NAICOM staff down tools over welfare

Members of staff of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) have commenced a three-day warning strike over their welfare and other labour issues.

The staff, who staged a peaceful protest on Monday at the commission’s head office in Abuja to announce the strike, demanded for payment of their entitlements, promotions and improved working environment, working tools such as laptops, desktops, inverters and inspection vehicles among others.

The union, under the auspices of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) said the strike became imperative considering the NAICOM’s management’s inability to meet their demands. The union’s demands, signed by Mr. Alade Bashir Lawal, the Secretary-General of ASCSN, said if their demands were not met during the three days’ warning strike, they would commence indefinite strike action.

According to Comrade Ibrahim Abdullateef, the chairman of ASCSN in NAICOM, their demands included but were not limited to, lack of capacity building, refusal to commence promotion for the year 2017, indiscriminate granting of waivers, victimisation of union members, staff conditions of service among others.

The union also noted that the strike action became imperative as NAICOM management failed to sign a memorandum of terms of settlement brokered by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Attempt to get the NAICOM spokesman, Mr. Rasaaq Salami’s comments were unsuccessful as his lines didn’t connect as at press time.