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Engineer Fidet Okhiria, MD of NRC
NRC Workers Threaten Total Shutdown Of Railway Activities Over Poor Working Condition
Fred Omotara, Lagos
Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) workers under the aegies of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NUR) have vowed to shut down railway activities any moment from now over lingering poor working conditions.
In a statement jointly signed on Tuesday by the President-General of the NUR, Comrade Innocent Luka Ajiji and the Union Secretary, Segun Esan, the railway workers said any moment from now, railway services will be shut down over failure of government to review working conditions of workers.
According to the statement, which was made available to kadecommunicationng, “The condemnable insensitivity of the management and the Board of Nigerian Railway Corporation to the welfare and wellbeing of the teeming railway workers may compel the industry to witness a total and indefinite strike action any moment from now.
“It is unfortunate and most disheartening that, almost 8 months after the Nigerian Railway workers’ 3-day nationwide warning strike of November 2021 was suspended and clear agreement reached between the Union and the management with January 2022 deadline for the management to provide answers to the charter of demands of the workers, no significant achievement has been made by the management so far to assuage the aggrieved workers till now.
“For instance, the standard condition of service which was reviewed last in 1978 and on which the workers demanded a review for immediate application has been kept in the cooler unattended after a review committee was inaugurated to work on it. The review committee worked inconclusively and till now, there is no known standard condition of service in the rail transport industry.
“Similar to this, the approval of ninety five percent for salary enhancement has remained a nominal approval without any hope in sight as to when it will translate to cash for the workers. For the purpose of recollection, other workers welfare demands that led to the warning strike include non-payment of allowances; slavish use of the workers beyond the prescribed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week (weekends excluded) by the Public Service Rule PSR; non-payment of workers’ salaries by IPPIS till the salaries are lost and unpaid; administrative delay in promotion procedures which culminate in accumulation of promotion arrears and subsequent loss of same; serial ejection of workers from their staff quarters with unfulfilled promise to replace and allocate quarters to the affected staff accordingly; transferring workers from one location to another without adequate provision for their comfort and convenience; among many others.”
