Police commission workers declare strike over ‘breach of working conditions’

Workers at the Police Service Commission (PSC) have declared an indefinite strike over what they described as breach of conditions necessary for working harmony.

The workers, in a leaked letter written by the joint union congress, PSC chapter and addressed to Musiliu Smith, PSC chairman, said the indefinite strike will commence on August 29.

The letter was signed by Adoyi Adoyi, chairman of joint union congress, PSC chapter, Abayomi Anthony, chairman of Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Yusuf Nasidi, secretary of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) and Remi Ogundeji, secretary of NCSU.

“You may wish to recall that the Joint Union Congress of the Police Service Commission had embarked on a 3-day warning strike on Monday 24 January, 2022, which was suspended in national interest in order to embrace dialogue and reconciliation,” the letter reads.

“As a responsible union, we make bold to state that all the conditions necessary for continuous working harmony have been breached by the management, hence our resort to continue with our agitation until our earlier agreements are fully implemented.

“Following from the above therefore, the union and the entire staff do hereby serve a notice of indefinite strike to the Management, beginning on Monday, 29 August 2022.”

When TheCable reached out to Ikechukwu Ani, head of press and public relations of the PSC, on the development, he said he is not competent to speak on the matter at the moment.

The development comes amid the disagreement between Usman Baba, inspector-general of police, and the PSC over recruitment of constables into the Nigeria Police Force.

On Monday, NPF dismissed an advertisement by PSC calling for applicants to apply as constables in the force.

Owing to NPF’s protest, the PSC suspended the 2022 recruitment of constables into the force.

In January 2022, the PSC workers declared a three-day warning strike over the alleged takeover of the recruitment of 10,000 constables by the police, lack of staff promotion and training by the commission management.