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By Bimbola Oyesola
The staff of Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Kwara State, received the first end-of-the-year welfare bonus (20 per cent of 13th month) in decades.
Meanwhile, the director-general, Issa Aremu, has been commended for his commitment to staff welfare and the renewal of the Institute in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari for national development.
At the opening ceremony of the first ever Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Harmattan School, at the Institute in Ilorin, Kwara State, last Monday, the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Kyamo, Chief Frank Kokori, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin and President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, in unison hailed Aremu, for what they described as his “transformative impact” of an hitherto moribound Institute.
In his opening address, Mr Festus Kyamo commended the unprecedented collaboration between the NLC and Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin which made it possible for the week long NLC 17th Harmattan industrial relations school in Ilorin, with the theme, “COVID -19: the Future of Work”. As many as 150 participants from 56 affiliate unions of the NLC and fraternal unions from Kenya, the Gambia, Serra Leone and Ghana attended the workshop which has tripod sub themes of “Leadership”, “organizing” and “Gender”.
“This is the kind of projects that the government, President Buhari and myself want to see occurring; where government agencies and institutions and other social partners work together to achieve our common goals and aspirations of equity and fair development for all”, the Minister said. While appreciating that the training school would “ be practical and skills-oriented”, Mr Festus Kyamo praised the leadership of the NLC and the entire management and staff of MINILS led by the new DG, Issa Aremu for what he called “wonderful partnership initiative” with “significant contribution to national development”.
“This is the kind of partnership between government and non-state actors that the current government is pushing and nurturing across all sectors of the country’s economy. It is our believe that diverse actors working together with unity of purpose is the only way by which we can ensure that we recover back better fast and strong as well as place our nations on the part of constructive purposeful development”.
The high points of the 2021 Labour Harmattan school were the commissioning of new 40 rooms/ clinic building and Entrepreneurship and Development building by the Kwara state Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq and the Minister of State for Labour and productivity respectively.
The Director General said on appointment, he inherited “a mouribound Institute, with low and even no staff morale, absenteeism, delayed payments of staff entitlements, decay infrastructure and low patronage by trade unionists, employers and government officials alike”.
However Aremu, said “in less than than 6 months, the “Institute is back alive”, first ever 5- year Strategic Development Plan (2022-2025), new curriculum for workers’ education to minimize conflicts at work, massive renovated hostels, renewed partnership with stakeholders, improved access roads, improved offices, commissioning of new projects, improved staff welfare.
He singled out the two Ministers of labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Frederick Ebert Foundation ( FEF) for the support to reposition the Institute for national development.
