50,000 Abuja workers sacked in two months – ACCI

The scarcity of foreign exchange for importation of raw materials by local industries is adversely affecting the sector as over 50,000 workers have lost their jobs in Abuja in the last two months.

Unemployment

The President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Tony Ejinkeonye, confirmed the job losses in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Abuja.

Similarly, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frank Jacobs, said that about 10 companies had formally notified the association about their intention to shut down operations before the end of this month.

Ejinkeonye said that except something urgent was done by the Federal Government to address the forex exchange problem, more people could lose their jobs.

“Currently, in Abuja, we have about 50,000 workers that have lost their jobs in the last two months. I must confess this is not a good time for the manufacturing sector,” he said.

He said majority of manufacturers operating in Abuja could no longer access foreign exchange to import raw materials, adding that those who managed to get forex from the black market could not sell their products as consumers could not pay the high prices.

He said, “As manufacturers and industrialists, the scarcity of foreign exchange has affected us in the area of raw materials that need to be imported. We cannot access foreign exchange anymore to import raw materials.

“Also, maintenance of some of these facilities has become a problem because the spare parts have to be imported and the inability to get foreign exchange to import them has impacted negatively on our operations.

“Some of our members who are manufacturers have even gone to the extreme of withdrawing their goods from the market and need to increase their prices to reflect the high foreign exchange rate. Many of us are having the problem of retaining our workers because the production is being hampered by lack of raw materials.”

The ACCI president said the situation had become so bad that even big manufacturing companies such as Unilever Nigeria Plc, Dangote Cement, Air France and Emirate Airlines were having problem getting foreign exchange.

He stressed the need for the Federal Government to come up with a comprehensive approach that would address the problem.

He said, “There is a need for government to do something urgently and stop living in denial. The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Ministry of Finance should come out and say something that would move us out of this forex crisis.

“Things are really bad. As I’m talking to you now, Unilever, Dangote Cement and our other members are crying. A lot of companies have also threatened to lay off workers. If something urgent is not done within the next 30 days by the government to address this, you will see companies like Dangote and Unilever Nigeria sacking some of their workers.”

Ejinkeonye added, “Airlines like Air France and Emirates are really having very serious problems now in taking back their foreign earnings.”

The MAN president said about 10 companies had indicated its plan to close shop before the end of the month.

He said with each of these companies employing an average of 200 people, a total of 2,000 workers would be affected if they decided to shut down their operations.

He said, “A number of our companies have formally written to us that they are going to close shop. Currently, we have about 10 companies that have written us informing us that they are running out of raw materials and that by the end of this month, they may close down.

“We do know that it is going to be more towards the end of the first quarter because many of them that have raw materials that can’t replenish them are likely to shut down.”

Jacobs called on the government to revisit the ban on 41 items from accessing the forex from the official window, especially items considered essential raw materials for manufacturing.

He said, “Many companies that have applied for foreign exchange for even those items that are not on the 41 ban list are finding it difficult to access foreign exchange from the central bank. So, we are calling on the CBN to make foreign exchange available for essential raw materials.”

50,000 Abuja workers sacked in two months – ACCI

Fayose withdraws workers’ salaries after payment

It was a disappointing weekend for workers in Ekiti State as the state government on Thursday withdrew two months’ salaries already paid into their bank accounts.

Fayose, Govenor elect in Ekiti State

This was as teachers in the state declared a two-day warning strike over the refusal of Governor Ayodele Fayose to pay their September 2014 salary arrears and 2014 leave bonuses.

The state chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Samuel Akosile, told our correspondent that the union would consider the next step to take at the expiration of the warning strike beginning today (Monday).

Workers, mainly civil servants in the state had last week received alerts from their banks that their salaries for November and December 2015 had been paid into their accounts.

The workers were, however, in for a shock as the salaries were quietly withdrawn from their accounts without reasons from the banks.

Expressing his frustration to our correspondent, a civil servant who simply identified himself as Akindele, said, “I had gone to the bank on Friday to withdraw money from the Automated Teller Machine but was disappointed when there was no money in my account. On enquiry, I was told that the government had instructed banks to recall payment.”

But the government has blamed the error on the service providers.

