Judicial workers in Ondo State under the aegis of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has embarked on an indefinite strike to press home their demands from the State’s Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The major demand of the striking workers is that Magistrates should not be holding administrative positions, which they insist are meant for the Registrars.
According to the State Vice Chairman of JUSUN, Kikelomo Iyiola, the union is demanding for the change of the nomenclature Registry Assistants given to polytechnic graduates instead of Registrar as applicable to their university counterparts.
She said Ondo is the only State where they are being referred to as Registry Assistants.
The State Secretary of JUSUN, Toye Ilesanmi on his part enumerated some other demands of the union.
The Chairman of the Union, Mr Femi Ogunode, in a statement said the decision was reached at a congress, insisted that the industrial action was unavoidable.
Ogunode explained that the action became imperative following a failed negotiation deal between its representatives and the JSC and management of the State Judiciary.
He explained that since the commission and management of the Judiciary had been holding such positions, many of the judiciary staff have been denied promotions, while some who had applied for conversion of service were refused to be granted consideration.
“The JSC has failed to heed the advice of the Ondo state Head of service that due process should be followed in fashioning out new scheme of service for the Registrars.
“It is our belief that if the JSC wants Magistrates to acquire administrative knowledge, it should send them to relevant administrative training institutions.
“Judicial service commission has also failed woefully to heed our own advice that it should wait patiently for the release of the new National scheme of service being prepared by JUSUN, national body, in conjunction with all relevant bodies like the National Council on Establishment”, he said.