"He Who Closes A School Door Opens A Prison" , CHURCH TELLS ASUU, FG

The prolonged strike action is a sign of the lack of sensitivity of the government to the yearnings of his own people.The government seems to look at ASUU demands as too boogus, hence its lack of interest in yielding 100% to the demands.

The Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) has called on the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end the on-going strike.

At its 83rd general church council meeting at COCIN headquarters in Jos, Plateau State yesterday, president of the church, Dr Soja Joseph Bewarang asked both the Federal Government and ASUU to remember that, “he who closes a school door opens a prison”.
The Church of Christ in all Nations, called Church of Christ in Nigeria until recently, is the predominant church in Plateau State and has branches in most states of Nigeria.

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Lagos doctors face disciplinary action over 3-day warning strike

DOCTORS under the aegis of the Medical Guild are heading for a showdown with their employer, the Lagos State government, following issuance of threats and sanctions to doctors who participated in the suspended three-day warning strike of April 11-13, 2012.

Strong indications on this emerged, yesterday, following a directive mandating all doctors who participated in the strike to appear before a Personnel Management Board meeting, for disciplinary action starting from tomorrow  to Thursday. By implication, all state- owned hospitals will operate without doctors.

Reacting to the development amid allegations of threats, blackmail with queries and other disciplinary actions, Chairman of the Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, MDCAN, LASUTH branch, Dr. Adebowale Adekoya, said on the strength of a letter by Chief Medical Directors of teaching and general hospitals in the state, the doctors had been invited to provide explanations for their absence from their duty posts on those days the strike lasted.

In his reaction, Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, who showed Vanguard copies of the query letters at a news briefing in Lagos, yesterday, said the state government had previously issued three query letters to the over 1,100 doctors who particpated in the industrial action.

On his part, Chairman, Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Chapter, Dr Adebowale Adekoya, simply said: “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

Adekoya said the government’s action would further compound the problem of patients in the state as all doctors would leave their duty post to face the panel, warning that patients would be the worse for it.

However, he urged Lagosians to prevail on the state government to avert unnecessary loss of life that could result from the development.

Reacting to an alleged sack threat by the state government, Odusote said their members were not afraid of sack, noting that the state government should, however, sack all doctors en-masse and not on individual basis.

CMDs send query letters

Earlier, the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) , Prof Wale Oke, had sent letter of query to the doctors who went on strike on April 16. The query read in part: “It has been observed that you were absent from duty between 11 and 13, April, without permission in violation of your terms of contract of employment.

“You are hereby to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against you for violating terms of contract with LASUTH.

“Your response to this query should reach the undersigned through your Head of Department within 24 hours of receipt.”

The state government said in the query which read in part: “I wish to refer to the query dated the 16 April, 2012 served on you for being absent at your duty post from April 11 to 13 without permission.

“It is observed that you failed or refused or neglected to answer the query within the time given.

“This is an act of insubordination and amounts to misconduct in the Public Service. You are to give reason within 24 hours from the date of receipt of this letter why disciplinary action should not be taken against you.”

A copy of the letter  served  the doctors, yesterday, inviting them to a Personnel Management Board meeting read in part: “Further to the queries on absenteeism on April 16-18, issued to you, you are hereby invited to a PMB meeting as scheduled below onApril 25 at 10:00 a.m. at the Malaria Research Centre Board Room.”

Odusote accuses govt of blackmail

Odusote in his reaction to queries by the state government accused the government of resorting to threats of sack, sanctions and blackmail against members of the guild who participated in the strike.

He noted that issuing queries to over 1,100 doctors in the state could precipitate another strike by the Guild.

Odusote argued that rather than negotiate with the doctors, governmet was resorting to threats of punishment for members who particpated in the strike.

He said: “Instead of government to initiate moves to resolve the outstanding issues in the interest of industrial harmony and welfare of Lagosians, it (governmet) has embarked on a vendetta to punish the doctors by issuing queries and threatening to sack doctors for participating in the warning strike. The Lagos State government is yet to invite the association for discussions since the end of the warning strike on April 14, 2012.”

Odusote,however,warned that should the government continue with its threats of sack and sanctions,the doctors would not hesistate to resume its suspended industrial action.

“We urge the government to immediately withdraw all queries issued to our members as it is totally in breach of labour laws since the warning strike was legitimate and a resumption of the suspended action of 2010/2011.”

He urged, in the interest of Lagosians, that government towed the path of constructive negotiations with the union on their demands.

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Lagos Okada riders on strike

MEMBERS of National Commercial Motorcycles and Tricycle Owners and Riders Association, Motorcycle Transport Union of Nigeria, All Nigerians Autobike Commercial Owners and Workers Association and Okada Riders Welfare Association have called on their members to stay off the street from 7a.m to 10a.m tomorrow (Monday), to enable them attend a court session.

 Chairman of the four associations, Mr. Daramola Williams, said the action was necessary to demonstrate support and solidarity in court following the suit filed on their behalf against the Lagos State Government by their lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, over the banning of Okada from operating within the Ikeja Business District.

