The University of Lagos -trained National President of Association of Senior Civil Servant of Nigeria,Dr.Tommy Etim Okon, is proud to exhibit his love for the pen profession and demonstrate his unquenchable appetite to seek better deal for workers through unionism.
His intellectualism,knack for details and down-to-earth views on labour issues in the country undoubtedly makes him a round peg in a round hole as the driver of senior civil servants union in Nigeria.
Little wonder the voice of the First Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, has continued to have invaluable impact in the labour cycle and remind the ruling class and employers that workers deserve the best and must be given their due always
In this interview with PremiumNews,Dr.Okon, speaks on varying issues in the Nigeria’s labour sector,his union’s impact therein,the raging corruption in the association,his vision and mission to turn the ASCN to pacesetter union through
accessibility, acceptability, availability and accountability.
There was recent alleged probe of your officials by the EFCC,while union promises to defend its sanctity.What is the true situation of things now?
When you received petition it is expected that they look into it, and mostly those petition that are so frivolous and we believe that that the anti-corruption agency have done their work, they have also seen the truth.When the report is out, it will be very clear to the public. Why the workers decided to defend the union is because they also believe in the activities and program which have been a greater benefits to them.
You can see from the last publications, the numbers of workers that went to the site of the building which was allegedly sold.You can also I’m in the office which the petitioners claimed was sold by our Union.
So, most of those petitions are very frivolous and we feel there is no need for us to pay any attention to it, but we should rather than begin to move forward and get to the mission of where we are confident that the association is driven .
To us it is not a distraction, it is a way of making us stronger.
Are there internal crisis control mechanism in your union?.If there are,why is the current crisis growing beyond what you envisaged?
There is no crisis in the union.The union’s organs are very strong.Its Central Working Committee, the …National Executive Council,which is one of the highest decision making organs of any union, even at party level .
So there is no internal crisis at all, you know we just came from training of our leaders in Dubai .No organization so far have been able to do that, and they went batches, first and second batches.So you can see the strength of the association, so if there were crisis, there would have been such a thing like that.
What are your fears over ploy to remove labour from the exclusive list legislations?
Based on my background, as a labour officer, it is worrisome, and any attempt will amount to deliberate will of the federal government to set the workers on fire .The right of the workers will be mortgaged, especially with the antics of the state governors, where they were part and parcel of the negotiation in payment of the minimum wage.
How can a governor dream of paying a worker N18,000 minimum wage at this time, where inflation have taken over all the little take home, making the workers impoverished?.The senator who proposed such bill is anti-workers, and we will resist it to the fullness of our strength.
We have even seen some state governments creating ministry of labour . I’m also surprised that the council of state have not put them in the proper perspective because they supposed to know that under exclusive legislation, you cannot create ministry of labour because anything labour is under exclusive legislation,not concurrent. So it’s worrisome, an aberration, and we reject it in totality.
What are your fears over the current structure of the countries civil service and what do you think should be done to put same in good shape?
There’s nothing wrong with the structure, what is really wrong with the public service is our attitude towards the public service.Our attitude to work and the managers of public service call calls for concern, because we should think Nigeria instead of thinking of ourselves.
In other climes,the public service drives the policy of government through digitization. The current head of service is thinking towards that direction, but I feel we need to do more to gain the confidence of the worker, we need to do more in the area of wage relativity, where you’ll see some discrepancies in take homes,it should be equal pay for work of the same value in line with global standard.
So, we are also looking at that, we are also conscious of the fact that as civil servants you should come with respect.
You will find out that what brings corruption into the system is when the fear of unknown is certain.You are working for 35 years or 60 years, you are not even sure of having abode of your own and you are with 2-5 children, you are exiting the service ,you don’t know the next of meal, you are exiting the service, you don’t know where to earn your retirement benefits, you are exiting the service you don’t know when your repatriation allowance will be paid, you are in the service, even to pay death claim to someone who died in active service becomes worrisome.
, it’s the practice of the civil service that is faulty because of the awkward budgetary system. How can you envelop a budget and give to service and say spend?.Where they have a need, you don’t address same, you are telling me take hundred million and spread and whichever one you can spend. That is not a good system.
Nigeria has to think, the government has to think about how the budget system affects the public sector and other sectors with a view to getting the civil service right.
You recently tabled your union’s demands before the Federal Government some of which included welfare and etc.Tell us the extent to which the demands have been met?
Workers demands are endless. We are still struggling and negotiating to put things right.There ought to be a wage review every five years, so we expected and if it is automatic it will go a long way to help, so those are the things that we put on the table.
Recently, we just got approval for DTA, which we commended the government for, but we have more issues we need to also look at, because the draw line is increasing, and it also has an effect, when you travel outside on estacodes.You are spending dollars, they need to also look at that, they need to also have a review on repatriation allowance, we need to also have a review of the death benefits and the rest of things.
Fundamentally,the government should also understand that there is a need to say thank you when someone has put in 35 or 60 years in service.Government needs to look at the suspension of gratuity to workers again. That’s why I was so glad that the Pension Act of 2014 is being reviewed and we are saying let that gratuity come which is a lump sum of money.
