Despite a truce brokered by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigeria Labour Clngress (NLC) has accused Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai of sustaining the arbitrary sack of thousands of workers in the State Public Service without recourse to Nigerian labour laws.
In a petition to the president, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, accused the governor of refusing to respect the Memorandum of Understanding signed at a meeting brokered by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on behalf of the President.
Wabba said it was as a result of the President’s intervention that the NLC resolved to immediately suspend the recent warning strike over the sack of workers in the state.
Following a letter dated May 26, 2021 by Ngige, the NLC President highlighted serious concerns about the governors conduct after the first conciliatory meeting between Labour and the Kaduna State Government on May 20, 2021.
The labour Chief said a major outcome of that meeting was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the State government.
Specifically, Wabba said the MoU provided that there should be no further victimization and harassment of workers and trade union leaders in the state, especially workers who participated in the warning strike.
On its part, he said the NLC was also expected to maintain the suspension of the strike action while negotiations continued.
“To our greatest surprise, after signing the MoU with workers, the Kaduna State government has gone ahead to impugn all the clauses in the agreement freely entered with the Nigeria Labour Congress, including the continuous violation of workers’ rights as provided in Nigerian labour law and punitive transfer of the State Chairperson of the NLC.
Other violations include workers’ victimization by sack for participating in the warning strike; violation of the “no victimization” clause in the signed agreement, and non-adherence and respect for the rule of law.
Wabba reminded the President that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NLC on May 25, 2021 resolved that in case the Kaduna State Government remained adamant and recalcitrant or continues to pursue the path of war, threat and punitive actions against workers and their interests, its National Administrative Council (NAC) was given the power to re-activate the suspended industrial action in Kaduna State without further notice.
He said the Council was mandated to call for the withdrawal of all workers in Nigeria without any further notice.
Copies of the petition was sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman, Director, State Security Services as well as all affiliate unions of the NLC.
