He however warned that the battle is not yet won, as there are still pockets of Boko Haram resistance around and called for vigilance and intelligence gathering to wipe out the remnants of the sect in order to fully liberate the North-East.
He said, “NUPENG wants the Armed Forces to intensify its mop-up operations to rid the region of the last vestiges of Boko Haram, so that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS’s) can return home.
We call on the Federal Government to provide adequate security to safeguard the people from armed banditry and robberies.”