Workers at the National Assembly, under the aegis of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria , have commenced an indefinite strike over the non-payment of a backlog of salaries and allowances by the management.
PASAN issued the strike notice on Sunday via a statement issued by its Secretary General, Hammed Awobifa.
In the statement titled ‘PASAN Declares Indefinite Strike to Demand Full Implementation of the Revised Conditions of Service (2018),’ the association stated that the industrial action was coming after three notices to the management led by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Amos Ojo, within three weeks.
The statement read, “The Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, National Assembly Service Commission and National Assembly (chapters), at its joint congress meeting(sic) of 2nd June, 2022, resolved to embark on an indefinite strike over the failure of the National Assembly management to implement the subsisting MoU jointly signed by NASC and NASS management and PASAN on the 13th of April, 2021.
PASAN had issued a communiqué on the 28th March, 2022, where it demanded full implementation of the subsisting MoU and the Revised Conditions of Service. It also notified the National Assembly management of 21 days, 14 days and 7 days service of notice for industrial action if by 31st May, 2022, National Assembly Management failed to comply with the congress resolution.”
PASAN listed the items in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the parties to include 24 months’ arrears of minimum wage/consequential adjustment in which the management paid only 16 months, leaving a balance of eight months and 13 days; and full implementation of the Conditions of Service in the MoU signed in April 2021, to which implementation had started but stopped.
“In view of this unfortunate development, the Association is embarking on an indefinite Strike commencing from 12 midnight on Sunday 5th June, 2022,” the statement.
(The Witness)
