CJ: No Going Back On Strike Until Our Demands Are Met, Osun JUSUN Replies Nat’l body

The leadership of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria in Osun State has
berated the position of the union’s national body on the current imbroglio between the workers and the embattled Chief Judge, Honourable Justice Adepele-Ojo.

Osun Judiciary workers had Monday locked the entrance of the court and picketed the office of the Chief Judge in protest against the Chief Judge and the management on the activities of the judiciary in the state.

However, Justice Ojo drove into the court with security personnel and went straight to her office on Wednesday, a situation that caused chaos.

Workers on sighting the Chief Judge, it was gathered, got infuriated and insisted on gaining access to the court premises.

According to the Chairman, Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, Osun Chapter, Gbenga Eludire, the workers decided to withdraw their service from their respective stations since the Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Ojo, has declared war against them.

But, the National body of the union in a circular signed by its Deputy President, Emmanuel Abioye, had directed that under no guise should any of its members participate in any “illegal picketing, protest or job boycotting whatsoever”.

Responding, the state chairman of the union, Gbenga Eludire, in a statement signed and made available to journalists in Osogbo, Friday, said the priority of a union ought to be how to fight for its members, adding that that was what the union was doing in the state.

Eludire who noted that the union was not fighting the state Chief Judge, said they were only asking for their rights.

He said: “The demeaning press release from the National Headquarters of JUSUN, portraying the efforts of the State Executive Council as illegal and unconstitutional, is speculative and lacks merit. We are therefore refused to be blackmailed.

“The industrial action aimed to restore the Union’s values, which have been neglected in the State for many years, and primarily sought to achieve improved working conditions for all categories of Judiciary workers.

“While recognizing that a communication gap between the National and State Branch may have contributed to the misunderstanding, the objectives of the picketing remain crucial.

These include: Reinstatement of unlawfully suspended staff by the Hon. Chief Judge, Restoration of the long-suspended training of staff at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Adequate attention to all qualified staff due for regularization and promotions, Payment of wardrobe allowances for all Judiciary workers, Proper maintenance of courts and other Judiciary properties across the State.

“Considering the long-overdue benefits listed above and having communicated these demands to the Hon. Chief Judge for attention and necessary considerations, the Union’s leadership sought dialogue, which proved unproductive. Left with no option, the picketing was carried out.

“The National President’s counter-advice to cancel the picketing was heeded, leading to a proposed dialogue with the Judges for possible reconciliation. Unfortunately, the police’s brutalization disrupted what could have been a successful endeavor.”