Yakubu Busari
The indefinite strike embarked upon by the Plateau State Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, on Monday stalled the continuation of hearing of the murdered case of Pa Dariye as all the state High Court were closed with the heavy presence of union leaders blocking the entrances.
The Plateau State Chapter of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, Comrade Philip M.Longji gave cogent reasons why they’re embarking on an indefinite industrial strike over the 2014 allowances of its members that was neglected and forgotten by the management.
Longji stated this at the state High Court premises on Monday in Jos, while addressing journalists on why the union is embarking on strike.
He said, “We shut down all the business activities this morning to ensure that government gives us listening ears over the demand reached with the former Exco of the union sometimes in 2014.
We have not jettisoned the agreement reach with the management, but we are not talking about getting financial autonomy, no this gray area that we are now talking about is a particular allowance approved to us since in 2014.
According to him, our predecessor left this pending issue and handed it over to us and we now took it to see that whatever belongs to our union should be given to us, it was only the overhead cost that the government was able to pay it now.
We take up as a union and this particular allowance that I am talking about has three-link , the security and domestic, and in fact, the management said let there be fact-finding in five states all those states are now enjoying their benefits, Kano, Jigawa, and Nasarawa states except Nasarawa state that were in problem.
Philip Longji explained further that so looking at the fact-finding the management misled them and the committee set up and chaired by Justice Christy L.Dabup and other senior judges and permit me to use the word that the committee ended up unceremoniously because of the information furnished them with by the management “.
He disclosed that the management told the committee members that even to pay workers’ salaries is a problem so they have to borrow, but we frown at that decision taken by the committee without due consultation with the union before going back to the government.
Adding, he said they should have approached us in other for us to go back to the government on the arrangement we earlier reach with them, which then the personnel cost 100% and if you’re going out of the way to augment the salary we are supported to know because we are the people who went on strike looking for financial autonomy and yet, they went out their own way to claim they borrowed to pay workers salary.
Philip lamented that we can’t take that because we believe that the government is given what is expected and to me, autonomy is partially had a zero-level implementation and we disagree with the whole exercise.
However, then, we were to embark on strike at the eve of the existence of the former Chief judge but because of intervention from the members of the inner Bar including some stakeholders that make us suspend and let it hanging the strike on air just to allow the former Chief Judge to go on retirement peacefully through the period of his valedictory session so in that instance that was why that committee set up to look at details implementation and there now there is nothing to hold on.
