Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) workers have threatened to go on strike over unpaid wages in seven days.
The unions representing the members of staff demanded the settlement of 42 months of outstanding arrears by May 20th, 2024 and that failure to comply will result in a withdrawal of services.
A letter addressed to the director general of the agency and signed by the general secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE),
Ocheme Aba, General Secretary, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Waheed Sikiru and Secretary General of
Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Abdulrasaq Saidu, accused the management of NiMet of being deceptive in previous payment agreements and called for a restructuring of the salary system.
“Your management took the decision to off-set the payment of the 45 months arrears on an instalment basis. It turned out to be a gimmick to just avert the strike as management discontinued the payment after only three months. This left a balance of forty-two (42) months,” the unions said.
The management responded by assuring staff of their commitment to resolving the issue and expressed optimism that a positive outcome is forthcoming.
They assured that they are working on resolving the issue but pointed out that the issues predates the current administration.
NiMet’s Director of Human Resources, Dr. Nasiru Sani, clarified the issue’s preexisting nature but assured ongoing engagement with unions and updates on progress. He cited recent discussions with union reps at the Budget Office.
“We are optimistic and hopeful of a positive outcome. The Budget Office informed us during our last visit with the union representative that arrears payments are not unique to NiMet. They have placed NiMet in the sixth batch of scheduled payments. Currently they are paying the fifth batch,” he said.