Anxiety grips Railway workers as govt slashes allocation by 65 per cent
By Moses Ebosele, Transport Reporter
WORKERS of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) may be on a collision course with the Federal Government over the slashing of the parastatal's monthly allocation by 65 per cent.
This action by the Federal Government, The Guardian learnt, was an alleged fulfilment of its threat to the management of the corporation for failing to ensure financial autonomy.
While the management of the ailing corporation was awaiting a sum of N2 billion from the government to effect the payment of gratuities of about 7,000 members of its staff that might be affected by the regime of financial autonomy, it discovered that its monthly allocation had dropped by 65 per cent.
The development, The Guardian learnt yesterday at the Lagos head office of the corporation had caused the parastatal to owe its workers their salaries again. They are now being owed two months salaries.
The regime on financial autonomy was earlier scheduled to begin on January 1, 2004.
Currently, the personnel strength of NRC stands at 14,000 and the corporation generates about N30 million monthly against its N210 million wage bill
A source told The Guardian yesterday that a meeting was held recently between the management of the corporation and it's two inhouse unions on how to resolve the issue without disrupting activities at the parastatal
The source disclosed that during the meeting, it was resolved that the two in-house unions should pacify its members while efforts would be made by all to prevail on the Federal Government to rescind its decision on financial autonomy
The workers, it was suggested, by being owed two months salaries appeared to give credence to speculations that the Federal Government might have assumed that the corporation's workforce had been reduced by 50 percent.
Chairman of the dissolved board of NRC, Alhaji Waziri Mohammed said recently that a regime of self sustenance, which entailed withdrawal of subsidies by the Federal Government would lead to the retrenchment of 50 percent of the parastatal's workforce.
Waziri also disclosed that during a meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo last year, the government pledged to make N2 billion available to settle gratuities of workers that would be affected, though it was determined to peg the monthly bill at N100 million.
"We (NRC) have to use what we earn to sustain our operations as from January, 2004", said Waziri.
Also, in February this year, President Obasanjo noted that since its inception, the NRC had operated as a public concern with the government providing grants and subventions for its operations, while its performance had continued to decline.
Contacted via telephone on Monday, President General of National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), Alhaji Ado Maigoro, said he was on his way to Abuja, but that he would speak on the issue on Tuesday next week.
A statement dated August 19, 2004 issued by the Union and pasted at strategic locations within the corporation's head office in Lagos, however appealed to the workers to remain calm.
The union, in the statement addressed to the Minister of Transport, said: "The union is appreciative of the kind and fatherly hospitality of the President and Commander-in-Chief, President Olusegun Obasanjo, who magnanimously granted in 2003 the "personnel cost" for the serving Nigerian Railway Staff. This took us (workers) to June 2004.
"The union is reliably informed that the Federal Government, with the signing into law of the 2004 Budget, the allocation for NRC was reduced by 65 percent, thus the problem of the corporation is compounded. This has led us back to the days of "Begger Economy" which we pray "Isha-Allah" shall not be"
The statement, signed by Alhaji Ado Maigoro (President) and Akinyanju M., (Acting Secretary) claimed the Federal Government was of the view that the management of NRC " must have carried out the retrenchment billed for December 2003".
It appealed to the Minister of Transport to revisit the option of reducing the allocation, since according to it, the retrenchment exercise had not been effected.
Contacted on Monday, Assistant Director (Public Relations) of the NRC, David Ndakotsu, confirmed that there was a meeting between the two in-house unions and the management of the parastatal.
He added that it was resolved that the leaders of the unions should communicate the situation to their members. "The information is just is contained in the statement issued by the union leaders".
