NIMET workers threatens to suspend weather forecast

The workers union at the Nigeria Meteorological Agency has given the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to implement relativity salary increase or risk industrial action.Specifically, the workers said from November 7, they would suspend weather forecast services to airlines, ships, oil rigs, agriculture enterprises and other corporate agencies if their demand was not met.A statement on Monday by the workers under the aegis of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees, said the proposed strike was as a result of governments continued delay in the implementation of the 2010 relativity circular on salary increase.According to the statement, signed by the unions Acting General Secretary, Mr. Philip Agbonkonkon, government has delayed the implementation of the circular in NIMET and a few other agencies for over 15 months.The statement read in part, The national secretariat of the union considers it necessary at this time to intimate the nation of the volatile industrial climate in the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, which if not positively resolved within the next few days, will lead to the withdrawal of weather forecast services to airlines, ships, oil rigs, agricultural enterprises and other public and corporate agencies.We may not be in a position to guarantee weather forecast (information) services to the aviation, marine industries and other users effective from Tuesday, November 7, 2011.It added, The principal issue in dispute between the union and the Federal Government is the non-implementation of the relativity salary increase circular in the core civil service and other sub sectors of the public serviceparastatalsthat are funded from the treasury.Virtually all parastatals with the exception of NIMET and very few others have had the circular implemented for them before the end of 2010 and effective from July 1, 2010.The union said every effort made since 2010 to date in terms of meeting with relevant government agencies and correspondences to authorities, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, yielded no fruits.The union claimed that government had shown indifference to the plight of the workers.The workers recalled that the strike would have commenced during the 2011 Hajj flight operations, which ended on October 29, but for the patriotic considerations of the NIMET workers.
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