Another round of crisis is brewing at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) as the workers have declared a trade disputes against the management of the commission. The workers, under auspices of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), warned that a…
Another round of crisis is brewing at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) as the workers have declared a trade disputes against the management of the commission.
The workers, under auspices of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), warned that a breakdown of law and order is becoming inevitable.
In a letter written to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, in which SSASCGOC attached the copy of the trade dispute, they called for urgent intervention of the minister and asked the government to do the needful to avoid disruption of activities and the industrial peace being enjoyed in NIMC.
The copy of the trade dispute, dated 16 March, 2017, was attached to the letter which was sent directly to the minister.
Titled: “Notification of Trade Dispute by Employer/Worker’s Organisation,” it reads: “In accordance with Section 4 of the Trade Disputes Decree, 1976, I, Comrade Akin Okudero, Asst. General Secretary (Organising) on behalf of the General Secretary, Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), hereby give notice that a trade dispute has been declared between the said SSASCGOC and NIMC management.”
According to the trade dispute notification, the points of dispute include the attempt by NIMC management to force all SSASCGOC members in the commission into the Association of Senior a Civil Service of Nigeria (ASCSN), against the Labour Act; biased and unfair Labour practice as well as refusal to release promotion letters of staff who passed the 2015 promotion examination.
Other reasons include the management refusal to implement the recommendation of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on the salary structure of NIMC; and an alleged placing of officers who falsified records by obtaining fake conversion promotion/appointment letters above other staff who did not participate in the fraud.
It also include victimization of SSASCGOC executive members in NIMC, misuse and abuse of public service rules, while all steps taken to reach agreement, such as various letters written and meetings held were without resolution and to no avail.
The letter dated 16 March, 2017, and titled: “Trade Union in NIMC,” the workers informed the minister of the declaration of trade dispute, and warned of possible breakdown of law and order.
Signed by the SSASCGOC President, Comrade Mohammed Yunusa, the letter read: “Under the directive of the Central Working Committee of SSASCGOC, we write to reject the recent decision of the NIMC management and consequently declare a trade dispute with regards to membership of trade union in the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
“This has become imperative in view of the management biased and unfair Labour practice as contained in the NIMC memo dated Wednesday 15 March, 2017. We therefore call for an urgent intervention of the minister to enable us calm the frayed nerves of our members and avoid a breakdown of law and order which is becoming inevitable due to strong biase disposition of the management of the commission against the wishes of the employees of the Organisation.
The General Secretary of SSASCGOC, Comrade Ayo Olorunfemi, while clarifying the issue further said the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria can only organize core civil servants, adding that the staff of NIMC are not civil servants.
Comrade Olorunfemi said: “By virtue of National Industrial Court (NIC) judgment, ASCSN can only unionize civil servants. Also, by virtue of that judgment SSASCGOC can unionize staff of statutory corporations and government owned companies. What that means is that any corporate government entities that is established by Act of Parliament are statutory corporations and that also include NIMC, which was established by NIMC Act of 2007.”
He stated that the primary reason why the management of NIMC, under its present director general is resisting SSASCGOC is because of the issue of workers’ salaries.
He pointed out that SSASCGOC was demanding the implementation of the recommendation of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on the salary structure of NIMC; which placed NIMC on the same salary structure with the Federal Road Safety Corp and Immigration.
Olorunfemi explained that what SSASCGOC is asking for is not an increment in salary but the implementation of the salary structure on NIMC which has been built into its budget, alleging that the excess of the money meant for the salary were being diverted.
