Business

Airport Towns Braced For Jobless Spike

Airport towns braced for jobless spike as furlough scheme ends

Airport hubs Crawley and Luton are facing a sharp jump in unemployment this week as Britain’s furlough capitals bear the brunt of an end to the Chancellor’s jobs support scheme.

Experts warned the towns are the most vulnerable to a wave of job losses after new data revealed they have the most workers stuck on furlough as the travel industry struggles to recover.

The recent loosening of Britain’s travel rules came too late to save the sector’s crucial summer period. The furlough scheme wraps up after 18 months on Thursday.

Crawley, which is close to Gatwick airport, is most threatened by a surge in unemployment with one in 10 of its workforce still on the furlough scheme as of the end of July, according to Centre for Cities figures.

Luton could soon have Britain’s highest claimant count rate. It already has the fourth-highest share of its population on jobseekers’ help but also has 8pc of the workforce stuck on furlough.

While Slough, which is near Heathrow, has a lower claimant count rate than Luton, it is also highly vulnerable, with 9pc of its workers on furlough.

Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at Centre for Cities, said: “The places that continue to be particularly exposed tend to be those airport towns, particularly those close to London which were clearly handling a large volume of traffic in normal times.

“The scheme is removed at the end of this month: that clearly is really big for places like Crawley, Slough and Luton where a large share of people relatively speaking continue to be on furlough.”

It came as economists also warned that staff shortages are being worsened by about 1m workers leaving the labour market as many Britons retire early and go back into education.

The Institute for Employment Studies estimates that an extra 300,000 more workers have retired early as a result of the pandemic, deepening the shortages crippling many sectors.

Tony Wilson, director of the IES, said: “That’s massive and easily as big as the impacts from migration, from young people studying and furlough.

“The things that are driving high levels of vacancies is that there are just fewer people in the labour market.”

An extra 500,000 to 600,000 workers are believed to have gone into education or have migrated.

Business

CBN launches new website

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched its newly redesigned website, www.cbn.gov.ng, scheduled to go live on Dec. 2.

Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our newly redesigned website (www.cbn.gov.ng), which will be operational on Monday, December 2, 2024.

“The redesigned website introduces a variety of new content, which encompasses a broader spectrum of information regarding the bank’s mandate.

“Additionally, the website is responsive to mobile devices, facilitating navigation across various web browsers and devices.

“The bank is grateful for the feedback provided by the public, which served as a valuable guide for our redesign endeavours,” she said.

Sidi Ali said the CBN was committed to developing and enhancing the website to facilitate communication.

“Please follow our different social media channels linked on the website’s home page for more updates,” she said.

(NAN)

Business

No ban on sachet water – Lagos Govt

The Lagos State government has denied reports that it has placed a ban on sachet water.

The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, made this clarification on Sunday in a statement posted on his official X account.

The commissioner’s comments followed a viral video which showed enforcement officers destroying packs of sachet water in Lagos.

Reacting to this, Wahab clarified that the officers in the viral video were staff of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) who went about their lawful responsibility to rid the society of unregistered and unsafe products in the interest of public safety and health.

“My attention has been drawn to a viral video showing some individuals bursting sachet water packs at factories and on buses.

“I wish to categorically state that these individuals are not enforcement officers from any Lagos State Government agency or the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

“Upon investigation, it was confirmed that the individuals in question are enforcement officers from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

“Their actions are part of an enforcement exercise targeting sachet water that does not comply with NAFDAC regulations and in the interest of public health and safety.

“It is important to emphasise that Lagos State has not banned sachet water and does not have plans to do so. Our focus remains on effective plastic waste management.

“As part of our commitment, we are implementing mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for producers of polythene terephthalate (PET), sachets, and carrier bags of no less than 40 40 microns,” he stated.

Business

NAFDAC notifies Nigerians on fake anti-malaria drug in circulation

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has notified the general public of the sale of counterfeit combiart (Artemether Lumefantrine 20/120mg) Dispersible Tablet in Nigeria.

The notification is in a public alert marked: No. 043/2024, issued on NAFDAC website, disclosing the date of manufacturing of the drug to be Feb. 2023 and June 2023.

It equally gave the expiring date of the drug as May 2026 and June 2026, as well as Batch No: 7225119 with NAFDAC Reg No: A11-0299.

The agency equally gave the manufacturer name and address as Strides Arcolab Limited, 36/7, Suragajakkanahalli, Indlavadi Cross, Anekal Taluk, Bangalore- 562 106, India.

NAFDAC, in the alert, said that all its zonal directors and state coordinators had been directed to carry out surveillance and mop up the counterfeit products within the zones and states.

It advised importers, distributors, retailers, healthcare professionals, and caregivers to exercise caution and vigilance within the supply chain and avoid importation, distribution, sale, and usage of the counterfeit product.

It said that all medical products must be obtained from authorised/licenced suppliers and that products’ authenticity and physical condition must be carefully checked.

The alert also advised healthcare professionals and consumers to report any suspicion of the sale of substandard and falsified medicines or medical devices to the nearest NAFDAC office.

It urged Nigerians to call NAFDAC on 0800-162-3322 or report any suspicion event via email: sf.alert@nafdac.gov.ng.

“Healthcare professionals and patients are similarly encouraged to report adverse or side effects related to the use of medicinal products or devices to the nearest NAFDAC office, or through E-reporting platforms available on the NAFDAC website www.nafdac.gov.ng.,” it said

It advised Nigerians to reports any adverse effects via the Med-safety application available for download on android and IOS stores or via e-mail on pharmacovigilance@nafdac.gov.ng.

NAFDAC promised that the notice would be uploaded to the WHO Global Surveillance and Monitoring System (GSMS).

NAN