Stories by Bimbola Oyesola, 08033246177
Organised Labour has warned that governments are indirectly encouraging corruption through the refusal to pay salaries and allowances to workers as at when due.
The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) said states owing workers salaries are indirectly exposing them to unethical means of sustenance.
According to the union’s resolutions at the end of the regular meeting of the WAEC/Libraries and other trade group council, held in Abuja last week, governors that are not paying salaries and dues promptly are encouraging corruption.
Though it noted that the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari has not done badly in curtailing corruption in the country, but opined that in order to be seen as truly fighting corruption, the battle should be across board and not be limited to only perceived opposition.
“Moreover, the fight against corruption should cut across the three tiers of Government as witnessed in the recent purging of the judiciary”, the union stated.
The leadership of the group, Adegoke Adeniyi, Deputy President and Secretary, Damola Adelekun, lamenting that corruption has impacted negatively on Nigeria’s economy and remains a towering threat to peace, governance and development in Nigeria, maintained that Nigeria must uproot corruption to avoid being destroyed by the malady which has become endemic.
The Council-in-Session opined that Federal Government should publish the current amount collected, mention the names of the looters involved, plough back the money into the economy and ensure speedy prosecution of culprits involved.
The union also called the National Judicial Council (NJC) to become more alive to its disciplinary duties and leverage on its working relationship with anti-graft agencies in order to root out corruption from the judiciary.
While canvassing for a living wage for civil servants in order to stamp out unofficial ways of supplementing their incomes, NASU urged all Nigerians to join hands with the Government to fight corruption.
The union stated, “The Council-in-Session condemned in strong terms the refusal, delay and payment of amputated salaries to workers by some State Governors in Nigeria. It shared in the pains of the workers affected and viewed this as a big shame and disgrace to the country.”
The union however advised the governors to make payment of workers’ salaries top priority, cut down on their overheads and luxury items in order to save cost as well as stop relying wholly on federal allocation to run their states, but rather look inwards and diversify the economy of their respective states.
The Council commended the governors of Lagos, Cross River, Akwa-Ibom, Plateau, Edo, Anambra and Enugu States that pay workers’ salaries as and when due and condemned in totality the other State governors that fail in their statutory responsibility of payment of workers’ salaries.
On the workers part, NASU called for prompt monitoring of governance in their respective states to avert diversion of public funds to private pockets and demand for immediate resignation of any erring governor that cannot pay workers’ salary.
The union also implored the National Assembly to amend the act establishing the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to accommodate National and State Libraries in funding and intervention as it does for public institutions’ libraries.
NAAT blasts govt for underfunding education
The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has berated Federal Government underfunding of the education sector, even as it described the N50 billion allocation in 2017 budget as inadequate.
The General Secretary, Iyoyo Hamilton, at the end of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting said the amount for the education sect,or in the proposed 2017 Appropriation Bill, is less than 10% of the total budget.
The union said there is the need for improved allocation to education as a panacea to recovery from the current economic recession.
Though it commends the Federal Government for the timely presentation of 2017 Appropriation Bill tagged, “Budget of Recovery and Growth” and appealed to the National Assembly to ensure early passage of the proposed 2017 Appropriation Bill for the President’s accent, so that the Budget can be implemented to the letter, the union said the nation’s budget projections are always made to encourage and sustain capital flight.
It stated, “So much money is voted for capital projects which at the end are handled by big multinational companies which domicile the funds outside Nigeria. This deprives the local economy of sufficient funds to sustain the domestic economic growth. NAAT frowns at this arrangement because we need to grow our national economy to be able to train our Engineers, Technologists and other Professionals. Government should therefore put this factor into consideration when awarding contracts.”
The union expressed dismay at the reluctance of government to implement the 2009 Agreements freely entered into with the Unions, and thereby urged the government to fully implement the Agreements to avert industrial disharmony.
It likewise re-echoes its earlier call that government should beam its search light on the financial activities of the Nigerian Universities so as to tackle corruption head-long in the system.
“In the same vein, NAAT advises that integrity test should be carried out before the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. This advice has become imperative in the light of recent unsavoury developments in the University System”, it stated.
On the states owing workers, despite the bail out funds, the union described this as unfortunate and unacceptable, and therefore urged federal government to monitor and ensure compliance to the conditions attached to the release of the funds.
ECS: FG orders NSITF to prosecute erring employers
Federal Government has empowered the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to prosecute companies that fail to comply with the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS).
Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, who gave the directive when he visited to the corporate headquarters of the Fund in Abuja recently, noted that the defaulting firms are not only shortchanging their staffers, but putting their health status at risk.
According to him, “I want the NSITF to drag more recalcitrant companies to court over infractions. And I want as many companies as possible to go to court for not obeying the law of the land and the legal department must be active in this regard.
“The companies that are not complying are short changing their workers because in those places, workers are still treating themselves when they sustain injury in the course of work. This is completely unfair and government will not sit by and watch Nigerian workers suffer unnecessarily. We want the little money they earn to stay in their pockets. Employers have responsibility towards their employees and they must be made to fulfill those responsibilities, which employees’ compensation scheme is a major part.”
Ngige insisted that all businesses, enterprises and companies that have more than five persons as workers must enrol their workers on the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS).
The Minister charged the Fund to collaborate with relevant agencies like Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Pension Commission on gathering of database of Nigerian companies and where they are located.
He said though Nigeria is yet to fully ratify International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 102 on social security, the country is operating many of the branches of the Convention that include health insurance, conditional cash transfer and other social intervention programmes.
Speaking earlier, the Acting Managing Director of NSITF, Ismail Agaka, hinted that the Fund presently has 11 regional offices, 55 branches and staff strength of about 5,000.
He explained that since the commencement of the scheme on 1st July, 2011, 51, 576 employers have been registered out of which 16,000 were registered between February and November this year.
He added: “We have paid benefits to 8, 813 workers to the tune of N789 billion while there are 138 families on monthly dependent benefits. Amongst these families is one that earns one million, five hundred and eighty thousand Naira per month. We have others who earn far less than that because compensation benefit is function of the level of contribution.”
The NSITF Chief said the collaboration with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) on safety issues in the workplace has raised safety standards in the workplace.
He cited the reluctance of employers of labour to register on the scheme as one of the major challenges confronting the Fund.
Agaka revealed that following the ministerial directive on the prosecution of recalcitrant employers, NSITF would soon drag such employers to court for prosecution.
“We also have a few challenges that include defaulting employers. If you recall, early this year the Minister ordered us to enforce compliance and we are happy to inform you that the directive has spurred employers to comply with the law. We are in the process of taking other employers that have remained recalcitrant to court for prosecution,” he stated.
While urging the Minister to assist the Fund to renovate its dilapidating state offices, Agaka said the Fund has already drawn up a proposal to remodel all its state offices nationwide.