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Federal Government workers whose  take home pay are insignificant have called on their various unions to waive the mandatory check off dues deducted from their salaries monthly.

The workers who made this call incognito for fear of victimization, cut across most of the Federal establishments in Nigeria.

They made their position known on Friday in an interactive session in Abuja.

‘’Our monthly salaries are nothing to write home about and for several years our unions have continued to deduct check off dues for our meager salaries on a monthly basis. They should have pity on us by stopping to deduct these check off dues.’’

‘’If you ask us for the benefits of been members of our various unions, this will be difficult to pin point, this is the precarious situation we find ourselves’’, the workers lamented.

In recent times, workers in Nigeria have been agitating for executives of their unions to justify the monthly deductions of check off dues from the source of payment of their salaries.

Thousands of workers have been unjustly treated, demoted and dismissed by their employers, without any meaningful interventions from their ‘’elected’’ executives.

Corruption is the trend in most of these unions, at the national, state council, chapter and unit level, the issue of accountability has been the unanswered question.

To the chagrin of the workers, elections into a sizable number of these unions are by consensus, selection or imposition, with the covert backing of government.

Meanwhile Federal Government workers under the aegis of All Workers Convergence(AWC) in Oyo state on Monday shut the two entrances into the Federal Secretariat Complex at Ikolaba, Ibadan, to press home their demand for immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage.

As early as 7.00 am in the morning, the workers had took positions outside the entrance, to ensure that vehicles and visitors were not allowed into the Secretariat complex.

Workers were noticed discussing the development in groups.

They chanted solidarity songs, while accusing the executives of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria(ASCSN) of trading the demand of workers for monetary gains.

In a chat, with Poverty Line the National Coordinator of the AWC, Comrade Andrew Emelieze disclosed that the decision to proceed on an indefinite industrial action was reached in a congress by the workers.

‘’By the special grace of God we have shut down this place indefinitely and this is the decision of workers in a congress organized by the All Workers Convergence. They resolved that the non-implementation f the new national minimum wage is a set back to Nigerian workers. And until it is implemented the Federal Secretariat, Ibadan and all Federal Departments and Agencies shall remain shut. We are also protesting against the general insecurity in the land, increasing rate of suicide, high rate of unemployment and poor governance.

On the demand of low income workers, Comrade Emelieze had this to say ‘’as workers they have the right to air their feelings, though the check off dues is automatic, if they can pursue the cause to a logical conclusion, this will wake up labor leaders from their slumber. This has proven that there is no more free check off dues, but rather labor leaders must work and account for such check off dues they collect.’’

Workers in Zimbabwe have rejected government's additonal pay of 180 million Zimbabwe dollars($21 million) to cover the seconds half of 2019.

The workers hinged their rejection of the amount on the rising inflation.

The amount which would cater for  309,000 civil servants, would see each worker  receiving a paltry extra $11.28 each month.

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has condemned the attempt by the Federal Government to unilaterally impose consequential adjustment of salaries on Nigerian workers.

The AWC made its position known through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

‘’The negotiations are not yet completed and it must involve all parties, therefore it is foolhardy of government to unilaterally impose specific payments for specific set of workers without the Joint agreement of the all the parties involved. This is primitive, counterproductive and it also goes against the principles of the international labor organizations as regards the doctrine of collective bargaining.

‘’The AWC is not in any way comfortable with the position of government to divide the rank and file of workers through the nascent questionable inconsequential adjustment of salaries of Grade levels 01 to 06, thereby leaving the rest to go on with negotiations. It is an attempt to divide the Nigerian workers, though government is been deceitful, knowing fully well that between Grade levels 01 to 06 have been concession ed out and only a very few in those levels will benefit from the so called N30,000 new national minimum wage.’’

‘’The AWC supports the move for a national strike by the National Joint Public Negotiating Council as announced by its National Secretary, Comrade Bashir Lawal. Government is trying to hypnotize the Nigerian workers and put them in a state of perpetual disillusionment as regards the new national minimum wage, as it is one story today another story tomorrow, more of a cycle of endless confusion’’, Comrade Emelieze noted.

The Federal Government has proposed a 9.5 per cent increase in salaries for Grade levels 01 to 14, while five per cent increase will be effected for those from Grade levels 15 and above .

However, the labor unions are agitating for a 35 per cent increase across board.

Interestingly, the National Incomes, Salaries and Wages Commission has fixed the salaries of those workers who presently earn below N30,000 and such workers shall begin to receive payments at the end of July.

