The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has suspended its four weeks old strike over the non-settlement of arrears and entitlements of staff of 104 Federal Unity Colleges throughout the country.
The organisation however called for the removal of the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. MacJohn Nwaobiala.
Members of ASCSN in the Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Inspectorate Offices and the 104 Federal Unity Colleges have been on strike since Friday, October 19, 2014,
A statement by the Secretary-General of ASCSN, Mr. Alade Lawal, said the suspension of the industrial action followed the release of the sum of N527.6 million by the Federal Government.
The amount is now being used to pay the first batch of the promotion arrears to the staff of the Federal Ministry of Education.
He also premised the suspension on appeals by well-meaning Nigerians including the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Service Matters after a recent tripartite meeting where the legislatures emphasized the need for the Ministry “to pay its staff all their outstanding entitlements.”
The ASCSN also defended its call for the removal of Nwaobiala, saying his negative attitude towards the welfare of workers and the ignoble role he played by treating welfare issues with levity “provided the ingredients that fueled the industrial action.”
Lawal said, “If the Permanent Secretary had done the needful, all the allowances, many of which have been outstanding since 2007 would have been paid. Persistent strikes in the Education sector have more than confirmed that the Permanent Secretary has lost his bearing and as such, the best option for the government is to post him out of the Federal Ministry of Education before he completely destroys the sector.”
A task force made up of representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, ASCSN and the Federal Ministry of Education has been set up to ensure that the N1.7bn needed to complete the payment of promotion arrears and other allowances are released by the Budget Office of the Federation.
Part of the agreement reached between representatives government and ASCSN staff reads: “The outstanding sum of N1.7bn which covers the balance of 2007 to 2010 promotion arrears, the supplementary promotion arrears for 2011, promotion arrears for 2012, outstanding salaries for newly employed and re-instatement allowance, will be paid immediately the sum of N1.7bn is released to the Federal Ministry of Education by the Budget Office of the Federation.
The sum of N25m will be set aside by the Ministry monthly (with effect from September, 2014) to offset other Allowances owed members of staff.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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