The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) is engaging the Federal Government on the need to enhance the salaries of judiciary workers following the 300 per cent increment in the salaries of judicial officers in August.

JUSUN President, Marwan Adamu, who disclosed this in Abuja during the commencement of a digital training programme for 100 members of the union by the Digital Bridge Institute (BDI), said the judiciary workers are not in competition with their counterparts, but insisted that such request was natural since other categories of workers in the same sector have received enhanced salaries.

“We have written to the concerned authorities on the need for our salaries to reflect the work we do. We are not competing with the judicial officers. They are seniors but we are saying that the government should let our salaries reflect the efforts we put into our work,” he said.

Speaking on the importance of the training, Adamu argued that possessing computer literacy by judiciary workers would speed up the wheel of justice and protect the integrity of the system.

He added: “The proficiency of judiciary workers in the digital area will enhance our work and speed up the judicial process in the country. A computer literate judicial officer will know how to handle sensitive documents and also know how to navigate the cybersecurity space to safeguard the integrity of the data within the judiciary.”

He also hinted that plans are underway by the union to introduce a train-the-trainers programme to step down the training to those who are yet to benefit.

Marwan admitted that at the initial stage, the Federal Government’s policy to automate and digitalise the judiciary system presented a dilemma for JUSUN members, which has now been turned into an opportunity to train members.

“Though the policy was a challenge when the government introduced it, the union saw it as an opportunity for growth. The policy posed a serious challenge to our union.

We recognised the potential threat of job loss due to digitalisation but we chose to see it as an opportunity to improve the capacity of our members. As a union that is very committed to our members’ welfare, we assured them that we would provide the necessary training to stay relevant in the digital age,” he explained.

The JUSUN chief noted that while the union was investing in its members’ future by equipping them with the skills to thrive in a digitalised judiciary system, this would equally enhance members’ job security and improve the overall efficiency of the judiciary.

The Chief Executive Officer of the institute, David Dasar, who was represented by the Group Head, Corporate Services of the institute, Viola Usoro said the judiciary was in urgent need of digitally-savvy personnel to drive it in the right direction as the world of work relies on digitisation. He urged other trade unions to embrace technology as the world of work moves away from physical contact to a technologically-driven environment.