Judicial Institute Declares Court Workers' Strike Illegal, Threatens Sack
WITH less than 48 hours to the strike by court workers nationwide, the Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute has countered with a threat to sack them if they dared to embark upon the action.
The court employees had last week served a notice that from next Monday they would embark on a strike to demand for improvement of their working conditions.
But in a press statement made available to The Guardian, the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice John Ajakaiye said "The Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute, which consists of the Chief of Nigeria, President Court of Appeal, all the Chief Judges of the State, representatives of the Grand Kadis and Presidents of the Customary Courts of Appeal, has declared as illegal the proposed strike action by the Judiciary Staff Association of Nigeria (JUSAN).
"The Board reminds the members that they are not a registered Trade Union but an Association which has no right to embark on such a strike."
"The Board at its meeting held on Thursday, 2nd December, 2004 at the Supreme Court Complex, Abuja, condemned the action of the Judiciary Staff Association of Nigeria (JUSAN) and resolved as follows:
- The issues raised by the association could not be handled without amendment of the relevant provisions of the constitution;
- issues are state matters which State Judicial Service Commissions can adequately deal with;
- the issues had already been discussed in the past between the association, the Executive Committee of the Court Registrars and the Chief Justice of the Federation;
- the Board directed all staff of the Judiciary nationwide to disregard the proposed strike scheduled for Monday; and warned that;
- any worker who failed to report for duty would be regarded as having abandoned his/her duty post and would be disciplined.
