11-11-2017, 09:37 AM
The Nigeria Labour Congress has accused Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, of planning to sack 30,000 workers including teachers, local government workers and other ministry employees.
It said the move would deepen poverty in the state, noting that the objective of the government was to reduce the state’s workforce.
Also, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, through its President, Michael Olukoya, condemned the decision of the governor to sack about 21,000 teachers from its employment over “alleged unstructured” competency test that it described as lacking legal process.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who addressed a news conference on Friday in Abuja faulted the reported mass failure of Kaduna primary school teachers, describing it as false and fraudulent.
He said, “The state government has earmarked about 30,000 workers to be laid off, consisting of 21, 780 teachers already penned down to be sacked under the pretext that they failed a competency test while 5,000 local government workers are to be sacked under the Local Government Councils Restructuring Order 2017 and 8,000 more workers in ministries, departments and agencies are to be sacked for sundry but unjustifiable reasons.”
He stated that the competency test was a sham and a pre-meditated action to reduce the workforce, noting that professional bodies like Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and the National Teachers Institute were not involved in the process.
The NLC said the NUT and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees were equally left out because the motives were clearly not about testing for quality but a ploy to throw people out of employment.
It contended that principles of collective bargaining in labour relations as enshrined in the nation’s labour laws and conventions of the International Labour Organisation were not followed.
Wabba also dismissed allegations that the workers vandalised the Kaduna State House of Assembly during their protest on Wednesday, adding that the state government sponsored thugs who vandalised the assembly after the protesting workers had left the complex.
The protest by workers to the Assembly, he explained, was in the full glare of journalists, adding that security agencies were also on hand to ensure law and order.
He accused the governor of making false claims in his quest to impose hardship on the people, especially workers.
“We assure all workers in the employment of the Kaduna State Government of our full resolve and commitment to continue to support them against any infringement on their rights as we will mobilise fully against any attempt to implement the intention to sack any worker without following due process,” the labour chief stated.
Meanwhile, the NUT President, while addressing journalists at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the union in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, also said the union would mobilise teachers across the country against any attempt to sack the teachers based on “any illegal process.”
He said, “When last did Kaduna State Government organise any workshop, seminars for teachers in the state, when did the government organise training and retraining for teachers? We hereby advice Kaduna State Government to focus on organising the necessary training and retraining of teachers through the relevant training facilities to improve the quality of teachers..”
Olukoya said the union has issued a two-month ultimatum to states owing teachers salaries and pensions, threatening to shut down schools in the affected states by January 2018.
Speaking against the backdrop of granting autonomy to local governments in the country, he said the management and funding of primary education, including payment of teachers salaries, should be transferred to state governments if the autonomy is to be granted to the local governments.
Source:- http://www.exclusivepp.com.ng/nlc-nut-ac...rs-others/
![[Image: 2Q-2.jpg?w=302]](https://i1.wp.com/www.exclusivepp.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2Q-2.jpg?w=302)
It said the move would deepen poverty in the state, noting that the objective of the government was to reduce the state’s workforce.
Also, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, through its President, Michael Olukoya, condemned the decision of the governor to sack about 21,000 teachers from its employment over “alleged unstructured” competency test that it described as lacking legal process.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who addressed a news conference on Friday in Abuja faulted the reported mass failure of Kaduna primary school teachers, describing it as false and fraudulent.
He said, “The state government has earmarked about 30,000 workers to be laid off, consisting of 21, 780 teachers already penned down to be sacked under the pretext that they failed a competency test while 5,000 local government workers are to be sacked under the Local Government Councils Restructuring Order 2017 and 8,000 more workers in ministries, departments and agencies are to be sacked for sundry but unjustifiable reasons.”
He stated that the competency test was a sham and a pre-meditated action to reduce the workforce, noting that professional bodies like Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and the National Teachers Institute were not involved in the process.
The NLC said the NUT and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees were equally left out because the motives were clearly not about testing for quality but a ploy to throw people out of employment.
It contended that principles of collective bargaining in labour relations as enshrined in the nation’s labour laws and conventions of the International Labour Organisation were not followed.
Wabba also dismissed allegations that the workers vandalised the Kaduna State House of Assembly during their protest on Wednesday, adding that the state government sponsored thugs who vandalised the assembly after the protesting workers had left the complex.
The protest by workers to the Assembly, he explained, was in the full glare of journalists, adding that security agencies were also on hand to ensure law and order.
He accused the governor of making false claims in his quest to impose hardship on the people, especially workers.
“We assure all workers in the employment of the Kaduna State Government of our full resolve and commitment to continue to support them against any infringement on their rights as we will mobilise fully against any attempt to implement the intention to sack any worker without following due process,” the labour chief stated.
Meanwhile, the NUT President, while addressing journalists at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the union in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, also said the union would mobilise teachers across the country against any attempt to sack the teachers based on “any illegal process.”
He said, “When last did Kaduna State Government organise any workshop, seminars for teachers in the state, when did the government organise training and retraining for teachers? We hereby advice Kaduna State Government to focus on organising the necessary training and retraining of teachers through the relevant training facilities to improve the quality of teachers..”
Olukoya said the union has issued a two-month ultimatum to states owing teachers salaries and pensions, threatening to shut down schools in the affected states by January 2018.
Speaking against the backdrop of granting autonomy to local governments in the country, he said the management and funding of primary education, including payment of teachers salaries, should be transferred to state governments if the autonomy is to be granted to the local governments.
Source:- http://www.exclusivepp.com.ng/nlc-nut-ac...rs-others/