Recently, elected members of the Federal House of Representatives received N25 million each as entitlements due to them on resumption, while their counterparts in the Senate received N30 million each.

Girls in Senior Secondary Schools in Ghana have been warned not to share personal information on social media.

This warning was given on Wednesday by the Head of Public Relations of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Effia Tenge at at a Forum of Heads of Girls Senior High School (FOHGSHS) summer camp 2019 at Aburi Senior High School (SHS) in the Eastern Region.

Tenge noted that such personal information cuold be utilized by criminals, such as kidnappers, to perpetrate crime.

She also stated that to prevent kidnapping and related crimes, the members of the public be mindful of free rides, undue demands and gifts from strangers.

"Inform trusted people of your movements and avoid spontaneous schedule and also look out for potential threats and people who approach them in hostile environment," Tenge said.

The Polic image maker adviced the girls to ensure that their frienda are known to their parents and guardians, while warning them to avoid late night outings.

She also warned them to turn down odd job offers from people they know

The Malawi Government has for sometime been unable to service its  financial obligations to ensure good governance.

For about two months now, contractors and suppilers have had to put up without badly needed payments from government, which has led to a major cash crunch.

"The prolonged elections tussle, unavailability of the budget means nothing can be spent on without the budget," a well informed source opined.

The government is the major source of survival for most businesses  in Africa's most impoverished but resource endowed country.

Of worry, is the rsing debt of the country, which according to Center for Social Concern(CFSC)Malawi's  debt, both locally and internationally, stands at  about K3.3 trillion .

CFSC's Economic Governance Programmes Officer Lucky Mfungwe says "The research revealed that on average, 14 percent of the budget is being used to pay loans domestically while one percent is being used on foreign loan," 

This development is coming on the heels of violent protests over the outcome of the May elections in the country, which opposition parties allege was rigged  to facilitate President Peter Mutharika's re-election.

The poor waste management policies of both the Federal and State Governments has resulted in the need to secure quality environment, adequate for good health and well being of the citizenry.

However, both levels of government have overtime hidden under various reasons to avoid accepting responsibility for the environmental challenges impeding development.

Sadly, kidnappings, killings and other violent crimes have been the major cause of government’s visible inability to ensure good governance and development. Of note, is the worrisome programs, summits and talk shops buy government apologists to sway public opinion.

In this interview, the Founder, Grand Imam and Spiritual Head of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that every household must therefore have where they should dump their refuse and where refuse contractors will pick the dirt up at affordable rates. Excerpts :

What do you think can be done to rescue Nigerians from the environmental hazards occasioned by government’s poor waste management policy ?

The issue of waste management of any nation rests solely on the policy of government, which in the case of Nigeria is not expected to pose any problem, but for the lack of political will at the implementation level, for example, policy drive is not supposed to be limited to cleanliness of the surrounding alone. The area of controlling what to clean, sensitizing and reinforcing who to clean and the general minimization of generating wastes must be revolutionized into a culture with all aggression from the government end, most especially from the beginning. For example, waste generation sources must be identified as it varies from one tribe and geo-political zone to the other.

The types must be determined for the purpose of research and control by the professional bodies who will have to see to the collection, transportation, treatment essence and recycling possibilities to develop other useful money spinning products for the society.

These process areas will not only challenge our professionals and experts on the need to design and articulate equipment development for the purpose, thereby creating job opportunities for many.

In the culture of recognizing and encouraging our indigenous experts in this sensitive area of human endeavor, the artisans, technicians, technologists, corporate members and fellows at the research level will be meaningfully occupied and engaged with all happiness as significant stakeholders in the scheme of nation building.

Scientists and other environmentalists will equally need to collaborate in the area of environmental pollution with the aim of controlling the health consequences on the people.

However, for the people to appreciate government’s efforts on their concerns for the environment, agencies and boards set up for the purpose need to collaborate to ensure that the quality and standard of the environment must be kept to the stipulated recommendations of the World Health Organization(WHO).

This will show our seriousness on the need to domesticate all international instruments, most especially to which we are signatories.

When every household is sensitized on the issue of maintaining clean environment the culture of keeping neat and sustainable level would reflect in the following ways :

Patented waste bins to be generated from students’ research efforts in our institutions of higher learning for the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria(MAN) to ensure the mass production of the tested and trusted bins, which must also be people-with-disability-friendly for the benefit of government and for the use of the people with government as the major financier. This is because designs and construction of any machine should be based on the peoples’ culture as well as been adaptable by the people that may want to adopt it.

Every household must therefore have where they should dump their refuse and where refuse contractors will pick the dirt up at affordable rates.