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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND NLC MEETING END IN DEADLOCK

The meeting between the Organised Labour and the Federal Government has ended in a deadlock.

Labour says the strike continues tomorrow across the country as compromise is being made but no agreement has been reached yet as negotiations continue on Saturday,14th of January.

The meeting initially began between the President and the Governors,with labour joining later.

Earlier yesterday, the Federal Government and Organised Labour met behind closed doors in Abuja Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory in a bid to fashion out a solution.

Prior to the closed door meeting, the Chairman of the House ADHOC Committee, Patrick Ikhariale appealed to both teams to see the meeting as an opportunity to make the best decision for Nigeria.

The Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator Ayim Pius Ayim also asked Labour to call off the strike as negotiation can only go on in a peaceful atmosphere.

The Minister of Labour; Mr Emeka Wogu also appealed to the Labour Union and Civil Society Organisations to call of the strike.

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10,000 doctors strike for better pay in India

At Zenana hospital in the western Indian city of Jaipur, Nasroon Bano died after giving birth. Her family blamed it on the absence of doctors.

Zenana like Rajasthan's other public hospitals was in crisis Saturday as 10,000 doctors remained on strike for a fourth day.

The doctors, who work at government-run hospitals that cater to the poor, are demanding higher salaries and better promotion opportunities that are on par with their counterparts in federal medical services.

But so far, the state government has not budged.

Instead, it made interim arrangements by bringing in 373 military doctors Saturday, said Dr. Lokendra Sharma of SMS Medical College in Jaipur. Another 1,000 doctors will be brought in Monday, he said.

The government has also tapped doctors from railway services, brought others out of retirement and has asked some private hospitals to provide care at government rates.

Attempts to reach state health officials were not immediately successful Saturday.

As of Saturday evening, police had arrested 394 striking doctors, most of them for violating the Essential Services Management Act, said Navdeep Singh, Rajasthan's director general for law and order. The act was created to ensure the delivery of critical services.

Among those arrested was Durga Shankar Saini, head of the All Medical Doctors Society who posted a photograph of himself protesting in front of SMS Hospital dressed like Mahatma Gandhi in a white shawl and dhoti, a traditional Indian dress worn by men.

"Everyone is distraught," said Sanjeev Jain, Saini's personal secretary. "It's a very difficult situation."

Sharma said the strike has crippled Rajasthan's health services and described conditions in the public hospitals as dire.

Patients needing emergency services found themselves waiting. Sharma said 26 patients had died since the strike began, though it was not clear whether they might have died anyway even after receiving treatment.

Lakhan Singh waited with his 55-year-old mother for doctors to see treat her for kidney problems at SMS Hospital. He had traveled from Bharatpur, about 100 miles away, because there were no doctors at the government hospital there, he told CNN's sister network CNN-IBN.

Desperate, Singh took his mother to a private hospitals, where he spent all the $530 he had in his pocket. His money gone, he had no options left but to wait at SMS, CNN-IBN reported. And hope for a doctor.

"Patients, they are dying," said Dr. Ganpat Chandra Gupta, an anesthesiologist.

He said the government needs to negotiate with the state's government doctors.

"They are working in poor conditions," he said. "The government is deaf and dumb and blind."

Some questioned whether doctors ought to go on strike, risking death and injury for the sick.

But doctors in other Indian states sent letters of support for the peers in Rajasthan condemning the "insensitive and callous attitude" of the state government.

"The profession of doctors is very noble but when their voice is not heard they are forced to go on the path of agitation," said a letter signed by the heads of thee medical associations in Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Source:CNN

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Minimum wage: More states join strike

FOLLOWING the failure of some state governments to implement the new N18,000 minimum wage, workers in Ekiti, Imo and Anambra states yesterday embarked on indefinite strike to press home their demands.

This brings to seven, the number of states that have been crippled by the strike. Before yesterday, Adamawa, Enugu, Kano and Ebonyi states had been shackled by minimum wage-related industrial action.

Workers decried government’s evasive posture in Ekiti State.

At a time the state government was making arrangements to pay the wage beginning from September and had sent a supplementary budget to the House of Assembly, workers in Ekiti elected to go on strike from today because the government failed to meet their terms and conditions over the matter.

Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in the state, Comrade Ayodeji Aluko, stated that their action became inevitable since the state government had failed to meet workers’ expectation on the payment of the new salary.

The NLC boss said the action would commence 12 midnight today and it would be binding on all public officers in the state civil service .

Aluko said that the N15, 000 minimum wage being proposed for workers was unacceptable, saying anything short of what is recognized by law would be rejected by labour.

The NLC boss expressed surprise over what he described as the reluctance and evasive posture put up by the state government over the payment despite the resolve of labour to be civil and rational in their approach.

The state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, had earlier assured workers in the state of his readiness to pay the new minimum wage by end of this month.

