…As ILO says Salaries, wages growing at lowest level since 2008***

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu on Monday indicated strongly, that not fewer than three, out of the 40 planned modular refineries would begin operation before the end of 2019.

Kachikwu highlighted this in Lagos at the three-day Biennial International Conference for Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) organised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), grieving that only 10 out of authorized 40 were showing noteworthy seriousness.

“Out of the 40 licenses issued, only 10 have shown progress by submitting their programmes and putting something on the ground.

“By end of 2019, we are assured that three private modular refineries would come on stream,’’ he said.

The minister said that the conference was a forum for pooling ideas and research findings for the incubation of enduring and game-changing oil and gas policy initiatives.

“Perhaps this edition of the conference could not have come at a better time, first to allay the popular fear that the days of oil and gas as an international commodity and energy source are over.

“And secondly, to stimulate new ideas on sustainable ways of developing this resource in a manner that will both prolong its acceptability as an energy source and also help the nation reap optimal benefits,’’ he said.

Kachikwu who maintained that environmental sustainability was a key component of the Seven Big Wins initiative of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for the oil and gas industry, therefore urged the DPR, to come up with new initiatives to end the menace of gas flaring to truly incentivize the flare-out policy by creating the new National Gas Policy.

He said that the policy was aimed at ensuring that all currently flared gas, including those previously considered as non-technically feasible and non-commercially viable, is gathered and utilised for various economic utilities that are financially rewarding to the producers.

He added that the collectors and interested investors converted it for power generation, petrochemicals and other beneficial uses.

“Aggressive efforts are being made within the ambits of HSE sustainability to convert more gas to LNG through new and existing investors to retain Nigeria in its currently threatened fourth position as an LNG exporter.

“Our push for the increased investments in modular and conventional refineries is not only targeted at helping the nation benefit from its resources by providing products to the entire West African sub-region.

“But also essentially to stop the scourge of local unconventional artisanal refineries that have led to massive oil spills that have been hard to manage for nearly a whole decade,” he said.

The Director of DPR, Mr Modeccai Ladan, urged stakeholders to galvanize efforts at maximizing Nigeria’s production and minimize wastage.

“Over the years, the threat against fossil fuels had always been on paper, but today, it is more real than ever, based on some clear evidence I like to draw our attention to.

“Three among the biggest technology companies have made attempts at electric cars to replace gasoline and diesel engines.

“While the attempt of Apple may not have made it to production yet and that of Google was suspended after clearly successful street trials that of Tesla actually took the world by surprise.

“Not only did the first two releases of Tesla outsell sales forecasts, they were actually oversubscribed, and the demand keeps rising while new models are being added,’’ he said.

Ladan said; “As we speak, some of the big International Oil Companies (IOCs) here seated are funding gigantic researches into alternative fuels, which include the use of cheap, common algae.

“As sweet as Nigeria’s crudes are renowned to be globally, we have recently lost our most valued customers and our gas buyers are themselves now competing with us in the same market space as suppliers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, all of these points to one fact, namely, if Nigeria is to continue to benefit from its vast petroleum resources, now than ever is the time to build sustainability into its prospecting, drilling, production, transportation and usage.

“As well as management of its wastes. And this task rests on the shoulders of not only the DPR but all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has noted that Salaries are still far too low in the developing world, with take-home pay growth overall, at its lowest since 2008, the said.

The UN labour agency in its Global Wage Report 2018/19 released on Monday, also said that pay rose by just 0.4 per cent during last year in advanced economies.

The report, however, said wages grew higher and faster in developing countries in 2017 than in richer nations, at over four per cent.

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, however, noted also that wages in developing countries increasing more quickly than those in higher-income countries, should not be exaggerated.

Ryder said: “That sounds like good news, because we all want to see convergence around the world. But let’s not exaggerate, because the gaps are still very, very big.

“Very often the level of wages is still not high enough for people to meet their basic needs”, he added.

Overall, global wage growth declined to 1.8 per cent in 2017 from 2.4 per cent in 2016, according to the findings, which were based on data from 136 countries.

In the last 20 years, average real wages had almost tripled in emerging and developing G20 countries, the ILO report also found.

On the other hand, in advanced G20 countries, they have increased by just nine per cent.

Faced with such low salary growth in richer economies in 2017 – with pay growing at its lowest level in a decade – the ILO chief noted with concern that “this has happened despite a recovery in global output”.

“It’s puzzling that in high-income economies we see slow wage growth alongside a recovery in GDP growth and falling unemployment.

“Wages are still growing much less slowly than productivity. I think that has implications for demand; if you haven’t got money in your pocket, you can’t spend money,” he said.

The ILO chief noted that “if you can’t spend money, enterprises suffer” and “investment opportunities become more rare.”

For the first time, the ILO report also focused on the global gender pay gap, using data from 70 countries and some 80 per cent of employees worldwide.

Its findings indicated that despite some significant regional differences, men continue to be paid around 20 per cent more than women.

This, the ILO chief called “perhaps the biggest single injustice in the world of work”.

“This goes diametrically against this basic principle of equal pay for work of equal value,” Ryder  added.

He noted that it had featured “in the constitution of the ILO for the last 100 years”, and also figures among the goals the international community has agreed to achieve by 2030, as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

In high-income countries, the gender pay gap is at its biggest in top-salaried positions, according to the report.

In low and middle-income countries, however, the gap is widest among lower-paid workers, the ILO report found.

“In many countries women are more highly educated than men but earn lower wages, even when they work in the same occupational categories.

“The wages of both men and women also tend to be lower in enterprises and occupations with a predominantly female workforce,” said ILO expert Rosalia Vazquez-Alvarez.