CIVIL SERVANTS THREATEN NATIONWIDE STRIKE

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria on Friday threatened to call out its members in the federal civil service to embark on an industrial action if the Federal government refuses to accede to its demands over welfare issues.

This threat is coming barely one month after an indefinite strike which paralyzed activities at the Federal Ministry of Education, Inspectorate Offices and the 104 Federal Unity Colleges over non-payment of promotion arrears and other allowances.
The ASCSN urged President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to order relevant government agencies to enter into serious dialogue with it on the labour issues listed above which had been outstanding for several years.
‘‘It must be emphasised that the patience of thousands of employees in the public service have been exhausted on these issues and they may resort to self-help without further notice. This is the more reason why the Federal government should come to the negotiation table with the union immediately before the entire public service is engulfed in industrial crisis the country can least afford now,” the organization stated.
The Secretary-General of ASCSN, Mr. Alade Lawal, in a statement in Abuja drew the attention of the general public to the refusal of government to enter into meaningful dialogue with a view to addressing the lingering labour issues captured in 12 memoranda and placed before the government since March 2014.

He said, ‘‘Since March, 2014, all efforts by the union to bring the Federal Government to the negotiating table to discuss the labour issues contained in the 12 memoranda have been frustrated by strategic government agencies, including the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation saddled with the responsibility of handling welfare issues of workers.’’

The contentious issues include non-payment of promotion arrears and other entitled allowances of workers; demand for the upward wage review in the civil service, payment of civil servants rent allowance em-bloc; payment of end-of-year incentives to all public servants; upward review of retirement age in the civil service; and payment of special allowance to civil servants engaged in teaching including those teaching in the Federal Unity Colleges.
Others are non-payment of first 28 days allowance in lieu of hotel accommodation, the vexed issue of conducting promotion examinations in the public service at mid night and non-payment of allowances in respect of 2010 mandatory training programme organised by the OHCSF.

    

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