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Minimum Wage: At Last, FG Concedes to Labour

Abdul waheed Omar , NLC President

After several weeks of negotiation between the Federal Government and organised labour following the disagreement on the mode of implementation of the National Minimum Wage Act, the former Tuesday agreed to demands of the latter that all cadres of civil servants should benefit from the new wage regime.

Consequently, workers on grade levels 1 to 17 in the federal civil service are to have some money added to their current salary, as an increment arising from the new National Minimum Wage Act. Both parties also agreed, after a two-hour closed door meeting, that the implementation of the new pay structure would commence this month. In a communiqué read by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, the Federal Government gave the assurance that the new wage would be implemented and the issue of relativity would be taken care of.

“The detailed negotiation on relativity adjustment with respect to the implementation of the minimum wage has been sorted out and agreed upon. Modalities will be worked out and these modalities that will be worked out will be worked out by the joint committee and will be tabled before the national executive councils of NLC and TUC,” he read. According to the communiqué, “It is equally agreed that the implementation of the payment of what has been concluded upon today would begin August 2011.

“Equally, the spirit of this negotiation that whatever role anybody plays especially from the TUC and NLC nobody will be victimised by government and this is the conclusion. I think when they finish from their NAC meeting they will communicate government on the outcome of such meeting.”

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Abdulwahed Omar said the discussion on relativity would have been concluded by July 31, but unfortunately, it was segmented because of one or two areas of non-agreement.

“Majorly in the area of adjustment across the board, as a result of compliance with the new Minimum Wage Act, this adjustment now cuts across board in order to maintain some reasonable relativity,” he said.

He said all labour centres would make formal presentations to their respective organs in a meeting by today and would communicate to the government whatever agreements were reached.

President-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Peter Esele also confirmed that the issue of relativity would be discussed at the National Executive Council (NEC).

“Now, we have to go back to the organ of the trade union if we are not satisfied or have any ill-feelings about it. We can’t just come here and say they are not accepting it. There is a window around it that we want to take back to our principal, if they accept the window, fine,” he said. This is seen as a major victory for the organised labour as it has been alleged in some quarters that some state governments have been watching the direction of its negotiations with the Federal Government to determine their (governors’) next line of action at the state level.

The Federal Government delegation after adjourning the meeting last Sunday met again with representatives of NLC and the TUC at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in Abuja yesterday.

The organised labour had in February 2009 demanded N54,000 as new national minimum wage for workers with the argument that the current wage of N7,500 could no longer cater for the needs of workers.

Apparently in a bid to forestall a labour crisis, the Federal Government had in May 2009 constituted a tripartite committee which had eight members drawn from labour, government and employers to negotiate a new wage for workers. The committee headed by Justice Alfa Belgore completed its negotiations last year with a recommendation of N18,000 minimum wage for the workers and this was agreed to by all stakeholders, including representatives of state governments.

The Belgore committee had recommended that: “In order to forestall any possible industrial crises that might arise as a result of the new national minimum wage, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity as a matter of expediency convene a meeting of the social partners (NLC, TUC and NECA) to agree on the broad guidelines for the implementation of the new national minimum wage in the various sectors of the economy, including the public service.”

The N18,000 minimum wage was however endorsed by the council of state, the highest advisory body in December last year after series of strike threats and pressure from labour. The National Minimum Wage Bill was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan in March this year after being passed by the National Assembly.

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Minimum wage: Nationwide strike may begin next week…as FG reneges on agreement

News emerged yesterday that the Federal Government has jettisoned the agreement reached with organised labour that all levels of workers, including the non-core civil servants would benefit from the N18,000 new minimum wage.

The government was also said to have threatened that it would not even  pay levels 1-6, if labour refused to accept this new position.

Leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, have rejected this new position from the government and feelers from the labour movement indicated that the suspended nationwide strike may resume next week.

Already, NLC and TUC  have called on workers to be ready to defend their interest and the collective interests of the Nigerian state and people.

Vanguard gathered that government’s new position was made known to labour leaders at a meeting of the technical committee charged to work out details for the implementation of the wage and payment of arrears in accordance with the July 19 agreement.

The Head of Service was said to have announced that the Federal Government would only implement the minimum wage for Grade levels 1-6 and that non-civil servants would not benefit.

According to leaders of NLC and TUC, “at the resumed meeting today, July 28, 2011, the Federal Government delegation refused to discuss or negotiate the three scenarios presented by the Joint Federal Government-Labour Technical Committee. Rather, the Head of Service announced that the Federal Government will only implement the minimum wage for Grade levels 1-6 and that non-civil servants will not benefit from the implementation of the new national minimum wage.

“For good measure, the government team threatened that unless Labour accepted this, even Grade Levels 1-6 in the civil service will not be paid the minimum wage.

“Of course, Labour refused to be intimidated. It is tragic that the Federal Government has unilaterally repudiated the agreement it freely entered with the Labour movement and has chosen to violate the country’s constitution, the National Minimum Wage Act and tear the collective agreement into shreds.

“The implication of this includes the fact that if the Federal Government decided not to be law-abiding, it would have lost all moral authority to compel others to obey the National Minimum Wage Act.”

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