Enugu judiciary workers embark on strike over salary structure

WORKERS under the auspices of the Judicial Service Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) Enugu State Chapter, have embarked on strike for non-implementation of their enhanced salary structure, even as the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Honourable Meletus Eze has declared it as illegal.

The entrance gate to the state High Court,  Magistrate Courts, Customary Courts and many other state courts were locked up on Monday while court sittings were paralysed as judges and magistrates abandoned the courts.

Efforts to reach the chairman of the JUSUN, Chinedu Mba, for comment on the strike were not fruitful at the time of filing this report.

The State Commissioner for Justice, who spoke on the development, described the strike as illegal, pointing out that it was even more annoying considering the fact that the government was not owing the judiciary workers any salary.

Eze recalled that the issue of consolidated salary for judiciary workers came to the table in 2010 after Chief Judges came together with the CONJUSS and imposed same on states.

According to him, JUSUN took the proposal to states and demanded that it should be implemented, pointing out that the Enugu State Government took the matter to the National Industrial Court and that on the 23rd September, 2016, the government secured an injunction barring the workers from going ahead to coerce government into adopting the salary structure.

He noted, “they have not appealed against the injunction”, and wondered why they took the option of strike even when efforts were going on by committee already set-up by government to resolve the impasse amicably.