SENATE ORDERS NDLEA TO WITHDRAW ALL UNTRAINED STAFF HANDLING WEAPONS

The Senate, yesterday, directed the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to commence the withdrawal of about 2,000 untrained arms-bearing operatives under its employ which they deployed to states across the country.

It also mandated its committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes to open an investigation into the recruitment and deployment process of arm-carrying NDLEA personnel across the country.

The resolution of the Senate followed the adoption of a motion, 'Deployment of Recruits of NDLEA without Training' sponsored by Senator Heinekin Lokpobiri.

Senator Lokpobiri stated that the deployment of 2,000 untrained personnel was dangerous to the Nigerian society. He lambasted the NDLEA for deploying 2,000 personnel without training despite having a training school in Jos, Plateau State. "NDLEA recently recruited about 2,000 operatives and deployed them to the various states and area commands across the country without training. "An officer of the NDLEA allegedly shot dead one Joseph Chia in Taraku Town in Gwer Local Government Area of Benue State on 16 October, 2011."

(Culled from the leadership)

With other countries enforcing strict gun laws, exams, tests, and permits before issuing firearms, how did 2,000 untrained men and women get their hands on firearms?

COUNCIL WORKERS PROTEST IRREGULAR PAY IN KADUNA

Local government workers in Kdauna State have decried the irregular payment of their salaries by the council, calling on Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa to intervene with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.

Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE, Comrade Shehu Abubakar, said this while responding to complaints forwarded to him by the local branches of the union over the non-payment of the workers' salaries promptly. The union leader, who exonerated the local government councils for being responsible, also blamed the state government.

(Culled from Daily Trust)

NEW NIGERIAN WORKERS UNPAID FOR 12 MONTHS - STAGE PEACEFUL PROTEST

Workers of the New Nigerian Newspapers yesterday staged a peaceful protest in Kaduna over the non payment of their 12 months salaries!! The workers, who staged the protest at the entrance of the company on Ahmadu Bello way, accused the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) of insensitivity.

They barred placards with various inscriptions such as, "FG pay NNN liability and pension", "No poverty alleviation in the North", "We are dying" etc.

Addressing newsmen during the protest, chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalist in the company, Ibrahim Adamu urged the Northern Governors Forum to come out with sincere measures that could aid payment of their salaries. He said since the commencement of the strike, five staff have died.

"The governors should come out with sincere measures aimed at ensuring payment of our salaries and set in motion necessary machinery for the privatisation of the company for effective management, and or other measures deemed necessary to keep the company afloat. We are law abiding Nigerians and that is why we have been patient all this while. However, our patience has been over stretched. Please pay our salaries and stop toying with our lives," he said.

Daily Trust reports that the workers embarked on strike last February as a result of non payment of their 10 months salaries, which has now increased to 12 months.

(culled from the Daily Trust)

I mean seriously, 12 months?? when does negligence turn into wickedness if people can go unpaid for 12 months? And at which point after not being paid for a job you are doing do you think, may be I should look for another job rather than accumulate bills I cannot pay for?

SAFETY AND HEALTH WORKERS WARNED ABOUT NEW ON THE JOB HAZARDS

Ughelli — Chairman, Delta State branch of the Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals, Chief Anthony Odibo, has warned safety and health workers against the hazards being created by green jobs in the country.

Odibo, who gave the warning in a chat with newsmen to mark the World Day for Safety and Health Workers, said: "The green jobs have created new hazards which are unknown to the ordinary workers. Because of this, there is now the need to seek the advice of trained Occupational Safety and Health professionals, who have the potential to assess the hazards and give advice to stem it.

"While these jobs are meant to help improve the environment, revitalise the economy and create new employment opportunities, one of the greatest risks is that, in the haste to create these new jobs in large numbers, little attention is paid to their quality."

Culled from The Guardian

UN SAYS JOB CREATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR YOUTH IN NIGERIA

