By Nicholas Obisike
The Association of Nigeria Railway Senior Citizens (ANRSC), the umbrella body of retirees of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), has passed a vote of no confidence on the leadership of two in-house unions of the corporation.
The Chairman of ANRSC, Eastern District, Mr Monday Nnaona, made this known to newsmen during their peaceful protest on Wednesday in Enugu, to show showing their grievances.
Nnaona alleged that the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers (NUR) and Senior Staff Association (SSA) are “playing double standards on the monetization policy of the Federal Government on Railway quarters.
According to him, the two in-house unions are playing double standards and nursing a hidden agenda with the Management of the NRC to sell the staff quarters to themselves.
“They want to actualise this by shutting out the retirees in the ongoing discussions regarding monetization policy.
“We went to the National Industrial Court (NIC), Lagos, over the monetization matter and got a judgement in our favour, beside the monetization policy offers us the right of first refusal,” he said.
He said members of ANRSC condemned in its entirety, the unions’ conspiracy with Railway Management to mislead the Minister.
“Any Railways Management staff, NUR or SSA, making presentation to the Minister or Ministerial Committee on monetization of Railway quarters to the effect that he or she wants to recover monetized staff quarters.
“In order to allocate them to serving staff, this is insincere, selfish and dishonest because such claims cannot be anything but a calculated and dubious ploy to mislead the Minister and embarrass the Federal Government.
“While we appreciate the courage and good gesture of the Minister of Transport, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, he must not allow himself to be misled by the unions.
“We wish to make it clear that the unions cannot successfully settle this matter without seeking our input,” Nnaona said.
Former President, African Railway Workers Union, Mr Rapheal Okoro, called on the Nigeria Railway Corporation to maintain the court’s status quo.
He said, in 2011 when the NRC refused to do what other Parastatals and Agencies are doing, as the president of Railway Workers Union then, I personally took them to court.
“In January 2016, we won the Federal Government and the Management but to my greatest surprise, they appealed the judgement after many months.
“Since then, the case on appeal was delayed so that many of us will retire and now they turn around and tell us to leave the quarters.
“Our stand remains that we are supposed to be in the Monetization Committee, set up by the Minister, because we need and must be heard.
“Whatever that comes out of the committee without out voice being heard are not acceptable and cannot stand,” Okoro said. (NAN)
