FORMER President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Dr Brown    Ogbiefun, has urged Organised Labour in the country to step up push for passage of the Petroleum Industry Reform Bill, PIRB, into law.

THE International Labour Organization, ILO, and the World Health Organization, WHO, estimate that about 1.2 million work-related deaths and 250 million accidents and 160 million work-related diseases occur annually and Nigeria contributes a great proportion.

IT is no longer news that Nigerian workers are the least paid across the globe including war-torn  countries.The subsisting N18,000 minimum wage in the country is less than $38 as compared to the following countries: Algeria – $175 (N83,000);    Belgium – $1,738 (N810,000);Cameroon – 36, 270CFA or $75 (N38,000); Chad – $120 (N60,000); Denmark – $1,820 (N900,000);    Libya – $430 (N190,000); Japan – $1000 (N450,000); Cote D’ivoire -CFA $72 (36,607); New Zealand -$3,187 (N1.4m); Luxemburg – $2,500 (N1.1m); Spain – $760. (N300,000); Switzerland – $5,620 – (N2.5m) and USA – $11 per hour.

MANY have complained about the civil service. Some say it is ineffective and corrupt. Others see it differently. No matter your view,  the truth is that the success or failure of every government depends on its civil service. In this piece, Delta State Head of Service, HoS, Mr. Reginald Ebitimi Bayoko, gives insight into how he is repositioning the state civil service to function optimally and deliver its mandate.

FEW days ago, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, in Lagos, unveiled a logo and activities to mark its 40th anniversary celebration.

NATIONAL Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, NUBIFIE, has announced an end to the internal crisis rocking the union since September 2017 delegates conferen-ce, with the emergence of a new leadership, headed by Anthony Abakpa from Polaris Bank, to run its affairs for the next four years.

Comrade Anthony Emmanuel Nted was born on October 1, 1960, the  day Nigeria got her independence from Britain. Comrade Tony, as he is fondly called, is the Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Advisory Council, and the immediate President-General of the union. In this interview, Nted speaks, among other things, on his sharing of birthday with Nigeria, his growing up and leadership in MWUN

AGAINST the backdrop of the Federal Government’s alleged lackadaisical attitude over new minimum wage, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, has warned the government not to push workers to the wall, saying the consequence may be grievous.

SINCE March 2015, fol-lowing the disputed Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, delegates conference that produced Ayuba Wabba as President,  and December 16, 2016, when about 25 industrial unions, including some from NLC and TUC, announced the formation of a new Labour Centre; United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, the relationship between NLC and TUC on one hand; and ULC  on the other hand, was everything but cordial.

REGINALD Ebitimi Bayoko is the Head of Service, HoS, of Delta State. Since 1990 when he joined the service, he has slept, dreamt and woke up in the civil service. In this interview, he gives insight into the challenges facing the civiol service and what he has been doing to ensure that Delta State Civil Service, work in synergy with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, among others, to deliver services and keep the state with developmental realities. Excerpts.