President of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Waba, says the union will no longer condone the maltreatment of its members by some governors who refuse to pay salaries.
Waba said this during the opening ceremony of the 3rd National Delegate Conference of the Judicial Workers Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in Katsina on Friday.
He said that NLC would no longer watch such governors to be toying with the lives of their workers.
“We are aware that some governors have not paid their workers’ salaries and pensions for the past seven months.
“We have directed our chairmen in the 36 states to start protecting their members that have been denied their monthly wages.
“Some state governors are only interested in paying contractors with the objective of receiving gratifications from them.
“The NLC will not fold its arms and allow such governors to continue having a field day, while toying with the lives of civil servants.
“The NLC will give support to any state chairman who direct his workers to go on strike, the time has come for no retreat, no surrender by NLC.”
The president commended the officials and members of the judicial workers union for their maturity in conducting the delegate conference without rancour.
Earlier, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige, urged JUSUN to strengthen the trade union movements in Nigeria.
Ngige was represented by a Director in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Surajo Gambo.
Ngige advised the JUSUN to establish cooperative societies for easy access to commodities at affordable prices to mitigate the impact of inflation being faced by the workers.
“For successful deliberations, objectivity should be your watchwords and avoid sentimental approach as it can only lead to confusion in the union.
“I called on you to have the interest of all your members and the nation at large at heart. I enjoined you to support the present administration in revamping the nation’s economy, ” the minister said.
In his remarks, the National President of JUSUN, Alhaji Marwan Mohammed, called on the Federal Government to ensure the complete autonomy of the Judiciary.
“We are aware that the Executive and Legislature are having complete autonomy, while the judiciary is completely left behind,” he said
Mohammed said the judiciary as the most important tool for maintaining law and order must be given all the necessary support to function effectively.
