Follow Us on Google
By Fidelis Ugbomeh
Ten years after legal battle between the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NUR) at the National Industrial Court over non-implementation of monetization of railway quarters the duo have decided to settle out of court.
President-general of the union, Comrade Jonathan Ajiji, dropped this hint in Lagos recently when minister of transportation, Sen. Sa’id Alkali, paid his maiden familiarization visit to headquarters of the corporation in Lagos.
Hitherto, the court ruled in favour of the union but management of the corporation filed an appeal, which was still pending in vourt before the decision to settle out of court.
As the case continued to linger over the years, most retired railway staff refused to vacate their quarters hence denying staff that were either transferred to their districts or promoted to fill the gap opportunity to occupy such quarters.
Although he did not give details of the terms of settlement, the monetization policy, which was introduced during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, stipulates that government cannot continue to sustain maintenance of houses for its workers. and that such houses should be monetized.
It is noteworthy that most government parastatals, with the exception of the army, police, navy, air force and other paramilitary agencies, sold their quarters to occupants but the NRC management reneged on the premise that railway is an essential service and the workers shonuld live within the railway compound for quick call-up during emergencies.
