•Union records 50% reduction in 3 years
By Bimbola Oyesola
The Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), at the weekend warned employers in the sector against carrying out unilateral redundancy, stating that it would be met with stiff opposition.
This is even as it said the union has recorded 50 per cent reduction in redundancy in the past three years, commending employers who have been working in harmony with the union.
President of FOBTOB, Jimoh Oyibo, in an interview with Daily Sun Workforce, said the union has been doing a good job in its industrial relations with companies in the sector.
“We want to charge our employers to play by the rules; if you play by the rules there would be no problem,” he said.
Recalling the episode that led to the union shutting down Nigeria Distilleries last month, Oyibo said the union would not hesitate to repeat such if the company continues to undermine the interest of the workers.
“We got a letter from the company charging us to court for picketing the company, we will meet them in court. “The company have no respect for workers and sack their employees at will. That may have been responsible for the company’s poor performance whereas the Intercontinental Distilleries has been thriving and the last time I could recollect that the company did redundancy was in the 90s,” he said.
Oyibo said about 50 percent reduction recorded in the rate of redundancy in the
industry could be traced to improved dialogue between the union and the employers, adding that the employers now ensure that union are well informed before any form of redundancy is carried out.
He added that the union has also recorded more members into its fold through organizing eight companies which includes, British American Tobacco, Honeywell Flour, Premium Cassava and others within this short period.
“We’ve done quite well as our members also earn fair wage, as we do negotiate with our employers every two years. We have just commenced the implementation of the last negotiation this January, and planning to engage our employers for another negotiation before the end of the year,” he said.