Strike: NASS Leadership Meets Labour Minister, Union Leaders

Posted by admin House, Legislature, National Politics Friday, July 15th, 2011

The leadership of the House of Representatives Thursday opened dialogue with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress to explore ways of averting the impending nationwide industrial action being planned by organised labour.

The lower chamber of the National Assembly has also constituted a twelve-member ad-hoc committee to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the “secret and illegal” concession agreement allegedly signed between the Federal Ministry of Finance and Single Windows Systems and Technology (SWST) Limited during the recent transition period when the Executive Council of the Federation was yet to be constituted.

Speaker of the House, Hon Aminu Tambuwal and other principal officers met with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr Emeka Wogu and the labour leaders behind closed doors.

Also at the meeting were the representatives of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Nigeria Governors Forum and officials of the National Salaries and Wages Commission.

The intervention became necessary following a resolution passed by the House on the need to ensure that both the federal and state government complied with the provisions of the National Minimum Wage Act that prescribes the sum of N18, 000 as the minimum wage in the country.

The House had on Wednesday invited the Minister of Labour and Productivity, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress to a dialogue following reports that negotiations between government and the trade unions had broken down.

A source at the meeting disclosed that the leadership of the House prevailed on Wogu to persuade the federal and state governments to comply with the Minimum Wage Act to avert the looming strike.

Tambuwal, THISDAY learnt, specifically impressed it upon the stakeholders at the meeting that since there was already a law backing the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage, it was better to advise government at all levels to obey the law before any other developments could be made on the matter. He also urged the labour unions to make they more open to dialogue in order to resolve the dispute amicably.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum had last month sought the immediate review of the Revenue Allocation Formula to enable the States comply with the N18, 000 Minimum Wage Act. Before then, the Forum had demanded the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products as a way of raising more funds available to government to fund the new wage structure.

The twelve-member Ad-hoc Committee probing the controversial concession agreement has the Deputy House Leader, Hon Leo Ogor as Chairman. Other members of the panel include Arua Arunsi, Rafiu Ibrahim, Yakubu Dogara, Chris Etta, Femi Fakeye, Jerry Alagboso, Amuna Khadi, Bashir Adamu, Rufai Chanchagi, Aminu Jonathan and Ajaja Adetunji.

The House had on Wednesday adopted a resolution mandating its leadership to constitute an Ad-hoc Committee to conduct an investigation into the circumstances leading to the granting of an “illegal” concession agreement in contravention of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

Former Chairman, House Committee on Customs, Hon Yakubu Dogara (PDP/Bauchi) and 20 other lawmakers who sponsored the motion, asked the Federal Government to direct the parties to the said concession agreement to maintain the status quo ante and not to alter their positions on the basis of the said agreement pending the outcome of the investigative public hearing on the matter.

In the lead debate, Dogara stated that a National Single Window (NSW), which is accessible to major trade stakeholders and supported by a national data centre and a strong information communication technology infrastructure already exists for customs documentation purposes in the country and argued that the new agreement setting up a parallel platform was not only illegal but a waste of public funds.

“The government has expended over N300 billion in the last six years from comprehensive import supervision scheme account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in order to automate the customs documentation and clearing process.

But to our surprise, a new concession was granted by the Federal Ministry of finance to a firm not known anywhere beyond its residential office accommodation at Asokoro in absolute secrecy and in violation of the public procurement Act.

“In the new concession, one per cent Freight on Board (FOB) on imports/exports will be charged to Nigerian traders for an initial fixed term of 15 years extensible to twenty years. This, project with a 10 percent annual trade increase, would bring disproportionate revenue to the concessionaire in the region of $30 billion.

We are disturbed that such brazen and disproportionate level of revenue for a concessionaire would tarnish our country’s image, as it is public knowledge that no cost and investment can sustain even remotely, this kind of activity,” Dogara said.

Meanwhile, the House has passed a resolution urging the Niger State Government and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) to intervene in the cholera outbreak in Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger State.

The cholera epidemic which has been attributed to acute shortage of potable water in the area and the resort by the communities to unsafe water sources reportedly claimed 113 lives and left 457 persons hospitalised.

The lawmakers also passed another resolution seeking to investigate the unsatisfactory telecommunications services in the country. It however resolved that the proposed investigation be referred to the House Committee on communications whenever the Standing Committees of the House were constituted and ready to undertake oversight responsibilities.

-ThisDaywp_posts