FOBTOB has since 1980, signed a Procedural Agreement with the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) to govern the relationship between the two bodies and have jointly negotiated and signed into place, Collective Agreements on Conditions of Service for its members in the industry. These Agreements represent acceptable minimum standards for the industry subject to improvements from company to company depending on favourable business conditions.
Subsequently, these Collective Agreements have been reviewed every two years while Agreements were also reached on Economic Relief Package in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1999 respectively. In 1992, a Collective Agreement on the computation of retirement gratuity based on the Total Emolument concept was also reached with the AFBTE.
A Collective Agreement on Consequential Adjustment in Salaries was reached in December, 2000 as a result of the introduction of the new National Minimum Wage by the Federal Government on 1st May, 2000. To reach an agreement on this matter, the Association had to embark on a nation-wide strike. A new Collective Agreement on the review of Salaries and Fringe Benefits was consequently signed on 11th April, 2002 with a modest 32% increase in Salaries. In 2004, Collective Agreement was signed with 25% increase in Basic Salaries among other increases in allowances.
Year 2006 witnessed the introduction of the two-tranche implementation of the Agreements with a modest increase of 24% on Salaries and Fringe benefits and finally in November 2010, another increment of 25% was recorded. In January 2013, the Association was able to sign an Agreement of 23% to be implemented in two tranches. Another Agreement came into being in August 2015 with a modest increase of 16%. In year 2017, another review was done, but an increase of 16% was achieved. In year 2019, another review was done in accordance with the tradition, but an increase of 16% was recorded due to economic instability. In 2022, the Association was able to record an increase 18% in the collective Agreement after maintaining 16% marginal increment for three consecutive seasons. The struggle to retain Gratuity in the industry gave rise to a modification in the calculation by annualising it, rather than having the Gratuity Scheme scrapped. The Annualisation Agreement between FOBTOB and AFBTE was signed in 2008 to sustain Gratuity in the industry. Although, there was an attempt once again by the employers to scrap the Gratuity Scheme in the industry, the agitation by the Association paid off with a Memorandum of Understanding to affirm the existence of the Gratuity Scheme in the industry.
The relationship with our employers has been relatively cordial but not without the normal occasional disagreements. As stakeholders in the industry, FOBTOB promotes a partnership agenda with the employers at both the National and enterprise levels to enhance job security and productivity through social dialogue.
FOBTOB has been very assertive in the protection of jobs, rights of workers and conditions of service. When the need calls for it, the Association has had to use the instrumentality of the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) and National Industrial Court (NIC) to advance the interests of its members, and in extreme cases, call for a national strike.
