Courts and other justice related institutions within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, were on Thursday, shut down by officials of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in compliance with the indefinite strike that was declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Locked out of their offices by the striking workers, included the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judges of both the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court, as well as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
Justices of the Supreme Court, judges, lawyers and litigants were equally denied entry into any court within the FCT.
Aside the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, other places currently locked down by the protesting workers are the Federal Ministry of Justice, the National Industrial Court, the Code of Conduct Bureau & Tribunal, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria and the National Human Rights Commission.
Commercial banks within the premises of both the Court of Appeal and the Federal Ministry of Justice were equally affected as labour officials ensured that all the gates remained under lock and keys. The NLC had directed its members and affiliate unions to commence a nationwide strike on Thursday.
The NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, said the industrial action was necessitated by Federal Government’s refusal to reconvene the meeting of the tripartite national minimum wage committee to enable it to conclude its work.
The workers are demanding a new minimum wage of about N50,000 from the current national minimum wage of N18,000. Wabba directed all workers and private sector at all levels across the country to comply with the down-tool order.
“All public and private institutions, offices, banks, schools, public and private business premises, including filling station, are to remain shut till further notice,” the labour leader ordered. In compliance with the directive, JUSUN asked its members to shutdown courts nationwide to press home their demand for a new minimum wage.
President of JUSUN, Mr. Marwan Adamu, who gave the directive in Abuja, maintained that effective from Thursday, all courts in the country must remain closed, pending a counter instruction from the national Secretariat of the union.
“As an affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), all members of JUSUN are to stay back at home from Wednesday midnight , 26th September, 2018. Also, all Courts are expected to remain shut until further directive from the national Secretariat of our great union. “A committee in conjunction with the NLC and other stakeholders was put in place to go round to ensure complaince with the directive”, he stated.
~Vanguard
0 comments:
Post a Comment