NEMA workers begin indefinite strike

    The Association of Senior Civil Servant of Nigeria (ASCSN) and Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Unit, have embarked on an indefinite strike over failure of the management to adhere to public service rules. Hajiya Hasfat Shuiabu, the Treasurer of ASCSN, confirmed the development in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Thursday.

   NAN report that staff of the agency in Minna office were seen with placard with an inscription such as “Mustapha Maihaja must go”, “Mustapha we are tired of aluta", "pay our claims or resign", "enough is enough".  The other read: “No hazard allowance, no life assurance cover”, “Who will die next”, “No promotion exercise”, “Give us training it is statutory”, “Maihaja is an electrician, we are humanitarian”. She explained that the union had written several letters, issued 21, 14, and seven days ultimatum respectively to NEMA over refusal of the agency to pay legitimate claims of deserving staff and refusal of management to review the personal life assurance policy for staff of NEMA.

    She added that the content of the letters were refusal of management of NEMA to carry out staff annual training and refusal to pay Daily Transport Allowance and other claims to deserving staff.  Shuaibu added that there were monthly unauthorised payments to certain categories of staff using nepotism by the agency management without due process. She noted that letters were copied to the office of the President, Vice President, Head of Service, President of Senate, Minister of Labour, House of Representatives Department of State Services, Army and other critical stakeholders.

    “The national secretariat wrote to declare three days warning strike and the Head of Service wrote the Minister of Labour to intervene.  “We had a meeting with labour minister and reached an agreement with a time frame of two weeks to meet our demand. “The two weeks elapses and nothing was done another three weeks was given for payment of our allowances which elapsed on Oct. 17, that is why we are embarking on strike,” she said. She said that a staff meeting was held with the management of the agency to address failure of the management to adhere to financial regulation and public service rule and in the process, the unit Vice Chairman and the unit Treasurer were posted outside the head