The Senior Staff Association of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, has suspended its proposed strike action.
This followed a meeting between the Union and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, on Wednesday.
Chairman of NIMC Senior Staff Association, Mr Lucky Michael, who disclosed this said the decision to compromise and shelve the proposed strike was taken by the Union in the national interest and out of sympathy for Nigerians seeking for enrolment at various registration centres across the country.
Recall that the Union had on 11th January issued a 21-day ultimatum for the NIMC Management should meet their demands or they down tool.
Lucky argued that the fresh ultimatum became imperative because the key demands they raised before the previous strike action had not been met by the authorities.
He said the Union suspended the initial strike action on compassionate ground, bearing in mind the stress people seeking to be enrolled were passing through.
His words: “We stepped down the previous strike to see how we can meet the yearnings of Nigerian Citizens.
“If you look around you will see that everywhere is filled up today because they want to link their NIN with their SIM cards.
“You are aware that Government has announced that JAMB candidates will need their NIN to be able to register for JAMB this year, the FRSC has also announced that by second quarter of 2021, NIN will be a requirement for renewal of Drivers’ license.
“Those are some of the things that compelled us to resume work while we discussed the issues.”
“Last Friday, the Minister stepped into the matter, he has given us a face mask, face shield. The ones meant for state offices were dumped at Zonal offices and they asked the State coordinators to come and pick them up individually, and we say no, it is part of what we are agitating for.
“Pay me well, then I will live well, you are paying a state coordinator less than N100,000, yet, you expect him to use that same amount to run the state offices.
At the end of the day, who reimburses who?
They should be able to do what they said they will do, then, we will know that they are serious.
“At the end of the 2days warning strike on Friday, we issued fresh 21days ultimatum which is presently running and at the end of the ultimatum, if nothing happened, nobody should be held responsible because that is in line with the law. According to the law, we have to give them 21days ultimatum.
“In 2019, we issued this same 21day ultimatum on the same issues and till today nothing has happened.
If you add 21 to 21, you have 42days and if after the 42 days, they still failed to do the needful, we will be left with no option than to go back to the streets to demand what rightly belongs to us.”
He, however, said that the Union would be meeting with the Minister to resume discussion on the issues, adding that he would not make comments on the next line of action until after the meeting.