The organised labour said the illegal takeover could trigger national shutdown given its undemocratic action.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has issued a four-hour ultimatum to Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, demanding the prompt withdrawal of police personnel from the premises of the National Secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, located in Abuja.
The NLC in a communique at the end of an emergency National Administrative Council, NAC, meeting, asked President Bola Tinubu to urgently clear his name which is being peddled by those who have forcefully taken over the NURTW’s secretariat with the aid of security operatives.
A group of persons on Monday under the auspices of Park Management Committee from Lagos, Osun and Ondo states on Monday invaded the National Secretariat of the union located at Garki 2 in the nation’s capital and attacked the National officials including the President, Alhaji Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa under the watch of armed policemen and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The organised labour said the illegal takeover could trigger national shutdown given its undemocratic action.
Meanwhile, NLC has threatened to pull civil servants out of the National Housing Fund (NHF), citing difficulties faced by workers in accessing the mortgage scheme despite monthly contributions to the fund.
The congress also criticised the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) over its management of the funds of contributors.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, said this on Wednesday during an investigative hearing organised by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives.
The committee is investigating remittances of the mandatory NHF contributions and the utilisation of the fund from 2011 till date.
The NHF Act of 1992 mandates all employers in both the private and public sectors to contribute 2.5 per cent of their workers’ monthly earnings to the Fund.
Mr Ajaero said the federal government has been deducting the 2.5 per cent from the salaries of workers but the FMBN often fails to notify workers of the remittance to their NHF accounts
He added that administrative bottlenecks in the process of accessing the mortgage scheme have created room for corruption in the system.
“While the Act provides for 90 days from the date of application for the loan to disbursement, the experiences by many workers are horrific as the undue delay in approving the loans force many workers to abandon pursuit of the loan,” he said.
He added that “many resort to third-party agencies to fast track the loan application at unofficial fees thus creating perception of corruption in the process of housing loan approval and disbursement to workers who needed the funds.”
Mr Ajero also informed the committee that despite the increase in the total pool in the NHF, workers are still not able to get loans to get shelter.
Post A Comment: