The Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidet Okhiria, has urged the railway workers to call off their strike, assuring them that their requests were being processed.
Okhiria made the plea while briefing journalists in Lagos, on Friday, saying, “We can see the attention railway is getting now compared to six years ago; the attention is there because government is putting more efforts in ensuring that railway is viable in Nigeria.
“We will work at ensuring that the workers gets better salary. The process is ongoing and we are keeping them abreast on quarterly basis but not everyone understands the process.”
He urged the NRC workers to hope for better welfare, saying that the union had the right to express their grievance.
According to him, the corporation expects positive response from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.
The Deputy President General, Nigerian Union of Railway Workers, Rufus Afolayan, said that the union had resolved to continue the three-day warning strike.
Afolayan said, “After Saturday which is going to be the third day of the strike, we don’t know what will happen next.
“We have been having meetings with some government agencies comprising of the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Ministry of Transportation in Abuja on way forward.
“If our demands have not been fulfilled, we will continue with the strike. We met with the Minister of Transportation last week in Lagos and nothing good had come out of our discussion.
“We requested for enhancement of salary. For example, all the locomotives are being insured but non of the train pilot was insured by the management.”
(NAN).
