Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi

Nigeria’s fledging rail transport services across the country may be totally paralysed as workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation NRC are set to begin a three-day warning strike to protest poor welfare comprising lack of provision of accommodation, non-payment of salaries and allowances, accusing the management of lack of commitment towards the wellbeing of the workers over the years. The workers warn that if their demands were not met after the warning strike, slated for Thursday, November 18-Saturday 20, they will embark on a total indefinite strike action.

This decision is sequel to a joint meeting held in Lagos, Wednesday, November 10, 2021, where various demands on the welfare of the workers of the NRC were discussed and allegedly communicated in writing to the management.

The workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers NUR and Senior Staff Association SSA, NRC branch, in a letter dated November 15, 2021, addressed to the Managing Director of the NRC and copy made available to our correspondent said it would begin the warning strike to press home their demand for a better working condition.

Copies of the letter jointly signed by the President General, NUR, Comrade Innocent Ajiji, President, SSA, NRC branch, Comrade Aliyu Mainasara, Secretary General, NUR, Comrade Segun Esan and Secretary, SSA, NRC branch Comrade Jibrin Kadiri were sent to the Minister of Transport, Chairman, Nigerian Railway Board, all RDMs, President, NLC, ITUC, Commissioner of Police, Trackpol, Commandant, NCD&SC NRC Command and District Chairmen / Secretaries, NUR/SSA, among others.

Some of the welfare issues raised by the workers include their demand for rents to the occupants of the demolished NRC quarters at Alagomeji, Loco area beyond just one year rent given them in 2018 when their quarters were demolished for the construction of Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway.

They accused the management of tactically rejecting this hence making life so harrowing for the affected occupants; secondly non-payment of promotion arrears for 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, which was caused by delays year in year out in administrative preparation for the promotion exercise; report of skipped and unpaid monthly salaries of some workers especially those who entered service in 2019. Also listed was the transferring of workers without adequate provision of accommodation and relocation allowances; deliberate refusal to complete the review of the standard condition of service started few years ago, which was last reviewed for implementation in 1978; delayed allocation of the replaced quarters to all the occupants of the demolished quarters at Ebj and environs hence causing the affected workers serious mental, social, and financial agony past three years.

Others include the demolition of some quarters in Oshogbo and subsequent reallocation of same to the affected occupants as rest houses instead of allocation as staff quarters; demolition of staff quarters in Ikeja, Lagos and handing same to LAMATA without due diligence and without a tripartite agreement between LAMATA, the workers’ representatives and failure of the management in detailing conditions, terms and plans to replace the demolished quarters.

The workers also complained non-payment of allowances to the workers especially those in AKTS and WITS, who work during the weekends and beyond the 40 hours per week as clearly prescribed by the PSR; demand for salary enhancement; conversion of some workers in the industrial clinics from CONHESS to CONPSS salary regime and deliberately ignoring the fact that these workers are to enjoy CONHESS salary structure as succinctly explained in the circular from the office of the Executive Chairman of the NSIWC, Ref No SWC/S/04/S.410/Vol. II/349 of 8th December 2009 and general deplorable condition of work etc.

The letter reads in part: “The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers NUR and Senior Staff Association SSA NRC branch, in a joint meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday, 10th November 2021, where various demands on the welfare of the workers of the Corporation communicated in writing to your Management were taken through exhaustively critical discourse and review, has finally unanimously resolved to state, with a great sense of humility and reverence to your esteemed office.

“Against the backdrop of the fact that the majority of these demands have been existing with us for years and the fact that we have always, and time without number, brought them before you with the thinning of hopes that the toiling workers of the Corporation will ever get any respite in terms of good welfare and enviable condition of service, you have demonstrated convincingly enough to us that you lack the will and commitment to providing spontaneous answers that will ultimately translate to fruition all our legitimate demands to you exclusively on the welfare of the workers.

“Rather than make our demands happen realistically as we always ever hope, you have consistently indulged in time buying and endless placative pontification as well as condoning your dealing Directors who, on several occasions, have always been directed by you in our presence to attend to our legitimate charter of demands as such fall within their purview but to no avail.

“With your attitude towards the welfare of the workers of the corporation and style of responding to matters of importance to the workers, we have completely lost the hope that things will ever get better for the toiling workers of the Corporation under your management if the only approach and methodology explored to relate with you is our usual leniency, perseverance, understanding, willful cooperation and comradeship which you have completely frustrated.

“As far as our collective memory can recollect, sir, we exist under no hesitation whatsoever to inform you of some of our legitimate demands your management has always played around without providing definitive responses with a view to meeting them.

“In view of all the foregoing, the leaderships of the NUR and SSA have unanimously resolved to embark on a three-day warning strike nationwide with effect from Thursday, 18th to Saturday 20th November 2021 and with plans to mobilise for total and indefinite strike action should all our demands still be left unmet.

“In view of the planned three-day warning strike over which the entire workers of the corporation have been fully mobilised, we reason to inform you to take absolute responsibility of ensuring the safety and protection of all the railway assets- fixed and movable -and the workshops all through the period the warning strike will last;

“Our intention and reason for embarking on this strike is to bring to the awareness of the Federal Government, your management, and the Nigerian public the painful and inhuman condition under which railway workers work and ultimately earn your empathy and that of the Federal Government to meet our legitimate and just demands.

“The entire workers of the Corporation have sworn never again to continue to suffer deprivations, demotivation, neglect, and poverty while the diverse Nigerian publics exist in the conviction that all is rosy with us here just simply because of the heavily mediatised infrastructural renewals ongoing in the rail transport sub-economy”.