This stand was taken in a communique jointly signed by Mrs Koin Selepreye, Chairman of JUSUN, Bayelsa, and the Assistant Secretary, Mr Eneye Kebbi-Sampor, at the end of their congress meeting held in Yenagoa, the state capital, on Thursday.
The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, Bayelsa chapter, has threatened to embark on strike action if the salaries of members are not fully paid with the minimum wage by the state government.
This stand was taken in a communique jointly signed by Mrs Koin Selepreye, Chairman of JUSUN, Bayelsa, and the Assistant Secretary, Mr Eneye Kebbi-Sampor, at the end of their congress meeting held in Yenagoa, the state capital, on Thursday.
The chairman commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing Executive Order 10, giving all state Judiciaries and Houses of Assembly autonomy.
The union leader said that they vehemently frowned at the decision reached by the state’s minimum wage committee to revert the current minimum wage being paid to the judiciary, saying that it would be resisted.
Selepreye said the union frowned at the way the judiciary was side-lined by the minimum wage committee considering its peculiarity to the office of the Head of Service.
She said that JUSUN Law 2010 still stood as it was, saying that, therefore, directing a reverse would mean applying the JUSUN law to the letters.
She said, “That is to say we have been denied the N30,000 minimum wage.
“I don’t understand why that can happen because we have been earning it, all legal documentation. We even met with the head of service on two occasions to be part of the minimum wage committee because of our peculiarity.
“The congress is giving a 14-day ultimatum to rescind the decision reached by the state on salary reduction to avoid a shutdown of the system
“We are saying no to it. If they succeed in reducing our salary with the minimum wage or we smell that a certain amount is removed, then we’ll shut the doors of the courts in Bayelsa.”