The Chairman of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Oyo State, Comrade Kayode Martins has said the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is ready to bring the state government to the negotiation table over the payment of the new minimum wage.
Martins, who is also the Vice Chairman of NLC in the state, also called for financial autonomy for the judiciary to operate as an independent arm of government.
The number one judicial worker in Oyo State disclosed this during the 2019 Lower Court Judges Week held at Aare Are Babalola Bar Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan.
While speaking on the present situation as far as minimum wage payment is concerned in the state, Comrade Martins said that the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have met and they have given directives to the state chapters of the labour force that are yet to negotiate with their governors to commence the negotiation.
He said that Oyo NLC and TUC are going to meet with the aim of bringing government to the negotiation table, “We want negotiation to commence here in Oyo state, so that we can come up with something in a good time.”
While felicitating with lower courts judges, Martins implored the judges to be lenient while dealing with their staff.
His words, “I felicitate with them on behalf of the entire staff of Oyo State judiciary, and as I earlier mentioned, before you become a lawyer, you must have undergone lots of rigorous discipline, come up with high level of intellectual quotient. But that does not mean the staff working with you have the same understanding with you. You have to be lenient in your dealings with them.”
While emphasizing on the importance of independent of judiciary, he revealed that many state governors are cogs in the wheel of achieving financial autonomy for judiciary in order to have full control over it.
Packaged Kunle Gazali
