El-Rufai Vs Kaduna Civil Servants: NLC prepares for another strike

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El-Rufai Vs Kaduna Civil Servants: NLC prepares for another strike

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is prepared for another strike as Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s imbroglio with Kaduna civil servants worsens over the breach of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) his administration signed with the union.

The NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, said this while addressing journalists at the end of an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the congress in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr Wabba accused Mr El-Rufai of failing to respect the MoU between the NLC and his administration brokered by the federal government.

After exhausting all avenues, including writing letters to President Muhammadu Buhari and labour minister Chris Ngige, he said the NLC decided to resume strike.

The NLC had, on May 17, embarked on a five-day warning strike over the sack of thousands of workers in the Kaduna public service.

Following the federal government’s intervention, the NLC suspended the strike after three days, and an MoU signed between the parties on May 20.

According to Mr Wabba, the NLC has resolved to withdraw all services and protest the “neo-liberal and extreme right-wing policies,” which will take effect “without further delay.”

Mr Wabba explained, ”Mobilisation of all our state councils and all affiliates should take place immediately, and that all employers of labour should be put on notice, as required by our extant laws.

”We make bold to say that all those falsehood (by Mr El-Rufai’s government) and propaganda would be responded to appropriately because we thought that in a modern-day democracy, our politician should always speak the truth and should not be used to falsify information.”

He further noted, ”Particularly, the issue of citing Decree 2, which has been abolished by the current democratic dispensation. Decree 2 is only known to the military era. Therefore if El-Rufai wants to return to the era of militarisation of our democracy, I think it is something that should be condemned.

“It is the Kaduna state government that has violated the provision and sanctity of our laws.”