NUBIFIE set to picket banks over anti-labour practices

Soji-Eze Fagbemi

Recipients of the 2007 national honours
awards, Minister of Labour, Dr. Hassan
Lawal (left), and the Senate President,
Senator David Mark, at a ceremony held at
the International Conference Centre, Abuja,
on Thursday. Photo: Soji-Eze Fagbemi.

THE National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) has threatened to picket some banks over gross abuse and violation of labour rights in the banking sector. According to the General Secretary of NUBIFIE, Mr. Elijah Ola, the union had given the affected banks up till the end of March to first allow unionisation of their workers and redress the abuse of labour rights going on in their banks.

“We are using this opportunity to tell all other banks that have not shown cooperation to do so before the alarm will blow. We give them up till the first quarter of this year after which all those against the unionisation of workers in their organisation will be picketed massively picketed,” he told Labour Today. Ola, who did not give the names of the banks that would be affected in the picketing exercise, however, exonerated some banks he said had shown positive response to calls on them to allow unionisation and stop labour rights abuses in their banks.

Some of the banks the NUBIFIE secretary exonerated are Zenith, Union Bank, BankPHB, Skye Bank, and Ecobank. He pointed out that the union had held various stakeholders meetings under the auspices of the Minister of Labour, Dr. Hassan Lawal, with the managements of banks where an agreement was reached and signed that all the banks should allow their workers to form, join and belong to unions.

He said all the stakeholders also agreed that all labour rights abuses should be stopped but expressed regret that many of the banks did not abide by that agreement. According to Ola, “we had a stakeholders meeting in March 2004 under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Labour, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), and an agreement was signed that time that the management should allow access to union or allow their workers to unionise. But after the agreement, implementation became a problem.

“In 2006, March 14, we called another stakeholders meeting and an agreement was reached to allow the unions to exist. We thank the Minister of Labour, Dr. Hassan Lawal and his staff members enormously for their support on the implementation of this agreement.

“With all the support of all these stakeholders, another stage in unionisation of workers was laid on August 13, 2007 at the head office of Unity Bank, in Abuja, which was officially flagged off by the minister himself.

“After the flag-off, delegates from the NLC, TUC and Ministry of Labour visited all the 25 banks in the country and signed agreement with them and we are making some progress. Zenith Bank, Union Bank, BankPHB, Skye Bank, Ecobank and some others have been showing positive response and playing supportive roles.

“However, I want to say with all emphasis that the situation is no longer the way it used to be. “We are also using this opportunity to tell all other banks that have not shown cooperation to do so before it is too late. We give them up till the first quarter of this year after which all those against the union in their organisation will be picketed, massively picketed.”

Tit-Bits

FG parleys with tanker drivers, NNPC over strike, fuel scarcity

By Soji-Eze Fagbemi

The Minister of Labour, Dr. Hassan Lawal, has reiterated that scarcity of petroleum products should not be a yard stick for any union to call its members out on strike, which could bring the country to a halt.

Besides, the minister, speaking at a parley over the notice of strike issued by the Tankers Drivers Union, condemned the plan by the union to embark on a nationwide strike. He assured the tanker drivers, who had threatened to commence strike due to shortage of petroleum products, that the government was committed to negotiating with any trade union to finding a lasting solution to the problem.

Dr. Lawal asked the union leaders to consider the implications of industrial actions and maintained that the present administration of President Umaru Yar’ Adua was always ready to listen to complaints.

The minister called on the union leaders to remember that the unions and the government had the same purpose of improving the living conditions of Nigerians. Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Engineer Abubakar Yar’ Adua, also assured the union that all brands of petroleum products would soon be available nationwide when the Port Harcourt refinery becomes 90 per cent functional at the end of this month, while the Kaduna refinery would follow suit.

The spokesperson of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union, Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi, said scarcity of petroleum products had compelled them to resort to the black market. He, however, assured the minister on behalf of the union that the planned strike would be called off. The meeting was attended by representatives of Petroleum Tanker Drivers, an arm of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG)), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and major independent marketers.

Labour minister bags CON

Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja

Minister of Labour, Dr. Hassan Lawal, was one of the 212 recipents of the national honour awards. He was among the 14 recipients of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), while the Senate President, Senator David Mark and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Kutigi, were the only ones honoured with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

The minister, who was nominated by President Umaru Yar’ Adua for the award, after the ceremony at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Thursday, thanked God for making him worthy of that recognition.

The minister, who dedicated the award to all the staff members of the ministry, told Labour Today that “I can only summarise my feeling in one word; great. I am grateful to God for this exalted position. I am grateful to President Yar’ Adua for recognising our modest contribution. Power and honour belong to God. God touched the heart of the President to recognise my modest contribution.

“I believe the President must have considered so many variables and this led me to resolve to dedicate this honour to my staff, from the permanent secretary to the cleaner. I owe them a lot as I can not be here today without their support. I dedicate this award to my staff. God will also exalt them.”

Dr. Lawal said he was not nominated by his state and the private sector and that he could not believe it when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation called him to bring his curriculum vitae that he had been nominated for the award of CON.

“Why? How? I didn’t know. I have never met somebody who is a listener and observer like him. He must have assessed and observed me without me knowing,” Dr. Lawal said.

President Yar’ Adua said the honour bestowed on Dr. Lawal was a call to service. He described it as a challenge that would spur him contribute more to the development of the country.