The creation of green jobs is essential in ensuring a sustainable future, UN officials said on Friday in New York. The UN Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the officials spoke at a forum with the theme "Empowering Youth with Better Job Opportunities". The forum which was held at the UN Headquarters was aimed at giving young people a platform to voice their concerns, experiences and ideas to tackle youth unemployment. "Young people are the future of our societies; as such they should also be part of solutions."Creating a sustainable future means empowering youths with better job opportunities and it means giving young people a voice," Vice President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Luis de Alba, told the forum. He added that it waculles important to look at under-employment and vulnerable employment, as many young people are in precarious short-term contracts, or trapped in low-skill and poorly-paid jobs. "Labour policies and institutions may not create any incentives to hire young people, and, as we all know, policies are not yet in place in many countries to equip young people with the skills demanded by today's labour market," de Alba said. In her address to participants, UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said youths were mobilising like never before and that their ideas could help countries achieve sustainable development objectives. "Young people can drive the global push for green growth. As entrepreneurs, consumers and leaders, they can adopt new lifestyles that respect our planet. "They can promote trends that encourage sustainable development," she said, adding that youth participation was particularly important in events such as the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The conference is scheduled for next month in Rio, Brazil. NAN reports that youth unemployment has soared in both affluent and poor countries since the global financial crisis began in 2008, with the largest annual increase on record reported in 2009. At one point, nearly 76 million people aged between 15 and 24 years of age were unemployed worldwide and, currently, young people are three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. In Europe nearly one in four young people are out of a job, and in North Africa and the Middle East youth unemployment is almost 30 per cent, the highest worldwide. The Secretary-General for Rio+20, Sha Zukang, underlined that job creation was a top priority for action for the conference, because ensuring employment for youths goes hand in hand with sustainable development. "Unemployment affects both current well-being and future prospects, and these ramifications can trickle down to the next generation. "There is a growing convergence of views on the importance of creating green jobs. By training our youths in the skills needed for transition to a green economy, we can address both unemployment and sustainable development issues," she said.

Culled from The Leadership, Abuja

BEST PRACTICE NEGOTIATING AT WORK

 

Imagine this:

  

It appears you have an easy day ahead of you tomorrow. Your schedule is not overbooked and things seem to be running according to plan. Upon arrival at work, however, you discover items you requested for won’t be available for another 1 week, 5 urgent tasks have been assigned to you by your supervisor,  a co-worker in another department you requested information from is off sick and his/her colleagues are working on a deadline due in their department by end of business day. To make matters worse, a report you need within three hours will not be available until the last minute. How should you handle this situation? Who are the people you need to communicate with and what is your strategy for achieving what has now become urgent for you? It’s now obvious that at some point you will need to negotiate with someone to get their time and attention in order to help you achieve one or more of your new targets for the day. There are different styles of negotiation, depending on circumstances - where you do not expect to deal with people ever again and you do not need their goodwill, then it may be appropriate to "play hardball", seeking to win a negotiation while the other person loses out. Similarly, where there is a great deal at stake in a negotiation, then it may be appropriate to prepare in detail and legitimate "gamesmanship" to gain advantage. Anyone who has been involved with large sales negotiations will be familiar with this. Neither of these approaches is usually much good for resolving disputes with people with whom you have an ongoing relationship with or must communicate with continuously at work. Look at this way, If one person plays hardball, then this disadvantages the other person – who may or may not remember later…to your disadvantage.  The best type of negotiation usually involves a ‘win-win’ approach to negotiation.

 

For a negotiation to be 'win-win', both parties should feel positive about the negotiation once it's over. This helps people keep good working relationships afterwards. This governs the style of the negotiation – histrionics and displays of emotion are clearly inappropriate because they undermine the rational basis of the negotiation and because they bring a manipulative aspect to them.

The negotiation itself is a careful exploration of your position and the other person’s position, with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable compromise that gives you both as much of what you want as possible. People's positions are rarely as fundamentally opposed as they may initially appear, it’s just that for the most part what is important and urgent to you at one point may or may not be urgent or important to the other person, hence the need to find middle ground. Therefore it is important to negotiate in a way that protects your interpersonal relationships rather than damage it. Negotiation must be done to take care of present issues and needs while ensuring there is a fertile ground for future dialogue and any negotiations (if applicable) Here are some tips to keep in mind when you are negotiating with the aim of protecting interpersonal relationships:

·         Keep your communication style direct by sharing plans, not concepts. Think collaboration not confrontation.

·         Be clear about what you want and practice asking for it in a calm, direct manner. Our advice: don’t be confrontational. Getting fired-up and emotional may have an adverse reaction.

·         Negotiation is a conversation and you may risk getting off-track. Our advice: stay focused; remain on point and on course to avoid a negotiation disaster.

·         Gaining buy in along the way will get you closer to your goal faster. Making sure that the other party is being heard is a sign of respect and will be appreciated. Our advice: repeat the points of the other side and use language such as “Let me make sure I completely understand your point.”

·         Successful negotiating requires preparation. Be prepared with a strong understanding of your needs and motivations, as well as the other side. My advice: do your research, gather together relevant information, and if it’s complicated, get outside expertise from a mentor or colleague.

·         Starting with your bottom line may close the door on negotiations. My advice: be prepared to compromise and expect the other party to compromise as well.

