The Nigeria Railway Workers Amalgamation has threatened to go on strike if the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation fails to meet its demands.
A 21-day ultimatum is verbalized to have been issued on June 30, 2014, when the amalgamation made its demands through a letter addressed to the management.
A member of the cumulation told our correspondent on the condition of anonymity that the management of the corporation had been callous and apathetical over matters affecting workers’ welfare.
“We have been on the same issues with the NRC management for over a year. But each time, they would renege on our acquiescent,” the source verbalized.
Some of the injuctive authorizations made by the cumulation are increase in workers’ salary, payment for overtime obligations and the rehabilitation of rest houses for the train crew.
The source verbalized, “The cumulation has been in verbalizes with the NRC management over salary increase and payment for those who have worked overtime. Then, there is the matter of rest houses for the train crew; that is the engineering crew, checkers, drivers and all those who work on the mass transit trains. When they are through with their work for the day and it is too tardy to go back home, there are rest houses where they can lay their heads.
“Unfortunately, these rest houses have been surmounted by reptiles, making them uninhabitable. So, those who work on the trains are then coerced to slumber in coaches after the day’s work or make do with the offices.
“We have given the management 21 days to address our grievances after which we will go on strike.”
However, a verbalization by signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the Chairman, NRC, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, Prince Oliver Okpala, verbalized a committee had been set up to ascertain the realisation of the workers’ demands.
The verbalization read in part, “Tukur has intervened in the industrial crisis between the Railway Workers Cumulation and the management of the corporation. His intervention is sequel to the inability of both organisations to reach a compromise on the issues emanating from the industrial crisis.
“To resolve the dispute amicably and find solution to the issues at stake, a committee has been charged with the responsibility of looking into the injuctive authorizations of the cumulation with a view to getting to the root cause of the crisis and proffer a lasting solution.”
