HOS Advises Labour Unions On Due Process

Labour Unions in Rivers State have been advised to employ due process in handling affairs concerning the welfare of workers.

The Head of Service (HOS), Barr. Samuel LongJohn gave the advice on Tuesday when the Executive and Unit Heads of the State Chapter of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Port Harcourt.

Barr. LongJohn, who was reacting to the purported 7-day ultimatum by Labour Unions, said it was improper for Labour Leaders to give an ultimatum to Government without his knowledge as Head of the State Civil Service, noting that he had been in office for over one month and no Labour Union had deemed it necessary to interact with him on ways of resolving issues affecting Civil Servants.

The Head of Service, who expressed disgust at their stance, pointed out that if they had found time to interact with him, they would have been informed of the efforts made at addressing their grievances, stressing that his office is supposed to be the first to know of any complaints by workers and would in turn present it to the Governor if the matter is beyond his powers.

“If you had come to me, perhaps you would have given me the benefit of doubt to see what could be done on the issue or how far we have gone”, he noted.

In response to some of the issues raised by the Union, the Head of Service said a process had been put in place to ensure that payslips are issued to workers two days before salaries are paid to enable them know the components of their salaries and detect errors or omissions.

On the implementation of GL. 17 for Directors and the tenure policy, the Head of Service said modalities on the implementation of GL 17 were being worked out while names of those affected in the tenure policy as well as the financial implications and accruing benefits had been compiled and submitted to the State Executive Council for final decision.

Barr. LongJohn said he would strive to work for the interest of workers adding that “anything that will benefit the Civil Servant is my first consideration”.

He assured workers who acquire higher qualifications of commensurate advancement and benefits but advised them to ensure they undertake courses relevant to their work schedule.

The Head of Service appealed to workers to exercise patience as everything was being done to address their grievances and called for suggestions on ways to move the service forward. “Anything that you think we need to do to move the service forward, please bring the idea up, the Head of Service is not a repository of knowledge”, he stressed.

He, however, said that gossips would not be condoned and hinted that he was working on the idea of setting up suggestion boxes to be mounted at strategic locations to encourage Civil Servants proffer ideas on ways of improving the Service.

Earlier, the Chairman of the State Chapter of the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Comrade Opuoyibo Lily-West congratulated the Head of Service on his appointment and assured him of their loyalty and support.

He used the forum to inform him of the 7-day ultimatum given to the State Government in reaction to the bulk deductions from workers salaries as well as other issues bothering Civil Servants which include stagnation and non-advancement of officers who had acquired higher qualifications, implementation of GL 17 for Directors, tenure policy and advancement of Executive Officers to GL. 15, payment of arrears of promotion, salary relativity and N18,000 minimum wage, among others.