Economic activities in Kaduna State have been grounded following a five-day warning strike embarked on by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over sacking of civil servants by the Governor Nasir El-Rufai-led government.
NLC declared strike after the government failed to reverse the mass sack of workers.
Kaduna State secretariat, which houses about 10 ministries, is under lock and key, banks, filling stations, shops, offices both public and private, markets as well as other commercial activities have remained closed in strict compliance as directed by the NLC.
Addressing workers, pensioners, students and others from other states in Kaduna on Monday, the National President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabara, emphasized that there will be no retreat or surrender by the organized labour to ensure demands are acceded to by the Governor.
“The decision has been communicated to all security agencies of the government. It is the beginning of the struggle of labour, hope our politicians will cooperate with us to ensure we protect our democracy by delivering its dividends to the citizens, including workers.
“More than 90 per cent of Nigerians are living in abject poverty and that is why insecurity and other social vices have increased in the country,” he said.
He observed that the five-day warning strike is a decision of the highest body of labour and assured that the organized labour is in Kaduna to tell the world the truth of what the workers, pensioners, students and other citizens in the state are going through besides the lies being peddled by media platforms on El-Rufai’s payroll.
Wabba thanked other union leaders for cooperating with the NLC towards ensuring full compliance to the warning strike in the state, assuring that the organized labour would declare a five-day national strike across the country to ensure that their demands are met.
“The situation of the workers in the state is so pathetic that thousands of them have been laid off from their sources of livelihood without the state government making any effort to pay them their entitlements.”
“Worse still, El-Rufai has gone further to increase the school fees thereby making the children of those sacked from their working place without payment to become dropouts.”
“It is only in Kaduna state out of the other states in the country that throw workers out of their jobs without any regards of the labour law and that is why we are here,” Wabba added.
The labour leader lamented that workers in the state were being sacked from their jobs without following the due process, adding that no constituted labour union was contacted by Governor El-Rufai before sacking the action.
“Here we have a governor that is not respecting the law but violating the law with impunity. He has sacked thousands of workers in the state. Over 20,000 workers in the state have not been paid their April salary.”
“After sacking the workers from their jobs, governor Nasir El-Rufai has gone on to increase the school fees to also throw the students away from school whose parents have been sacked that have not been paid and as well as the pensioners,” he added.
He refuted allegations made by the Governor that he had invited labour before sacking workers.
The Labour Boss also said that traders are not left behind as their shops have been demolished to deny them their means of livelihood, adding that with the policies of the state government, insecurity has become the order of the day in the state.
