Railway workers seek salary review, safety of personnel

With the recent attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train service, workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers (NUR) and Senior Staff Association, Nigerian Railway Branch, have called on the Federal Government to strengthen workers’ social benefits by embarking on individual insurance and also reviewing their salaries.
   
They argued that Nigerian railway workers receive the lowest and the poorest salaries out of all the parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Transport.
 
Similarly, they ask that the Federal Government provides security on trains, workers and passengers. Addressing a press conference, President-General of NUR, Innocent Ajiji and his counterpart, President, Senior Staff Association, Nigerian Railway Branch, Aliyu Mainasara, said pre-meditated attacks on the Abuja-Kaduna passenger train was not just an attack on collective sensibilities and conscience as a nation but also a brazen attack against humanity.

We hope that the management of Nigerian railway will embrace the option of swiftly responding to welfare issues of the workers, which, regrettably, have suffered gravely in the hands of the management.
    
“However, in the advent of the management of the corporation still depriving the workers of their welfare and due conveniences, we shall have no option than to explore workable alternative strategies to demand for the legitimate rights of the workers,” the union said.