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The Federal Government on Thursday pledged to stop further sack of its civil servants. This is coming one day to the expiration.....
The Federal Government on Thursday pledged to stop further sack of its civil servants. This is coming one day to the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum handed to the government by the labour, which vowed to go on strike. Public sector unions have been angling to down tools over the controversial mass sacks.
However, in response to the gesture, labour accepted to suspend its proposed industrial action.
Labour had last weekend issued an ultimatum to government to put on hold the sack of over 33,000 workers or face industrial action.
The union leaders claimed that they were not informed of the mass sack or told the criteria adopted to select those being disengaged. This prompted a meeting between labour and governent.
At the end of the meeting on Thursday, the Federal Government accepted labour's demands and agreed to stay action on the mass sack. It also promised to meet with the union leaders in two weeks time for comprehensive discussion over the public service reform which prompted workers sack.
However, a drama incidentally ensued as the communiqué on the meeting could not be signed with government representatives claiming that the Head of Service (HOS) who had gone to the presidential villa, had to see it before they would sign.
Suspicious labour leaders who were not happy over the development, warned that government should not play games with them as they need to brief their members on the outcome of the meeting on Friday morning.
Secretary General of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Mr. Solomon Onaighnon, and President of Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Mr. Fidelis Edeh, said they would abide by the letters of the resolution and watch to see if government would fulfill its own part of the bargain.
The meeting was chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Establishment and Pension, Mallam Shehu Sulaiman, with a brief appearance of the FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, who is the head of the Public Service Reform Bureau coordinating the sacks.