INDUSTRIAL harmony in every work environment is at the core of productivity and attainment of organizational goal; this perhaps explains why the Edo State Head of Service Barr Anthony Okungbowa has instituted a quarterly meeting with labour leaders in Edo.
The meeting which is a no hold barred session involving leaders of affiliate unions under the umbrella bodies of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC and the Trade Union Congress TUC presents the organized labour the veritable opportunity to present issues of concern to the government with a view to getting reprieve on some otherwise knotty issues bordering on workers’ welfare and sundry labour related matters.
Since assuming office as the Head of Service, Barr Okungbowa has taken more than a passive interest in harmonious industrial relations in the state because he believes that regular interface with labour is the work tool he needed to stave off possible industrial unrest which could have grave impacts on government’s ability to deliver on its obligations to the citizenry.
He has largely succeeded in this regard as Edo workers have not had any reason to go on strike as issues that could have snowballed into industrial strives had been resolved using this platform. As a result, Edo has remained an industrial haven.
Friday’s session which was the seventh in the series of such parleys with labour leaders was not different as labour led by the TUC chairman in Edo Comrade Ohue Marshall, the general secretary NLC in the state Comrade Barry Imade had the opportunity to hear directly from the Head of Service what had happened between when they last met and now and efforts being made to fast tract the level of implementation of labour demands and possibly straighten curved areas in their relationship wherever they may exist.
But the HOS before delving into the core issues outlined for deliberation at the parley, paused to express his deep condolences on behalf of himself and the state government over the loss of two principal labour leaders in the state; the chairman of the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) Late Sunny Osayande and Mr Shaka Otoide who until his demise was the chairman of NUPSRAW, one of the affiliate unions in the NLC. He thereafter called for the observance of a minute silence in honour of the duo who were active participants at the preceding quarterly parleys and prayed God to grant their respective souls eternal repose.
Joined at the parley by the Permanent Secretary in charge of Human Resources and that superintending over General Services Mr. George Igberaese and Mrs Priscillia Aiziegbemhi respectively, the HOS thanked the labour leaders for honouring his invitation to the strategic parley which he said underscored their willingness to cooperate with the government in its bid to sustain the current industrial peace and harmony in the state and sued for its sustenance.
He said that part of the ways to sustain the current industrial peace in the state was his quarterly interface with labour using the platform as a clearing house for government/labour related issues with a view to avoiding those pitfalls that could lead to labour unrest.
He wasn’t given to platitude but driven by factual consideration of issues at table. His deft conviction of the capacity of labour to alter the configuration of existing industrial harmony in the state but instead chose the path of mutually engaging the government in a most responsible manner was expressive as it was appreciative.
He assured that the parley would be sustained so that it continues to serve its vital purpose of creating an avenue for labour to raise issues and for the government to explain and make further clarifications on them to avoid misinterpretation of government’s actions.
One of the things the Head of Service found worthy of note apparently to further spice up the convivial atmosphere of the meeting was the progress so far made in the construction of the Labour House by the state government, just as he informed that issues raised by civil servants who sat for the last promotion examination were already being addressed by the government.
According to the HOS, “we have looked at the performance level of those who sat for the exams and we have made the requisite recommendation to remedy the situation”.
He urged civil servants to endeavour to acquaint themselves with the Civil service Rules and regulations to avoid being caught unawares during such evaluation exercises in the future, as according to him, such exams are tailored to test their knowledge of the rules guiding the civil service.
The meeting which was interactive afforded the labour leader opportunity to ask various questions and sought clarifications on some matters.
Some of such issues raised included but not limited to complains about the difficult questions not related to what they were taught during the last training and evaluation exercise in addition to alleged poor crowd management at the exams centres which they considered demeaning for the status of average Edo worker; the delay in the calculation of the accrued rights benefits of retiring workers under the Contributory Pensions Scheme earned under the Defined Benefit scheme; the non inclusion of teachers in the approved across service 2021 promotion which they said has led to low morale and the thorny issue of the 513 rumoured disengaged staff of the Edo Sports Commission.
Their other questions touched on the fate of workers in the public service not absolved in the new Edo State Service Scheme and the need to recruit low level manpower like clerical staff, drivers, and cleaners in the Edo State Public Service. They argued that the none presence of these categories of staff has in no small measures hampered the smooth operation of the system.
The HOS in his response said his office will consider suggestions to base future assessment questions not only on the Public Service Rule but also current affairs and the area of specialization or the profession of the individual worker under assessment.
He dismissed comments that tended to suggest that the poor crowd control mechanism at the staff evaluation centres showed how much workers in the state are held in contempt by the government. He explained that the observed lapse was not deliberate insisting that the state government holds its workforce in high regards which reason the present administration more than any preceding governments in Edo had done a lot for the workers, citing regular and prompt promotion of workers, provision of better work environment, reduction of number of qualifying years for officers to be promoted from GL 16 to 17, from five to four years needless mentioning the prompt payment of salaries and pensions.
He said other mouth watering benefits for the state workforce were being proposed and at various stages of approval by the government which are intended to boost the morale of the workers for improved productivity.
On the contributory Pensions Scheme and the observed delayed payment of due benefits to retirees, the head of Service said the government is doing everything within its power to ensure the new pension scheme which he described as the baby of the Obaseki Administration succeeds in thoughts and deeds.
He said that the challenge was how to get workers now retiring under the Contributory Pension Scheme who had also spent quality number years under the defined benefits scheme get their entitlements promptly in the face of dwindling government’s revenues occasioned by the hash economic effects of the global lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and other compelling demands on government’s lean resources.
He said government was setting aside N200 million every month to take care of retirees’ benefits but was compelled to stop due to the hash economic effects of the Covid era. He assured that efforts were on by the government to recommence the monthly saving to take care of all such financial commitments to workers and retirees. The first civil servant in the state disclosed that the present administration in the State expends over N40 billion annually to deal with salaries and pensions benefits of workers, stressing that the state’s economy had been kept afloat due to the astute financial expertise of Governor Obaseki in managing the scarce resources of government.
On the rumoured ‘sacked’ 513 staff of the Edo State Sports Commission, the HOS explained that the position of the state Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu that no worker of the commission had been sacked remained the official position on the matter.
He challenged the labour leaders to do due diligence on the status of workers of the commission to determine those that could be absolved into the civil service after being given the requisite training in the relevant fields.
He assured labour of his commitment to the general welfare of the workers and to that extent would do everything within his powers to make them happy in the course of performing their duties.
