National Assembly Clerk sets up panel to avert workers’ strike

Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Olatunde Ojo, has set up an implementation committee to prevent workers’ strike.

The move followed a 14-day ultimatum by the National Assembly’s chapter of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), which threatened to down tools, if the grievances of its members are not addressed by March 31.

Ojo, who spoke at the weekend while inaugurating the Committee on the Implementation of the Condition of Service in the National Assembly, said the management would continue to prioritise its workers’ welfare.

A statement in Abuja by the Special Adviser on Media and Labour Matters to the CNA, Austen Adesoro, said the committee was set up to amicably address the concerns raised by the workers in their letter to management.

The nine-man committee is chaired by the Secretary for Human Resources and Staff Development of the National Assembly, Elder Felix Orunwese.

Ojo said the National Assembly’s management would ensure that the workers get what is due to them.

The CNA underscored the need for dialogue as a panacea for the situation, instead of unnecessary agitations.

“You will agree with me that this historic meeting is actually called to demonstrate our commitment and passionate desire to make your Condition of Service (CoS) a continuous priority.

“I want to say it loud and clear that we shall never rest on our desire to make all workers of the National Assembly very important always, because of the high value management places on you.

“This proactive dimension we have tailored out informed the inauguration of the Committee on the Implementation of the Condition of Service, which shall continuously be used within the National Assembly under our watch,” he said.