·         Being fair is not a loss. It shows that you are willing to adjust your expectations to meet the needs of the other side. My advice: ask the question, “Why don’t you tell me what you think is fair.” You may be surprised at the answer.

·         Negotiating is a process, not an event. One conversation may not culminate in a final decision. My advice: be willing to say, “Let me think about that and get back to you in 24 hours.”

As business professionals, we negotiate every day on topics ranging from work assignments, project delivery dates and even business travel and the primary purpose of negotiation is to resolve situations where what you want conflicts with what someone else wants. So next time there is a clear discrepancy between what you need from someone at work and what he/she is able to provide, why not try to negotiate keeping in mind the personal relationship you want to maintain at work. Have a great week everyone!

 

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY BY ENSURING YOUR TO DO LIST WORKS FOR YOU

http://ilovegetttingupinthemorning.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/seven-ways-to-take-charge-of-your-to-do-list/

JOS MTN STAFF PROTEST SUSPENSION OF COLLEAGUES

http://bit.ly/KDxGNM

ISNT IT TIME WE REVIEWED OUR MINIMUM PAY FOR WORKERS IN NIGERIA

CULLED FROM THISDAY ONLINE NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER

Labour leaders are using the opportunity of today's May Day celebration to agitate for a further review of the national minimum wage for Nigerian workers. Their agitation for an upward review of the minimum wage may not be unconnected with alleged plan by government to further increase the pump price of fuel in view of the nation's dwindling revenue.Currently the benchmark minimum wage paid to workers in both public and private organisation is N18, 000 and the implementation took effect in March 2011.However, labour leaders who will present workers demand for further increment in the minimum wage at the eagle square today in Abuja said the N18, 000 minimum wage being paid workers was no longer tenable especially in the face of inflation and rising commodity prices. Specifically, they argued that the agitation for an upward review of the minimum wage was necessitated by the need to cushion the effect of the fuel price hike on the common masses and the increasing cost of basic commodities. Justifying the demand for upward review of the minimum wage President General of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele argued that the rising level of inflation had made a mess of the real wages since the passage of the minimum wage act. Speaking further, he said the increasing deprivation, which workers had to go through in recent times as a result of various anti-people and workers policies of the government had necessitated the demand for an increment in minimum wage.Lamenting the failure of government to implement agreements, Esele explained: "Government had found it rather fashionable to pick and choose which law to obey and the ones to disregard especially when they feel that it will reduce what will remain for them to misappropriate".

"This is why we want to serve a notice to all State Governments that have refused to comply fully with the minimum wage act to immediately take steps to comply totally with the provisions of the law so as to purge themselves of this evil and avoid confrontation with Nigerian workers. "We also want to use this opportunity to serve a notice on the various governments at all levels that the Minimum wage of N18,000 is no longer tenable and it is time for a review. This is to bring it in conformity with the objective realities of our times and to cushion the effect of the fuel price hike on the common masses and the increasing cost of basic commodities including Housing," he said.

Earlier, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar had advised that the increase in pump price of fuel had eaten deep into the N18,000 minimum wage thereby making workers worse off. He hinted that labour was going to use the opportunity of the today's May Day celebration to confront government on the issue. He also expressed concern over the failure of some states government to pay the minimum wage one way after it was passed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan adding that the action of government had worsen the plight of Nigerian workers whom he had not fared well in the last one year. "There are some states where the minimum wage has not been implemented, states like Enugu, Anambra and some other states in the South-east. This is a gross violation of the Constitution of the country and this is also a very serious area we are going to confront," he said...

DEVELOPING YOUR NEGOTIATION AT WORK SKILLS

SITUATION NO 1

john has been working alone as the head of network solutions for 5 years but because of expansion plans, the board wants to pursue other business options and brings in a consultant to work with John. John is furious, becomes deeply resentful at work, and unconsciously starts sabotaging work being done by him and the consultant. After 5 weeks of this, he is confronted by his boss and told to come in for a work meeting....

CONFLICT NO 2

Henrietta is under unbelievable pressure at home to contribute money to a cause she doesn't believe in. She has always been a conscientious worker but for the last two days sleep deprivation has caused her to be be short with colleagues, snap at customers, and moodily sit staring into space and her team lead is getting worried because Henrietta is normally a very sweet person and wants to talk to her but isn't sure the best approach to use....

Our everyday lives both at work and at home are impacted by so many internal and external forces that conflicts and differences in opinion are bound to come up from time to time. The examples given above showcase the most common cause of conflict whereby a person is experiencing inner conflict that results in outward lashing out. People resolve disputes in many ways; some become highly aggressive and unreasonable, others go into complete denial while some people seem to be able to diffuse conflicts and manage them well. With people who are able to manage conflicts at work, mediation and negotiation are normally key to health conflict and dispute resolution.

