Civil Servants We reject removal of wage from exclusive legislative list — union

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) on Monday rejected the proposed removal of wages from Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent list.

The association, in a statement, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to reject the recommendation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) committee led by Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State.

The statement was signed by ASCSN President, Bobboi Kaigama, and its Secretary-General, Alade Lawal.

It would be recalled that the APC committee recommended that labour should be removed from Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent one.

The statement criticised plans to deregulate wages under the guise of restructuring the polity.

It said that if wage and other labour-related matters were removed from the Exclusive Legislative List, governors, most of whom are not paying salaries would further impoverish Nigerian workers.

”We, believe that labour like other institutions such as the army, navy, air force, customs service and immigration are symbols of national unity and should be retained in the Exclusive Legislative List,” it said.

The ASCSN also said that there would be conflict in the industrial relations arena if millions of workers in the 36 States of the federation would start to form their own Trade Unions.

The trade union urged the National Assembly, civil society groups and religious leaders to reject removing wage and other labour related issues from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List.