Barely 24 hours after Organised Labour called off its two-day warming strike over the inability of Cross River state government to come through on the payment of 70,000 naira minimun wage , Magistrates in state on Wednesday embarked on a 3-day industrial action over alleged poor welfare and other conditions of service.
This was contained in a release jointly signed by Godwin Onah, Cross River Chairman of Magistrates Association of Nigeria and his Secretary, Solomon Abuo and made available to newsmen.
In the release, the Magistrates decried the non implementation of their promotions noting that the industrial action will not cease until their demands were met by the government.
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They added that apart from government’s failure to implement their promotions, it has also refused to see to the overall welfare and working environment of Magistrates, as most of their courts were in worrisome conditions
“Sequel to our communique issued on 5th November, 2024, arising from the general meeting where eight demands were made from the Government of Cross River.
“Furthermore, sequel to our letter to the Governor of Cross River State dated 11th November, 2024, where the notice of strike, was extended to Friday 22nd November, 2024 to enable the State Government to attend to our demands, and having failed to do so till date, we hereby issue this bulletin.
“In line therefore with our congress resolution to proceed on a warning strike, three days warning strike Is hereby declared by the state chapter of the Magistrates.
“This action in the first instance, will be effective from 6am of Wednesday, 27th November 2024 to Friday , 29™️ November, 2024.
“If the state government fails to meet our demands, an indefinite strike shall be embarked upon until all our demands are fully met.”
Recall that the magistrates had earlier in the month issued a seven days ultimatum to the state government to effect promotion for its members that have remained stagnant since 2015.
The magistrates also decried the payment of N15,000 as monthly impress to magistrates in the state when compared to magistrates in neighbouring states that receive between N200,000 and N250,000 monthly
While also demanding for the rehabilitation of magistrate courts across the state, the association further decried government’s inability to provide them with official vehicles
It further demanded immediate implementation of promotion and regularisation of magistrates in the state with necessary financial benefits across all cadres as well asthe implementation of all accrued arrears.