There are concerns that unionism is fast losing its steam .What are the reasons for this and what should be done to strengthen unionism in Nigeria?
I don’t think so, I think that employers are beginning to see unions as partners in progress.No sane organization can operate without the worker, so you cannot see worker as a community you use and dump.
So, unionism has come to stay, it’s a global best practice, that is why we are a member of International Labour Organization with global spread.Unionism is waxing stronger and for the first time Africa has a director in ILO and you know the benefits that would accrue therefrom,so it waxing strong, it will strengthen the collective bargaining strategy and also build a very strong and viable labour administration , that helps promotes justice and equity and workers welfare in the world or more,
I feel that employers should be able to embrace their workers because they are partners in progress.Without the workers, there is no productivity and so the two must work in a collaborative effort, there should be that symbiotic relationship which would translate to healthy competition amongst the workers ,enhance productivity, as well as improve competitiveness even in the world of work viz a viz international ranking.
The nation’s education sector still leaves much to be desired with growing number of out-of-school children.What are the concerns of the union and what has it done to save the situation?
We are concerned about the falling standards of education in Nigeria,and honestly doing our best to remedy the situation.
For instance,we recently opposed moves by some legislators to privatize unity schools in Nigeria.We feared if such moves materialized,the children of the masses would not have access to the institution on account of exorbitant school fees just like
they are running private universities.
It beats us hollow that public universities have been on strike for close to three months now. It calls for concern because the bedrock of any economy is education.Knowledge is light, and that is the power you have, you cannot drive an economy where you have mediocre.
People are talking about insecurity in the land, they should go back and think because already the foundation of education fabric has been destroyed.No sane person that comes out of the four walls of the university would venture into arms bearing because he thinks differently.
What we are facing in this country is the manipulation from centripetal and centrifugal forces.There should also be an order that makes education free and compulsory with a view to minimising the number of drop out students in the country.
Any intervention of your union in the ongoing Federal Government versus ASUU crisis?
You see, ASUU believe themselves even when they are under the Nigerian Labour Congress. They have never allowed that umbrella union to negotiate for them, they negotiate for themselves. They know they can handle their problem and that is why we are also looking,we sympathize with them.
You promised far reaching reforms of the union when you were recently appointed as its next president.How do you intend to execute the reforms?
My social contracts with my members is to see an association that is driven by knowledge.We we will successfully build a skill gap in the association,which explains members’ recent leadership training in Dubai.
We also build a very strong and viable secretariat, with a view to driving the processes in the association.
I’m injecting a leadership principle of four A(s)-accessibility, acceptability, availability and accountability,which I propounded to lubricate my social contract with members of the union.
So, I’m available for my people, I’m accessible to my members, they have access to me and I’m accountable to them, so that is my leadership principle and in all these, it’s tied to my social contract which will bring about new governance in the association.
Apart from the usual check off dues by your members, what other part do you intend to pursue to sustain the union?
We have a very big complex in Abuja which is undergoing construction.Once it’s completed, we’ll have a big conference hall, a shopping mall, a lodge, and etc.Revenues generated from this venture would go a long way in sustaining the union and relying less on check off dues from members.
We also look at bond as a viable investment means by the union.We are constantly monitoring the dynamics in the country’s economic and the prospects therein.The union’s Secretariat is headed by an astute economist,who knows his onions and viable ventures the association can rely on for sustainable growth.
It was also important to tell our members the need to build their capacity through traveling to other climes so by the time they return,they would have a wider perspective about work life and survival strategies therein.
We are not building the association for today, we are building for the next generation, so we have to open up the horizon so that they will now see, it’s not just being boxed to corner.
The dynamism in industrial relations has outlast the archaic approach .That Is why we are going into social dialogue, we talk about collective bargaining, we talk about other ways of ensuring you have the capacity to engage your employer.
Infact,let me tell you the knowledge we have acquired, employers are far behind, because we are a known religious person, you must study the Bible and also the Quran.We know both, we know when management is at fault and where we can hold management accountable.
What is your advice to your union members?
My advice to union members is that they should continue to be productive where they find themselves.They should be outstanding, and spend their quality time in research because that would make them different from others who didn’t venture into the act.
A leader is a reader, when you read you develop ideas, you develop new theories, you analyze new theories, you see different concepts.Nobody can take you for a ride, because what is in you will always continue to work for you.
I want my members to be most sought for and play invaluable roles in the 21st century trade unionism.
You are a trained communicator, how do you marry your training with unionism?
Unionism has been in my blood since my university days .I don’t like anybody oppressing anybody, my background as a labour officer has also laid credence .to this, and you know it works well, its all about communication between employer and employee.So my background as a communicator is of added advantage because it makes it easy for us to communicate with the employer, tell the employer where they are going wrong, where things should be done well and again aids also in collective bargaining, it is about social dialogue, so it helps in promoting social dialogue and collective bargaining in the world of work