Negotiation is a two way communication style that encourages participation by both parties for conflict resolution. Your approach to negotiation will depend on the outcome you require but generally, irrespective of department or job level, employees benefit from learning how to develop their win-win negotiation skills. Win-Win” negotiation is about alliance not conflict, and successful negotiation results in long lasting and fruitful professional relationships between parties. The key to effective win-win negotiation is clear communication and this involves three important skills: understanding, speaking, and listening: 

Understanding

Before two sides can look for solutions, a common understanding must be reached. If two people do not understand each others problems and concerns, then the process of negotiation will either be breakdown or will end with solutions that do not work. Understanding also depends on active listening. Active listening encourages understanding. It is important to pay close attention to what someone says as well as to how he or she behaves. Body language, including facial expressions, hand gestures and degree of eye contact, can provide clues about the other person's thoughts and feelings. Observations, however, are shaped as much by the observer as by the person being observed. It is good practise never to assume to understand the other person without further clarification if necessary. However, asking for further clarification shouldn't now be used to feign ignorance or inability to understand what the other person is communicating.

Speaking

Negotiation begins with a clear, concise explanation of the problem as each person sees it. Facts and feelings are presented in a rational manner from the individuals perspective, using "I" statements.

The negotiation process will be most effective when people take time to think through what they will say. When possible, plan ahead to meet at a time and place convenient to everyone. A quiet, neutral spot where there are few distractions or interruptions is perfect for open discussion.

Listening

Listening is an active process of concentrating all of one's attention on the other person. Encouraging the other person to share thoughts and feelings, giving feedback on what has been heard. Thinking ahead or anticipating the course of the discussion are distractions that interfere with listening. Poor attention and listening can lead to misunderstandings, inappropriate solutions and continuing conflict.

Guidelines for successful negotiation

Recognise and define the problemEach person begins with a clearly identified statement of what he or she wants and/or needs. Negotiation should identify not only individual concerns, but mutual concerns, perceptions and interests. From this process, a common ground for agreement between the individuals is sought.

 Show respectSuccess rests in accepting the other person despite differences in values, beliefs, educational experiences, ethnic backgrounds or perspectives. Negotiation permits you to examine a problem from all sides, and to promote understanding and interest in the other person without necessarily agreeing to her or his viewpoint. Taking time to listen and to ask questions makes it easier to learn more about someone's perspectives. Considering different perspectives will increase the range and variety of possible solutions.

 Seek a variety of solutionsMore information about the problem may be needed before a solution can be decided upon. It may be helpful to examine other sources of information such as books, magazine articles and people who may be familiar with the issue. Outside assistance may help you to overcome your own biases. Mediators can provide impartial assistance with the negotiation process.

CollaborationWorking together doesn't mean "giving up" or "giving in" to another person's demands or goals. Two or more individuals can agree that disagreement exists. However, they can also agree to put aside their anger, frustration, resentment and egos in favour of working together for a solution to a common problem.

Living out the agreed resolution
It is important to follow through with negotiated agreements. The very bane of negotiation implies a commitment toward whatever outcome has been decided. Developing a "plan of action" that spells out who is going to do what, where, when and how is helpful.

Effective negotiation is a two-way process that encourages both sides to actively participate in making decisions. It can occur anytime and usually helps when it is initiated between colleagues in the same or differing departments and most importantly during times when you need help from colleagues higher up the corporate ladder than you. It also provides a way for people to learn to understand each other better and to grow in their relationships while providing a healthy balance between "giving" and "getting."

  

Negotiating can be done as formally or as informally as you want it to be. It can involve calling your colleague aside for a quiet cup of coffee so that you can decide the best time in the day to work on a project or it may involve calling human resources and finding an office to lay all issues on the table in order to mediate over everything and find solutions that are acceptable to both parties.

Whatever the case may be conflict, disagreements, and arguments do not need to cause an irrepable breakdown of communication if both parties can decide to put their difference aside and come together in order to deal with the issue at hand.

Have a great month everybody and to all the workers: whether you are self employed, working for someone;  currently undergoing a change; or experiencing work burnout, just know that you have been a blessing by your existence, you have touched lives on the job, added value even when you didn't know it, and by your good work amassed blessings for yourself both now and in the future. Be proud of who you are and be eager for the future and opportunities to learn, grow and add value!

Happy workers day!

REFERENCES

http://ezinearticles.com/?Effective-Method-of-Negotiation&id=1671981

http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/hesguide/humanrel/gh6830.pdf