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Train services suspended as railway workers down tools

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Train services across the country have been shut down as the three-day warning strike embarked by railway workers nationwide begins.

The warning strike by workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is to hold from November 18th to November 20th.

The workers’ unions had declared the strike to demand increased wages and condition of service.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, had invited the labour unions into a meeting on Saturday which ended in a deadlock.

Another follow-up meeting by the Board and Management of the NRC could not change the decision of the unions on the strike.

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The NRC management had earlier on Tuesday notified all district managers and coordinators to shut down train services with effect from Wednesday night.

Managing Director of NRC, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, in an internal memo issued on Tuesday alerted all district managers and relevant officers of the need to protect railway assets in the event the strike goes ahead.

The memo titled, “Protection of Railway Assets in View of the Impending Warning Strike by the two in-house unions slated for Thursday 18th to Saturday 20th November 2021”, read, “With regards to the impending warning strike action, the management and board have met with the two in-house unions to deliberate and resolve issues that are still in discussion to avert the proposed warning strike action.

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“However in the event of a strike action, you are please requested to do the following to ensure that railway assets are protected adequately.

“The RDMs, managers and coordinators are to prepare and shut down train services appropriately by midnight of Wednesday, 17th November 2021.

The memo also directed the officials to move all locomotive and coaches for Abuja-Kaduna, Warri-Itakpe and Lagos-Ibadan train services to safe places.

General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NUR), Comrade Segun Esan, said the strike has commenced with full force and it would take shape on Thursday.

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PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

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Port Harcourt Refinery

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.

Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.

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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”

He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.

“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”

 

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

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Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

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Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.

This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.

The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.

The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.

He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.

The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.

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Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

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Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

 

Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.

The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.

The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.

“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.

“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.

“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”

Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.

Employment rate – 76%

The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.

“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.

Self-employment – 85.6%

The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.

It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”

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