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NLC threatens face-off with Kaduna Govt.
The Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) threatened to resume its suspended strike for alleged violation of the memorandum of understanding signed with the Kaduna state government.
NLC Chairman Mr. Ayuba Wabba said this while addressing reporters at the end of an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of Congress in Abuja.
Wabba accused the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of failing to respect the memorandum of understanding negotiated between the NLC and the state government by the federal government.
He said Congress, after exhausting all avenues, including writing letters to President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Labor and Employment Senator Chris Ngige, decided to resume the strike.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) recalls that the NLC launched a five-day warning strike on May 17 following the dismissal of thousands of civil service workers by the Kaduna state government.
NAN also reports that following the federal government’s intervention, industrial action was suspended after three days and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the parties on May 20.
According to Wabba, NEC has decided to withdraw all services and to protest neoliberal and far-right policies and this should take effect without further delay.
“Mobilization of all of our state councils and affiliates should take place immediately and all employers of labor should be notified, as required by our existing laws.
“We dare to say that all of this lies and propaganda would be dealt with appropriately, because we believed that in a modern democracy our politician should always be telling the truth and that they should not be used to falsify information.
“In particular, the question of the quotation from Decree 2, which was abolished by the current democratic regime. Decree 2 is only known from the military era, and therefore, if El-Rufai wants to return to the era of the militarization of our democracy.
“I think this is something that should be condemned and say that the actions of workers and unions are regulated by laws. It was the Kaduna state government that violated the disposition and sanctity of our laws, ”he said.
Wabba also added that the MoU made this clear, that everything that happened was in accordance with the provisions of our law.
The NLC chairman therefore insisted that the strike was a legal means used worldwide by workers to assert their demands.
Other NLC grievances include the alleged dismissal of workers by the Kaduna state government, mandatory retirement of workers at level 14 and above.
Others are: compulsory retirement for workers who have reached the age of 50, regardless of their educational level.
Others are the reduction of the workforce of local authorities to 50 in each of the 23 local authority councils and the precariousness of workers from levels 1 to 6.
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