NLC
In Abia State, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has decided to resume its indefinitely-suspended protest on Tuesday over unpaid pay and pensions.
The NLC said that during the group’s executive meeting on Friday, its members “unanimously” decided to resume the industrial action in a statement released on Monday by Emma Alozie, its secretary in the state.
According to the labor union, the choice was made in reaction to “the plethora of problems Abia workers and pensioners are facing in the hands of Abia State Government” because of the claimed failure of the government to pay them arrears of workers’ salaries and pensioners’ retirement benefits.
The national leadership of the NLC put pressure on the governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, to balance the strike after it was made indefinite on February 28.
Approximately five days later, the union apparently negotiated an agreement with the state government, and the strike was subsequently called to an end.
As a result of the state government’s failure to keep its commitments to the workforce, the NLC in the state said on Monday that the group would restart the temporarily halted indefinite strike.
The NLC instructed “all Abia workers, including those in local government areas, to withdraw their services from the Abia State Government and stay at home beginning at midnight on Monday, May 8, 2023.”
It instructed all affiliate union chairpersons and secretaries to guarantee complete compliance of all members to the directive.
According to Pascal Nweke, the chair of the NLC in Abia State, the employees won’t start negotiating with the government again until they start receiving their paychecks.
“They (the state administration) invited our secretary and me and said they had issues with their banks, according to what they said. We gave them time to resolve their banking issues, but nothing changed later, according to Mr. Nweke.
He said that the state administration started a discriminatory wage payment policy last week by paying local government employees their March salaries while others are owed more than 36 months’ payments.
Governor Ikpeazu’s spokeswoman, Onyebuchi Ememanka, did not reply to calls or a text message requesting his views.
