Standup9ja: Federal Civil Servants Threaten To Down Tools
Over Unpaid N200 Billion Salaries
The Association of Senior Civil Servants (ASCSN) of Nigeria
has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike if the federal government
fails to address the non-payment of their N200 billion promotion, salaries and
death remunerations.
The resolution was made on Wednesday during a meeting of the
National Executive Council, NEC, of the association, in Abuja.
They also agreed to picket the Ministry of Finance and the
Budget Office, which the workers believe, are sabotaging the swift directives
by President Muhammadu Buhari to release funds to pay several arrears owed
them.
The decision of the NEC of the ASCSN was read to journalists
by the Federal Capital Territory Secretary of the association, Mr. Ojemhenka
Isaac.
Punch Newspaper quoted Isaac as saying that the money
approved by the National Assembly to pay their outstanding arrears was
channelled to pay contractors handling unfamiliar projects.
The President of the ASCSN, Mr. Bala Kaigama, who doubles as
the President of the Trade Union Congress, told journalists after the meeting
that the ASCSN, an affiliate Union of the TUC, would collaborate with the NLC
to carry out the planned industrial action.
He said, “Yes, the
picketing would be done and I will lead it because this thing has taken so
long. The idea of the payment of arrears of promotions, death benefits, first
28 days, started as soon as the President was sworn in.”
Kaigama stated that the picketing of the Ministry of Finance
and the Budget Office would be followed by a strike, adding that the dates for
actions would be worked out later.
According to him, the arrears, owed the workers, were not
paid even when the President directed the Head of Service to work out the
details with unions and to commence payment.
He explained that when submissions on the issue were made to
the government, the government argued that there was no budgetary provision for
the payment of the arrears.
Kaigama said, “We
wrote to Mr. President; he responded positively and then directed the Office of
the Head of Service to sit with us and work out the details. The details were
worked out through the MDAs and our representatives at the MDA level and
submissions were made to the Office of the Head of Service.
“That was done,
then the National Assembly approved a virement but a chunk of the money was
earmarked for the settlement of part of these arrears. But today, the
explanation they are giving us is that the virement approved by the National
Assembly has lapsed; that it is only capital projects that it (virement) can
accommodate, it cannot accommodate overhead.
“In fact, except
if the National Assembly intervenes now, there is a tendency that even this
year’s budget may not capture these issues. And that is why we have decided
that enough is enough. We are going to picket where we know the problems are.
“Mr President has
directed; the delay we have now is between Finance and Budget. So, if we picket
these offices, somebody must come out to tell us the truth so that the whole
world will know where the problem is; and on this we stand.”
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