The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research [NIMR]) will be embarking on a three-day warning strike action on Monday, 17th August 2015 to Wednesday, 19th August 2015. Their grievances are based on the lackadaisical attitude of the management on their welfare.
The Union stated that the management owes them a short-fall balance since 2013, and that their 2013 shortfall balance came from the Federal Government but the Director-General of the NIMR, Professor Innocent Ujah used this money to pay newly employed staff who were all relations, and who were employed without due process and without adequate budget in that year’s subvention.
The union mentioned that some of them were promoted in 2012 and 2013 but management has not paid them their promotion arrears. The Integrated Personnel (IPPIS) have refused to pay this money as NIMR only came on board the IPPIS on January 2014.
The DG of NIMR single handedly (without the input of the senior management committee) refused to conduct any promotion/upgrading exercise in 2014. This, the union believes, was to fill up the available vacancies with his relations who he placed wrongly to high positions irrespective of their qualifications. Again, the DG also claims that there is nothing like upgrading. Yet he upgraded one of his relations from an Assistant Executive Officer on CONHESS 5 to a Higher Executive officer on CONHESS 7 without due process, without any interview, or internal assessment.
In order to avoid problems with promotion arrears, management promised to conduct promotion exercise the first quarter of every year. As we speak, both the 2014 and 2015 promotion exercise has not been conducted
The Union also stated that NIMR makes up to Two hundred million naira of internally generated revenue which is not remitted to the Government’s purse, yet management claim that they cannot pay group accident insurance premium for all staff.
Inequality and intimidation is now the order of the day in NIMR. Staff cannot walk/work freely without intimidation from his people. The level of inequality and total disregard for the public service rule is appalling. All these are just a tip of the iceberg on why the union is going on strike on Monday. NIMR staff says ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. UJAH MUST GO.

Abegiii