Enugu, JUSUN disagrees over wage bill

The Enugu state Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Barr. Emeka Okeke, has said that the state is not in a sound financial footing to pay the “outrageous” wage bill of judiciary workers.
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Okeke, who was reacting to the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) Enugu state chapter over non-implementation of the consolidated judiciary staff salary (CONJUSS), said that the government is negotiating with the union to call off the strike but pointed out that on no account will the government pay what he described as a “bogus bill.”

Okeke said that government has asked JUSUN to go back to work while negotiation between the two parties is going on but JUSUN seems to have developed deaf ears.

He said that government is interested in the workers’ welfare but would not bulge to pay a bogus wage bill capable of stifling other development projects.

According to him, “government has asked JUSUN to go back to work to see what we can do. We are interested in enhancing the workers’ salary but government will not be able to pay a bogus wage bill,” Okeke intimates.

To settle the impasse, the commissioner said that government has set up a committee that would look into the grievances of the judiciary staff with the aim of paying their salary, pointing out that JUSUN is part of the joint committee and wondered why they would not resume work.

He however said that in spite of JUSUN’s seemed obduracy, they are still negotiating to end the impasse.

“Negotiation is ongoing. We are working round the clock to resolve the issue,” Okeke declared.

Meanwhile, JUSUN said it is not ready to go back to work unless their CONJUSS is paid.

“The ball is in their court. If they meet with our demand, we’ll call off the strike and resume work,” JUSUN chairman, Comrade Chinedu Mba has said.