DBI staff square up to NCC

The DBI staff are praying the court to determine whether or not DBI is still under NCC or not; they are also praying the court to force NCC to treat them equally with core NCC staff. They alleged that there is disparity between DBI and NCC staff, even though they were “employed as NCC employees.”A […]

The DBI staff are praying the court to determine whether or not DBI is still under NCC or not; they are also praying the court to force NCC to treat them equally with core NCC staff.
They alleged that there is disparity between DBI and NCC staff, even though they were “employed as NCC employees.”
A director at DBI, who pleaded anonymity, told Daily Trust that there is about N3milllion difference between his annual salary and that of a director at NCC. “Whereas we were both employed at the same time and we both directors”, he said.  
But the telecoms industry regulator said DBI is no longer under it and can’t enjoy same benefits as their staff.  NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Tony Ojobo had told Daily Trust that “the institute is not under us.”  
Staff say NCC’s claim not true
But the staff would have none of that. They said there is no proof that DBI has ceased to be under NCC.
 They told Daily Trust that NCC couldn’t claim that DBI isn’t under it because the commission is still receiving budget funds from the federal government on behalf of DBI.
They claimed that NCC was still awarding contracts for some purchases and renovations on behalf of the DBI.
They showed Daily Trust some of the Expressions of Interest papers for some contracts awarded, though all of them were dated between 2011 and November 2013.
Issues and challenges
The director said: “The DBI has no legislative backing, hence cannot be called a government parastatal.
“Although DBI was set up as a commercial outfit, its operations are dictated by the way NCC operates, depending on the whims of NCC management (for a example when DBI staff ask for similar conditions of service to NCC they are told that NCC is a regulator while DBI is a trainer—hence the disparity in remuneration). However, all pioneering staff of DBI had been issued with NCC Conditions of Service and they were actually employed by the commission.
“We do not receive government funding, we have to create and market our own training programmes.”
According to him, NCC takes care of all capital projects (constructions, renovations and furnishings of all the existing (Abuja, Lagos, Kano) and planned (Yola, Asaba and Enugu) campuses, while the institute must pay for all recurrent expenditure.
He said DBI staff received far less than their counterparts in NCC in terms of remunerations (a director in DBI receives about N11m/annum while his NCC counterpart earns about N19m). For three consecutive years, he said,  DBI could not afford to give staff the officially accepted yearly incremental salary step, and a staff promotion exercise was only carried out once in the eight-year existence of the institute.
He continued: “The Institute is a training outfit but has not been able to afford overseas training for its staff since 2007 and internal training since2010 because NCC would only pay for capital expenses and the institute cannot afford it (the training).
Parts of demands met
The DBI crisis came to the open on November 27 last year when the staff protested nonpayment of salaries and “bad management style” of the then President of the institute, Professor Raymond Akwule.  The aggrieved staff shut the institute and barricaded the entrance with their cars.
On Thursday, the aggrieved staff said part of their demands had been met hence they had resumed work partially.  They said some of the salaries and allowances owed them had been paid but January and February are yet to be paid.
A director at the institute also told Daily Trust that “NCC had just sent a sole administration to administer the affairs of DBI pending the time a substantive president would be appointed. They also sacked two of the Vice presidents.”
But the director said they would not withdraw the case at the industrial court as the case would lay to rest all the controversies in the ownership tussel.