According to the NLC President, the states of the federation have a long history “of arm-twisting and abuse of the judiciary and legislative arms of government, a situation, he said has gotten worse.
Browsing: Workers World
The union is calling for the emplacement of tax ceiling for lower income workers such that those earning below the poverty line are exempted from paying income tax; just as it calls for the repeal of the National Housing Fund Act.
“We commend this united strike and urge that the unions and associations involved not to relent until all demands are met. Should the 7-day [warning strike] expire without any serious and concrete effort by the state government to meet the demands, it should be escalated to a full-blown strike with the active solidarity and support of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC). This is important to teach the rabidly anti-worker government of Kaduna state led by Mallam El-Rufai a lesson.
“Wages are binding contracts which cannot be unilaterally or arbitrarily reviewed. It is unfortunate that while some states are giving incentives to workers at this time of grave health emergency, in line with global trend, Kaduna State is taking away from workers and pensioners. This is nothing but a full-blown industrial tyranny,” the Labour-Civil Society Situation Room contended.
“The COVID-19 economic crisis is hitting young people – especially women – harder and faster than any other group. If we do not take significant and immediate action to improve their situation, the legacy of the virus could be with us for decades. If their talent and energy is side-lined by a lack of opportunity or skills it will damage all our futures and make it much more difficult to re-build a better, post-COVID economy.”
While arguing that the enquiry infringes on the fundamental human rights of Comrade Oyeleke, Abimbola stated that if the union members are aggrieved, the best option available to them or anybody is to “approach the court.” He asked National Record if it was aware that “the Ministry of Labour and Productivity [sic] has an overriding supervisory role over the affairs of all unions in Nigeria,” and that if people are aggrieved, they can make a petition to the minister or approach the National Industrial Court rather than “defaming him [Comrade Oyelekan] and harassing him here and there.”
“Femi Falana since his student days has been in the fore front of the crusade for the emancipation of the Nigerian people. As a student, even before he became a lawyer, Femi Falana was in the habit of bailing fellow student union activists who got arrested by the State.”
“In most of the agencies in question, many staff are presently being owed transfer allowances for upward of 12 months. It is difficult to understand how an agency that has been unable to pay transfer allowances for a few staff can afford to relocate its whole headquarters comprising several offices and personnel without extra budgetary support.”
Adeyemi said IPPIS officials “have refused to effect appropriate corrections of all the anomalies observed by NASU members in the Federal Universities and Inter-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education up to this current moment, i.e. salaries paid to our members in February, March and April, 2020.
While we pay homage in respect of the sacrifice of our nurses in the current war against Covid-19, we reiterate our earlier calls for the government and healthcare managers across our country and other climes world over to pay attention to the voice of silent sobs by our nurses who go to war without adequate personal protective gear, conducive work environment and an impossible work schedule.