Speaking with our correspondent on Sunday, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, said the government had no intention to embarrass any worker, adding that the issue was being looked into.

“The error is from the service provider and it has been rectified,” he said.

But many workers had gone to the bank to withdraw the money before the government could start removing the money from their accounts.

Ogunsuyi, however, added that the government was looking into the case of those who might have withdrawn their money and “appropriate action would be taken after due consideration.”

However, the All Progressives Congress, has slammed Fayose for crediting workers’ accounts with their salaries only to withdraw the money after “a heavy media hype.”

The party in a statement on Sunday by the state Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, accused the governor of fraudulent conduct to sustain his grip on the “thoroughly abused” people of Ekiti people.

He said, “This is not the first time the governor is doing this to workers. He did it to primary school teachers last year when he learnt that they were to embark on a strike. That is what he did last week after learning of the strike plan by teachers after they refused to help him in a solidarity rally to save him from Ekitigateprobe.”

“The governor that said the state was broke suddenly paid two months’ salaries after learning that the teachers were bent on embarking on a protest over his failure to pay their salary arrears, even though he quickly reversed a month salary from their accounts after workers were celebrating payment of two months arrears.”

But debunking the allegations, the Chief Press Secretary to Fayose, Idowu Adelusi, in a statement said labour had not been kept in the dark in the running of the government.

He blamed former governor Kayode Fayemi for the inability to pay workers.

“Is it not the mess left behind by the Fayemi’s administration that is causing problem for Fayose’s government? Nine hundred and fifty million naira is deducted monthly by those who Fayemi administration took loan from. If N950m is added to N1.3bn that came last month, it will go a long way for Fayose administration to meet financial obligations,” Adelusi said.

Fayose withdraws workers’ salaries after payment

Construction workers protest non-payment of salaries, verbal sacking

Some former workers with a construction company on the Lagos Island, Deux Project, have protested against the non-payment of their salaries.

They added that the firm terminated their appointments through telephone calls.

The workers ─ Samuel Ajimuda, Murtala Yahaya, James Philip and Otolurin Taiwo ─ alleged that the company also invited riot policemen to chase them away to avoid paying them their entitlements.

 They threatened to take legal action against the firm if the situation was not addressed.Ajimuda, who is married with a child, said he could no longer feed his family, adding that his daughter had stopped going to school.

The 31-year-old, who claimed to have been working for Deux Project for four years, said he was on a salary of N29, 400 per month.

He said, “I have been working with the firm for the past four years. We discovered that although the company was paying its top staff well, it was not paying the junior workers and things were becoming hard for us.

“When we met with the human resources manager, he told us that the company would pay us in due time.

“But last December, we met with the chief financial officer that we needed money, even if it was half of our salary, to celebrate Christmas with our families. He, however, said the chairman told him that he had no money to pay us.”

He said upon resumption to work in January, they were surprised when the company announced a 50 per cent salary cut.

It was learnt that the company allegedly told the workers that they might not be paid their arrears due to the financial condition of the company.

Ajimuda said they were told that the arrears had been written off.

He said they decided to protest last Wednesday by turning off the company’s lighting system and blocking a part of the main road.

Taiwo, a carpenter, who had worked for six years, said some of the management staff appealed to them that they would receive a bank alert on their phones before that day ran out.

He said, “I was checking my phone for the alert, unfortunately, nothing came throughout that day.

“The following day, we returned to the company and saw riot policemen at the gate. They said we should wait outside.”

The management was said to have later paid the aggrieved workers one month of the arrears.

The company’s human resources manager was alleged to have called the workers on the telephone to tell them that their services would no longer be required.

“We told him it was only one month salary arrear that we were paid, and he said the chairman said when he had money, maybe he would pay the remaining arrears.

“We only want them to pay our money and entitlements,” Philip said.

Yahaya, who was the storekeeper before his dismissal, said he was owed only one month arrear because he had earlier joined another set of workers in 2015 to stage a protest.

He added that workers involved in the protest were sacked, but he was lucky to have been spared at the time.

“We are no longer interested in their job, let them pay us,” he said.

A Lagos-based lawyer, Spurgeon Ataene, who promised to write the company’s office on behalf of the former workers, said it was wrong for their appointment to be terminated verbally.

