Judicial Workers Call off Planned Strike
In a surprise move, the Supreme Court and National Judicial Council (NJC) chapters of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) have announced their withdrawal from the planned industrial action declared by the union.
The national headquarters of JUSUN had earlier declared a strike action, directing its members to down tools beginning from midnight on Sunday, citing unfruitful meetings with the Minister of Labour and Employment over the demands of the workers.
The union’s demands include the payment of a wage award spanning five months, implementation of the ₦70,000 national minimum wage, and the 25/35 percent salary increase.
However, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Danladi Nda Y., the Supreme Court chapter of JUSUN said it could not manage the short notice and decisions reached by the chapters at the lower courts.
The chapter cited the efforts of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to improve the welfare of workers at the apex court, and stated that it was discussing with other federal court chapters to ensure that these efforts yield the desired results.
Similarly, the NJC chapter of JUSUN, in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Joel Ebiloma, said it was working to resolve all pending issues and had resolved to give the minister and other critical stakeholders two weeks to solve the pending problems with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
The NJC chapter directed all staff to report to work on Monday, to allow relevant stakeholders to engage the necessary authorities and ensure that the Accountant General of the Federation releases the statutory allocations to the judiciary based on the 2025 appropriation, which includes the arrears wage award, minimum wage, and the 25/35 percent salary increase.
The withdrawal of the Supreme Court and NJC chapters from the planned strike is a significant development, and it remains to be seen how the national headquarters of JUSUN will respond to this move. The union’s national leadership had earlier stated that the strike action was necessary to press home the demands of the workers, but it appears that the Supreme Court and NJC chapters have taken a different approach.
