The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Kaduna State Council has vowed to proceed on its proposed five-day warning strike starting from May 17.
The State Secretary of the council, Comrade Christiana Bawa disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Kaduna.
Bawa, therefore, urged workers in the Kaduna State Civil Service to disregard government’s circular and threats against the industrial action.
She directed all workers, particularly, teachers, local government workers and their counterparts in state government Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to disregard the provocative circular.
Bawa said that the warning strike was aimed at registering their displeasure over the pitiable conditions of workers in the state civil
service.
She noted that no worker in the state had a secured job, adding that the state government had in April 2021 arbitrarily sacked no fewer than 4,000 workers without following due process.
“Kaduna State Government sacked over 30,000 workers in 2016 and their entitlements have not been settled,” she said.
”This is the time to tell the world that the state government is antiworkers and wants to destroy the civil service in the name of reform,” she said.
She said that all affiliates of NLC in the state such as the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG ) and National Union of Road Transport Workers( NURTW) would join the strike.
Others are the National Union of Electricity Employees of Nigeria (NUEE), National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution Employees (NUBIFIE) and National Association of Nurses and Midwives among others.
Bawa said that the national leadership of the NLC led by the President, Comrade Ayuba Waba, would be in the state to ensure full enforcement of the strike.
Recall that the state government had in a circular signed by the Permanent Secretary (Establishments), Office of the Head of Service, Hajia Amina Abdullahi directed workers to discountenance the proposed strike.
The circular titled, “Re: NLC to ground all government activities in Kaduna State,” was addressed to chief executives of MDAs and others.
The circular read in part:
“Sequel to a notice dated May 10, 2021 by the NLC on the above subject, I am directed to request you to inform civil servants in your MDAs and other arms of government to disregard the notice.
”You are further requested to ensure strict compliance to signing of the attendance register as such registers would be submitted to the Office of the Head of Service for necessary
action,” Abdullahi said.
▪︎KDSG to NLC: Strike futile, govt will not bow to mob action
Meanwhile, the Kaduna
State Government has notified security agencies about the planned strike action of the Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC), saying necessary steps would be taken to thwart the violent intent of the organisers.
The government revealed that some trade unionists plannef to recruit hoodlums, including from other states, to destroy facilities and create mayhem under the pretext of engaging in strike action.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, the Commissioner of Local Government Affairs, Malam Jafaru Sani, reminded the unionists that the ban on public procession was still in force.
Read him: ‘’Apart from the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 protocols, a ban on public processions subsists in this state.
‘’This was imposed precisely because of the violence that has frequently broken out from such processions even when they began with innocent intent.”
The commissioner declared that the state government ‘’will protect its facilities and the right of its staff to access and work in their offices’’ reminding that ‘’it is unlawful for anyone to try to deny them access or exit.’
‘’Government offices are not the property of any trade unionist and none of them should entertain thoughts of locking up or vandalizing any facility.”
The commissioner recalled that some trade unionists, led by Ayuba Wabba, unleashed mayhem ‘’on Kaduna during their rampage of 8 November 2017.’
‘’That day, in one of the most shameful displays of irresponsibility, they thrashed the premises of the Kaduna State House of Assembly as part of their futile attempt to force the government to retain 21,780 teachers who did not pass a Primary 4 competency test.
‘’The State Government sacked the failed teachers and swiftly recruited 25,000 teachers to replace them and to promote the right of the children of the poor to decent education.” (with NAN report)
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