He said, “These men had been working on empty stomachs and they decided to stage a peaceful protest to get their salaries paid, but the company sent a team of policemen against them.

“Instead of paying their full salaries, the company quickly rushed and paid them just one month of their five to six months arrears and went ahead to verbally terminate their jobs.

“While we believe that every organisation has the power to hire and fire, it should be in accordance with labour laws. They don’t have the right to abuse and maltreat Nigerian workers. The Federal Government should investigate the company’s activities and sanction them appropriately.”

When contacted, the company’s Human Resources Manager, identified only as Tayo, said he was not authorised to comment. He promised to get in touch with the “right person”, but later declined to do so.

He said, “The person has also refused to talk and said I should not send his contact.”

Our correspondent, however, sent him a message on the incident, which he had yet to reply to as of the time of filing this report.

Construction workers protest non-payment of salaries, verbal sacking

Aregbesola in fresh crisis as Osun workers reject half salaries

Fresh crisis appears brewing between labour unions and Osun State Government following the rejection of the 50 per cent of salaries paid by the government into workers’ accounts.

The workers had on Monday announced the suspension of the strike embarked upon since May 26 after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government.

But the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, while addressing journalists on Tuesday, said they were rejecting half payment of their salaries.

He said, “We are rejecting the payment of half salaries because that was not what we agreed on. All affiliate unions of the labour will meet later today to deliberate on the issue. But those that have not been paid at all can remain at home.”

Also, some local government workers told our correspondent around 2pm on Tuesday that they were yet to receive alert from their banks.

But the All Progressives Congress in the state has appealed to workers to show understanding with the government saying the balance of their salaries would be paid very soon.

The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the APC in Osun State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, who addressed journalists said the payment of 50 per cent of the salary was inadvertently done.

“The 50 percent was already programmed. That was done before the Memorandum of Understanding was signed with workers.

“Unfortunately it is a communication gap. There was no intention to pay the half salary and the payment will not stop at payment of 50 per cent. Government will pay all.

“We are appealing to the workers to show understanding with the government. Their salaries will be paid in full. It will be implemented soonest.”

The APC’s spokesperson had in a statement earlier issued, rallied workers support for the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, saying the workers should continue to support the governor in his efforts to transform the state.

He explained that the nonpayment of the salary was caused by corruption in the oil sector during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The statement partly read, “It was therefore, totally misplaced anger that was directed at Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for the crisis. Those who sponsored and propagated the misplaced anger did so out of envy that Aregbesola was raising Osun above their ignoble pedestal of impoverished ideas,” the party declared.

“Now that it is open secret that PDP government led by Goodluck Jonathan was the thief that stole the nation broke, it calls for greater understanding from both labour union and the workers to help the state address the aftermath of this PDP crime against our country.”

Aregbesola in fresh crisis as Osun workers reject half salaries

Edo workers threaten strike over alleged pension deduction

Workers under the Edo State Government on Wednesday threatened to embark on a three-day warning strike over ‎the alleged deduction of eight per cent from their May 2015 salaries as pension contribution.‎

The workers, who said the strike would commence on May 25, noted that the deductions were contrary to the Edo State Contributory Pension Scheme Law of 2010.

The strike notice was contained in a communique issued in Benin after an enlarged meeting of the State Joint Public Service Negotiating Council and signed by its Chairman, Shaka Otoede, and Secretary, Igho Morrison.

According to the communique, the warning strike became necessary following the state government’s  unwillingness to discuss the issues related to pension before the deductions.

It also said state government should be “held responsible” for the actions of the council on the issues.

But the state government has appealed to the workers to revert their planned industrial action, assuring that it would meet with them at the “shortest possible time.”

The Commissioner for Establishment and Special Duties, Didi Adodo, in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the council, explained that the state governor’s “inaction”  on the council’s letter was as a result of his “busy schedule.”

The letter read, “He (governor) is appealing that you maintain a stay of action on the issue of seven-day ultimatum and promised to hold a meeting with you at the shortest possible time.

“His inaction on your letter was not a slight on your persons; it was as a result of the busy schedule of His Excellency, as you are all aware.”

Edo workers threaten strike over alleged pension deduction