· 66,000+ workers set to storm Abuja streets
· Minister moves to jail striking workers
· Social services suffer more
Indications emerged, weekend, that the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, and striking workers of the administration are unwilling to yield ground as both sides dig in.
The workers have been on strike, the second week running, over claims of unmet demands by the FCT administration and have vowed not to resume until all their demands are met.
This is coming after Wike, last Monday, approved N12bn as January salaries for the workers.
The minister, who announced the approval in his office, said the FCT received only one per cent of federal revenue allocation.
“I just signed January salaries amounting to over N12b. Yet the FCT is entitled to only one per cent of federal revenue. If the Federal Government earns N1tn, the FCT gets about N10b. That allocation alone cannot even cover salaries, not to talk of running the administration,” the minister told journalists at a briefing
Protest set to paralyse Abuja
Over 66,000 workers are set to hit the streets of Abuja on Tuesday, in what is shaping up to be one of the largest labour mobilisation the Federal Capital Territory has witnessed in recent times.
Barring any last-minute negotiations or changes in plan, the march, called by the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, will bring together thousands of workers from affiliate unions as well as FCTA staff, in a show of force that could paralyse government operations across the territory.
The mobilisation followed a notice issued over the weekend by the FCT NLC Chairman, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, directing all affiliate unions to prepare their members for a mass protest starting 7am at Labour House.
Going by the notice, all the affiliate unions are expected to produce a minimum of 34,650 workers, with the largest contingents being the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, with 6,000 members each.
The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, follows with 3,000 members, the National Civil Service Union, NCSU (3,000), and the Association of University and Polytechnic Technical Employees, AUPTRE, (3,000).
Other unions, including NULGE, NUEE, NUPSTRAW, NANNM, NUJ, and OKADA Riders Union, are contributing between 1,000 and 2,000 members each, while smaller affiliates are assigned between 200 and 500 workers.
This figure includes all unions with stated numbers and excludes the over 32,000 FCTA workers under the Joint Unions Action Committee, JUAC, who are also expected at the protest.
The FCT NLC, in the circular to presidents, chairmen, secretaries, treasurers of all affiliate unions, emphasised strict compliance and urged unions to mobilise fully, stating that, “All figures are the least number of workers expected from each union/affiliate.”
The strike by FCTA staff has already forced the closure of public primary schools and health centres across the territory.
The NUT and NULGE, last week, joined the strike in solidarity to intensify pressure on the FCT Administration to meet some of the workers’ demands.
Recall that the national leadership of labour took full control of the strike, describing it as a “people’s struggle” and directing all workers, civil society groups, students, and community organisations to support the action.
Comrade Joe Ajaero, NLC President, said the industrial action was a necessary response to “a vicious cocktail of neoliberal attacks, gross administrative impunity, and a systematic violation of the fundamental rights of workers by the FCTA management and its political leadership.”
The NLC accused the FCTA of wage abuse, including withholding five months’ wage awards and promotion arrears. It also alleged failure to remit pension contributions and diversion of National Housing Fund deductions. They also alleged issues of staff intimidation, including ban on phone usage, insisting it is a “fascistic tactic designed to cripple workers’ solidarity and silence dissent.”
Legal dispute continues
On the legal front, the Industrial Court had ordered JUAC to suspend the strike on January 27. But the union filed an appeal through its counsel, Femi Falana SAN, and directed workers to continue the action.
JUAC Secretary, Abdullahi Saleh, urged members to remain resolute, saying the struggle demanded “unity, discipline, and unwavering commitment.”
But the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, countered this decision warning that the appeal does not automatically stay the execution of the ruling by the National Industrial Court.
Wike, who gave the advice during a recent distribution of 12 new ambulances to hospitals across the territory, described the strike as unnecessary, noting that most of the workers’ demands have already been addressed.
“Let me say that the mere fact that I filed a notice of appeal does not automatically mean there is a stay of execution.
“I have said litigation is not the best, but we have no choice. When you begin to join us as politicians, we will treat you as politicians. I cannot treat you well as civil servants while you act as a political opponent trying to run the administration down,” he said.
He further highlighted the ironies behind the industrial action, noting that his administration was the first to fully implement the FCT Civil Service Commission, which created a clear path for directors to rise to the position of permanent secretaries, a feat that had long eluded the FCTA since its creation.
Services grounded
Residents of the territory continue to groan as social services are at best skeletal with dry taps, empty hospitals and medical centres as well as dirty streets.
“I haven’t seen Abuja this dirty with heaps of garbage everywhere one turns,” a resident who asked not to be named.
