ASCSN/NPC/VOL.I/174

27^th October, 2009

The Federal Pay Officer,

Federal Pay Office,

Akure,

Ondo State

Sir,

PURPORTED CHANGE FROM ONE TRADE UNION TO ANOTHER IN THE NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION (NPC)

            We wish to inform you that we are in receipt of a letter dated 28^th August, 2009 signed by one Onoda Kehinde claiming that members of staff of the National Population Commission (NPC) have changed the Trade Union they rightly belong to i.e the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria to Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).  A copy of the letter in question is attached and marked Appendix A.

2.         It is necessary to inform you that the letter under reference cannot be relied upon since operations of Trade Unions are governed by laws and not the dictates of any individual or group of individuals.   Each of the Trade Unions operating in the country has its own legally approved jurisdictional coverage and none of them is allowed to draw membership outside the scope approved for them by law. 

3.         For the avoidance of doubt, the Amalgamated Union which Mr. Onada is referring to, is purely a junior workers union and cannot have in its membership senior civil servants in the National Population Commission who are by right eligible members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, a union registered and recognised to unionise civil servants holding appointment in the Federal and State Civil Services from GL. 07 and above. 

4.         It is pertinent to invite your attention to the relevant documents which support the membership coverage of the Association of senior Civil Servants of Nigeria vis-à-vis the Amalgamated Union.  The documents include the following:-

  i.          FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA OFFICIAL GAZETTE NO. 6 VOL. 65 OF 8^TH FEBRUARY, 1978 IN RESPECT OF RESTRUCTURING OF TRADE UNIONS (MARKED APPENDIX I)

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is listed as No. 23 in the Gazette and its Jurisdiction is “all employees other than junior staff of Federal and State Governments”.  The Civil Service Technical Workers Union of Nigeria now Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) is listed as No. 24 and its coverage is All Junior Staff Employed in the Civil Services of the Federal and State Governments Classified as Technical Employees.

       ii.          NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT (NIC) JUDGMENT Appendix  II

The Certificate of Judgment of the National Industrial Court (NIC) in respect of the Inter-Union Dispute between the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the Nigeria Civil Service Union.

The NIC ruled that:

“The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is entitled to Unionise Civil Servants on Grade Levels 07 and above including those of them in the Personnel Assistant Cadre (formerly Executive Officer Cadre) except those who are Typists/ Stenographers, Nurses and Midwives, Pharmacists and Medical Technologists.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE NIC IS THE HIGHEST COURT ON LABOUR MATTERS

iii.         TRADE UNIONS (AMENDMENT) DECREE NO. 1 OF 1999 (Appendix III)

 The Decree e-affirmed the jurisdictional coverage of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and went ahead to define that of the Amalgamated Union as follows:

                                    AMALGAMATED UNION:

“All junior staff employed in the Federal and State Corporations, Civil Service Employees classified as technical, workers of sports commission and stadia, Public Recreation Clubs”.  It is important to note that this Union is made up mainly of the merger of paragraphs 24 and 66 of the 1978 Gazette on restructuring of Trade Unions.

iv.         Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity’s letter dated 19^th August, 1999 forwarded to the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.  (Appendix IV) The letter clarified that the Amalgamated Union (AUPCTRE) has the jurisdiction to organise junior staff employed in the Federal and State Corporations, Civil Service employees classified as technical

                           AND

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has the jurisdiction to organise the Senior Staff employed in the Federal and State Civil Services.

v.NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT (NIC) JUDGMENT IN RESPECT OF A MATTER OF INTER UNION DISPUTE BEWEEN AMALGAMATED UNION AND AGRICULTURAL AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION OF NIGERIA (Appendix V)

            The Judgment clearly re-affirmed the jurisdiction of Amalgamated Union (AUPCTRE) as “All junior staff employed in the Federal and state Corporations, Civil Service Employees classified as Technical.

vi.         The Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity Letter Ref. No. ML.IB/23/11/519 of 3^rd October, 2006 (Appendix VI) which affirmed that the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is entitled to unionise employees from grade level 07 and above of Federal and State Governments and that freedom of Association as stipulated by 1999 Constitution does not imply cross carpeting or migrating from one union to another by workers. 

5.         In view of the foregoing, it is important to note that workers are not allowed by Law to handpick which Trade Union to belong to.  Instead, those of them who wish to opt out of a trade union are only allowed to do so individually and not collectively. Trade Union is not a political party which allows for decamping from one party to the other.

6.         Moreover, an action such as opting out of a union, if it is being contemplated at all, must have the authorization of the Registrar of Trade Unions before it can have any binding effect.

7.         The letter forwarded to your office by Comrade Onada Kehinde has therefore not fulfilled any of the conditions stated in paragraphs 5 & 6 above and to that extent, it is null and void and of no effect.  Furthermore, the letter runs foul of Labour Legislations, relevant court judgments and government pronouncements on membership of Trade Unions.  The letter should therefore be discountenanced for lack of merit.

8.         You should please note that the jurisdictional coverage of the Association and Amalgamated Union has not changed and all senior staff in the National Population Commission remained bonafide members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria.

9.         Your compliance with the above position will go a long way in averting industrial crisis that may erupt in the event of allowing illegality to prevail in a matter of Labour relations which is strictly guided by rules.

10.       Please acknowledge receipt.

Yours faithfully,                                                                                        

A. B. Lawal

 for: Secretary-General