FIRS Disbands Junior Staff Union

The management of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on
Monday said it has immediately disbanded the Nigeria Civil Service
Union (NCSU), FIRS Unit, whose executives were purportedly made up
of senior staff of FIRS, for reasons outlined in an official
announcement circulated to all staff which reads as follows:

In line with Gazette No. 6 Vol 65 dated 8th February, 1978 and
National Industrial Court Judgement dated 27th June, 1995, it is
noted that the operations of Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU),
FIRS Unit, as it is constituted today in FIRS is considered illegal
as there are no longer any junior staff cadre employees in the
service.

There is accordingly no legal or other basis whatsoever for the
continued existence of a junior staff cadre union in FIRS as the
cadre of staff it is deemed to cover do not exist within the
organisation. A letter from the Federal Ministry of Labour to the
Head of Service of the Federation dated 19th February, 2015
confirmed the above position in categorical terms.

The statement further clarified that the right of workers to
decide which union to belong to is not absolute but must be
exercised within the limits of Trade Unions Act CAP T14 LFN 2004.
This position was confirmed in the Judgment of the National
Industrial Court – NCSU vs ASCSN (2004) 1NLLR Part 3, 427.

In the light of all the above, The FIRS Board at its Meeting No.
30 held on the 24th June, 2021, therefore, directed that, in view
of items 1 & 2 above, the activities of NCSU FIRS Unit in the
Service are henceforth considered illegal and the Union (NCSU FIRS
Unit) is hereby proscribed with immediate effect.

The Management also assured staff that it is unreservedly
willing to work and cooperate with the only legitimate
representatives of staff, that is to say the Association of Senior
Civil Servants of Nigeria. Accordingly, staff were called upon to
redouble their efforts in executing the FIRS mandate of assessing,
collecting and accounting for tax revenue for all levels of
government as contained in the FIRS Establishment Act (2007).

The management of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on
Monday said it has immediately disbanded the Nigeria Civil Service
Union (NCSU), FIRS Unit, whose executives were purportedly made up
of senior staff of FIRS, for reasons outlined in an official
announcement circulated to all staff which reads as follows:

In line with Gazette No. 6 Vol 65 dated 8th February, 1978 and
National Industrial Court Judgement dated 27th June, 1995, it is
noted that the operations of Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU),
FIRS Unit, as it is constituted today in FIRS is considered illegal
as there are no longer any junior staff cadre employees in the
service.

There is accordingly no legal or other basis whatsoever for the
continued existence of a junior staff cadre union in FIRS as the
cadre of staff it is deemed to cover do not exist within the
organisation. A letter from the Federal Ministry of Labour to the
Head of Service of the Federation dated 19th February, 2015
confirmed the above position in categorical terms.

The statement further clarified that the right of workers to
decide which union to belong to is not absolute but must be
exercised within the limits of Trade Unions Act CAP T14 LFN 2004.
This position was confirmed in the Judgment of the National
Industrial Court – NCSU vs ASCSN (2004) 1NLLR Part 3, 427.

In the light of all the above, The FIRS Board at its Meeting No.
30 held on the 24th June, 2021, therefore, directed that, in view
of items 1 & 2 above, the activities of NCSU FIRS Unit in the
Service are henceforth considered illegal and the Union (NCSU FIRS
Unit) is hereby proscribed with immediate effect.

The Management also assured staff that it is unreservedly
willing to work and cooperate with the only legitimate
representatives of staff, that is to say the Association of Senior
Civil Servants of Nigeria. Accordingly, staff were called upon to
redouble their efforts in executing the FIRS mandate of assessing,
collecting and accounting for tax revenue for all levels of
government as contained in the FIRS Establishment Act (2007).