Passengers stranded as railway staffs begin strike

Passengers were left stranded at the railway station in Kano yesterday following the commencement of an indefinite strike action by railway officials over working conditions and allowances.

Our correspondent reports that most of the stranded passengers were travelling to Lagos and other parts of the South-west, and that some of them had passed the night at the station in order to catch the early morning train, when they learnt about the industrial action.

The Kano-Lagos train service was reintroduced in December after the renovation of tracks linking the two terminals, which gulped over N20 billion.

Members of the Association of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers, who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said they were embarking on the strike to press home their demands for improved working conditions and payment of statutory allowances.

“We will not agree with a situation where the locomotive running the train is insured, whereas the train driver has no insurance cover, which means the driver’s life has no value,” said a union official.

The workers also accused the management of planning to recruit Nigerians from Diaspora to fill available vacancies from Grade level 07-13, when there are employees with adequate qualifications to man those posts.

Meanwhile, passengers have expressed bitterness over the strike, saying it was too early for the system to run into problems just a month after its relaunch.

“I came to Kano two weeks ago by train to
visit my husband and my plan was to return to Ibadan today. Now I’m stranded and don’t even know what to do. I pray they resolve the problem so that we can move. This thing started not quite a month ago and now they are already having problems,” said Hajiya Adupe Oyebode.

A student, Mohammed Sani, who came to Kano from Maiduguri to board the train to Lagos when the strike started said, “If the train is not going to move, I will have to join car to Lagos”.

Efforts to get comments of the Principal Traffic and Commercial Officer (PTCO), Halidu Usman, of the Kano railway station failed as he declined to speak to our correspondent, saying only their regional office in Zaria can react on the issue.

In Lagos, Daily Trust gathered that the strike is total, affecting all NRC workers.

When contacted, NRC Managing Director, Seyi Sijuwade, said the matter is being resolved.

NRC’s Director of Human Resources, Aminu Gusau, was also optimistic that the matter will be tackled soon.

~daily trust
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