Along all streets, commercial or otherwise, there must be befitting waste bins at some meters length interval where you can dump your refuse while walking.

This will make the controlling law against reckless dumping of refuse to be effective.

Dumping of refuse at the middle of the road is not only promoting environmental hazards within the time frame of when the contractor is to collect same, for it defaces the aesthetic values of the affected areas,both to the pedestrians and the passersby in the moving vehicles, making it to look like the government is either not in control or unserious.

Nigerian retirees who served their fatherland in the three tiers of government are now faced with the reality of the present time.

While in government service, certain amounts were deducted monthly from the source of their legitimate earnings and labelled contributory pension deductions.

However, in several states these pension deductions were not remitted to the Pension Fund Administrators(PFA) and has resulted in the pensioners’ inability to access money for their daily sustenance.

In addition accruals which are supposed to be paid by the Federal Government are not forthcoming.

With no respite in sight for the precarious situation, the pensioners lament that a sizable number of them have passed on to the world beyond, as a result of their inability to collect their entitlements.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that the Pension Fund Administrators only deceived the workers to register for the scheme, that has resulted in the the death of several of them after serving their fatherland all their lives.

What do you think can be done to salvage pension deductions of retirees by states which failed to remit same to the Pension Fund Administrators(PFA) ?

In 2004, the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo introduced the contributory pension fund.

This was considered to be better than the old process for the payment of pensions and gratuity by government.

Those who joined government service during or before 2004, perfectly fell into this category. For those who had joined before 2004, the service of the Federal or State Governments, their pension funds, after retirement, had to go through the process of reconciliation.

However, some states failed to join at the time of its commencement, while some are also yet to join the scheme as of now.

For the states that are yet to join the new scheme, retirees have up till now been contending with a lot of difficulties, when it comes to getting their pensions as and when due, while thousands are still been owed their gratuities, which are very huge amounts.

In the process of unnecessary delay from government, many retirees have died because of lack of funds to take care of themselves, particularly, feeding and health condition.

If not for the delay in getting their rights and the fruits of their labor, they wouldn’t have encountered the Waterloo of untimely deaths.

These deaths are preventable.

As commendable as the new scheme is, workers prior to their retirement, face a great deal of discriminatory deductions from their employers, when they compare notes with their colleagues from sister places of work, depicting that even before retirement they’ve been putting up with the trauma of playing games with their salaries.

The institution pays 15 per cent of the workers’ salaries, while the Federal Government pays the remaining 15 per cent into the same purse of the workers for their future glorious exit from service or for a better retirement period.

Unfortunately, even while at work, workers have been very much confused about the truth regarding the myth surrounding the deduction process saga, but they were powerless to resolve issues, even through their so called unions.

The Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) usually raise the hopes of the intending retirees, through various sensitization programmes, but this is within the limits of what their organizations can divulge as necessary information for the intending retirees.

In Nigeria life after retirement, usually snow balls into that of frustration, most especially when one experiences unnecessary delay due to lack of the much needed information that could show the stage of development of the processes, regarding the exact time, one’s accrued rights of entitlements would come and the possible amount both for your pension, for a lifetime savings and for gratuity for a lifetime venture and planning.

The fifth column in every bank is another headache for the retirees, when the issue of their safety and security is taken into consideration, when the amount eventually arrives.

The delay been experienced by several pensioners, has prompted members of the public to call for the need for transparency in the calculation of their final entitlements.

Government on it own must try as much as possible to work on the delays, to disabuse the minds of the public on the fact that politicians in power, usually disregard, the ethical principle of the no go area for the retirees pool of accrued substantial amount of funds, that is meant for their sustenance, after a meritorious service to their fatherland.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities(SSANU) has called on the Federal Government to release the earned allowances due to its members to avoid industrial disharmony.

This call was made by the National Vice President of SSANU, who doubles as the Chairman of the association in the West zone, Comrade Alfred Jimoh.

‘’It is equally important to let Nigerians know that the contentious issue of earned allowance is yet to be resolved in the Federal Universities despite the claim of the Federal Government to have released 25 Billion Naira to all unions in the Federal Universities to take care of the Earned allowances of all staff since last year. It is disheartening to note that as we speak, government is yet to release the said fund to the universities.’’

‘’Furthermore, SSANU wishes to reiterate that the money should be released to Universities and not Unions for the purpose of paying to individual staff, since the Bursary of each university has the record of staff and should be in the best position to know what each staff is entitled to as Earned allowance,’’ Comrade Jimoh stated.