Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The organised labour under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has again threatened to ground activities in Kaduna State over alleged mass sack of civil servants by the state government.
The labour movement also urged the federal government not to accept the recent proposal by the 36 state governors to hike the pump price of petrol to N385 per litre.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja on the outcome of its extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba said that the NEC meeting has resolved to embark on another protest in Kaduna State without notice.
“National Executive Council has resolved to withdraw all services and protest this neo-liberal and extreme right-wing policy. The protest should take effect without further delay.
“Mobilisation of all our state councils and all affiliates should take place immediately, and all employers of labour should be put on notice, as required by our extant laws,” he said..
The first protest embarked upon by NLC, Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their allies literally shutdown economic activities in the state and resulted in violent confrontation between the workers and hired thugs.
However, the crisis seemed to have deepened with the Kaduna State governor, Nasiru El-Rufai rejecting a peace deal brokered by the federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and insisting that NLC erred by leading the protest that disrupted activities in the state.
Responding to the accusation by the Kaduna governor that he led an illegal protest, Wabba said the last warning strike, “was carried out in line with the decisions of the NLC NEC and in conformity with our national laws that protects the right of the Nigerian workers to withdraw their services”.
Regarding the dispute with the Kaduna state government, Wabba said it is on record that between March 31 and first of April 2021, thousands of workers were laid off from the unified local government system in Kaduna State and the State Primary Healthcare agency.
He said that many of the affected workers have worked for between 10 to 33 years, adding that their latters of disengagement rarely had provisions on when their entitlements will be paid
