Senior Civil Servants give Ministry of Industry 21-day strike notice

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Federal Ministry Industry, Trade and Investment chapter, has given a 21-day strike notice to its management.

A statement signed by Mr Isaac Ojemhenke on behalf of the Secretary-General of the association, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the notice took effect from Oct. 8, 2015.

It said that the action became imperative to ensure that the abuse of extant rules and procedures in service, abuse of the scheme of service and acts of insurbodination were addressed.

It noted that there had been an attempt to "remove demarcation between the Registrar (Trademark and Patent) cadre and other cadres" in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in 2012.

This, the statement said, constituted an abuse of the scheme of service which structured the public service into cadres for the purpose of professionalism.

The statement further said that Mr Adekunle Adeyemi, who had been redeployed to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation through circular OHCSF/CMO/EMD/002/S.I/T/II dated Sept. 4, 2015, had "vowed not to proceed on the posting.

"The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment refused to enforce the deployment circular while Mr Adekunle O. Adeyemi, has vowed not to proceed on posting since 2oth September, 2015, against Public Service Rules Cap 030301 (b) and (m)."

It noted that the non-enforcement of the deployment circular by the acting permanent secretary, in spite of several meetings with the association on the need for him to enforce discipline signified that "he accepted tacitly, the insurbodinate act of Adekunle’".

"The association has resolved that the deployment of Adeyemi from the Commercial Law Department should be enforced and his violation of Public Service Rule should be sanctioned, " it stated.

It also urged Adeyemi to comply with the OHCSF posting instruction and hand over to the most senior officer in the Registrar (Trademark Patent) cadre in line with the Act and scheme of service.

"In the event Adeyemi refuses to do the needful at the deadline set, we, as a union, have decided to shut down the office of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment nationwide to press our demand," it added.