HOS HARPS ON BALANCED PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIONS

HOS HARPS ON BALANCED PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIONS

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan has requested for a symbiotic relationship with the Union bodies geared towards fostering a harmonious workplace, enhanced staff welfare and service delivery.

She disclosed this during a courtesy visit by the Leadership of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) and National Union of Public Service, Reportorial and Allied Workers (NUPSRAW), led by the Chairman, ASCSN and President, Joint Union Negotiation Council in the Office of the Head of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), Comrade Sylvester Ameh on Thursday, March 31, 2022, in her Office.

According to Dr. Yemi-Esan, unionism has moved away from the era of endless demands to the Management, to serious and genuine collaborations aimed at ensuring that things work as they should, for the purposes of positively transforming the Service. She further urged the Union leaders to be committed in their work, while making sure that the staff, who they represent, are up to their various responsibilities.

The HoSF also urged the Unions to, constantly, encourage staff to take advantage of the various windows available in agriculture and Information, Communication Technology (ICT) being brought on board to better the lot of civil servants, citing the Agri-Preneneurship scheme being championed by the OHCSF under the Federal Public Service Entrepreneurship Programme (FPSEP), adding that civil servants should be proactive.

She also disclosed that an integrated approach is in the offing to ease the disposal of civil servants’ farm produce with the introduction of civil servants’ “Bush Markets.” This will make life, during and after service, more meaningful, she opined.

On training, the HoSF advised the Unions to disabuse the minds of their members on the popularly held opinion that “training is welfare,” adding that this notion is counterproductive to the Service. She demanded that MDAs’ training plans should be tailored according to needs, while strict monitoring should be adhered to in the implementation. Accordingly, she also encouraged the Unions to partner with the Service in this regard, so as to ensure seamless implementation for guaranteed staff satisfaction.

On a final note, the HoSF further assured the Unions of the re-introduction of Townhall Meetings with the general staff, come April 2022, hitherto disrupted by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant protocols.

Earlier in his address, Comrade Ameh, in appreciating the HoSF for her numerous efforts toward repositioning the Service for optimal performance, reaffirmed the Unions’ readiness to partner in bequeathing an efficient, productive, innovative and a citizen-centred (EPIC) Federal Civil Servants. He also highlighted areas of concern to staff needing urgent attention of the Management such as training, promotion as it relates to the payment of arrears, payment of 1st 28 days allowances, FCT allowances, celebration of junior and middle -level retirees, a robust transportation system, accommodation and other welfare issues.

 

 

M. A. Ahmed,

Deputy Director, Communications.

31ST March, 2022