Members of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation and Recreation Service Employees (AUPTRE), an umbrella body for staff of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has issued a twenty-one (21) day ultimatum to management of the Commission and Ministry of Trade and Investment to meet their demands or face indefinite action.
The Chairman of AUPTRE, Ibrahim Kirfi made the disclosure on Wednesday while addressing staff of the Commission. The decision according to him, followed unfruitful engagements between the Union and the management of the Commission led by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Aminu Aliyu Bisalla.
He lamented that the delay in the settlement of their grievance should be viewed as sabotage, since the proposed strike would ground administrative business at the Commission's offices across the country. He accused the Registrar General (RG) of being insensitive to the plight of the staff, stressing that the workers have endured with the management for too long.
Vigil360 had exclusively reported plot by the workers to proceed on indefinite strike following the delay by the Commission to implement a tripartite agreement entered into with the Ministry and Management of the Commission in 2013.
The agreement bothered on payment of salary differentials of 9% from January 2014, immediate inauguration of a committee to bridge the gap in salaries between executive and non-executive staff, payment of promotion arrears and other welfare related packages.
Despite marathon meetings on Monday between the Permanent Secretary, the Management of the Commission and the aggrieved workers, it was learnt that nothing tangible was agreed on. On Tuesday, the Union leaders were also invited to meet the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige. The meeting was also deadlocked.
Sources at the Commission revealed to Vigil360 that the Wednesday meeting between the RG and staff was first since 2012. He described the meeting as a ''wasted effort" intended to persuade the staff from proceeding on strike. He disclosed that the RG had in the past deliberately refused to organize such parley, explaining that the development had adversely affected the performance of the Commission. As such engagements usually provided the platform for performance assessment and provision of solution for challenges that maybe hindering productivity.
The source concluded that if urgent steps are not taken to address the situation, the staff may change their demand and intensify agitation for the removal of the current management.
With the Presidency taking steps to ease the process of doing business in the country, especially with the recent signing of three Executive Orders, the planned strike could constitute a major setback to the plans of government.
