The Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), yesterday described the mass sack and casualisation of workers by the Kaduna State governor, Nasir Ahmed el-Rufa’i, as the most brutal attack on workers and trade unions’ rights in Nigeria’s history.
The NLC chairman, Ayuba Suleiman, who delivered the Workers Day address of the union’s President Ayuba Wabba, said the government had either sacked or casualised more than 60 percent of the State’s workforce.
His words: “We consider the recent mass sack and casualisation of more than 60 percent of the workforce in Kaduna State as the most brutal attack on workers and trade union rights in our nation’s history.
According to the NLC, “Between 2016 and 2021, Nasiru el-Rufa’i had sacked 21,770 primary school teachers, 7,310 local government employees, 3,000 personnel in the State Civil Service and 1, 240 workers in the health sector.
“While the State government sacked workers with one hand, it increased the school fees in Kaduna State University, (KASU), by almost 500 percent. This clearly shows a well-mapped plan to make the children of the working class to be destitutes”.
It stressed that the serial pattern of anti-worker and anti-trade union war of attrition by the state governor is not lost on the Nigerian public.
“Indeed, the industrial sadism of el-Rufa’i has become legendary; it is even worse now”, the NLC lamented, adding that the current action breaches provisions of section 20 sub-section 1(a-c), 2 and 3 of Nigeria Labour Act.
It explained that the Act demanded consultation with workers representative organisations and agreement reached on redundancy benefits before letters are issued to workers.
Recall that Governor el-Rufa’i had complained that the State’s civil service was bloated and riddled with unverified or redundant workers, and thereafter decided to take action in order to stop the State from bleeding public funds.
The Organiaed Labour further said, “We also condemn in the strongest term the violation of the terms of the employment contract of the disengaged workers, which provides for 60 years retirement age and 35 years of active services. We also consider the promise in the redundancy letters issued to current victims of the reign of sadism as a mockery of the sacked workers”.
The NLC recalled that the state government had refused to pay the benefits of workers earlier sacked between 2016 and 2020.
“We call on Mr. President to call el-Rufa’i and his ilk to order. The Organised Labour will not take el-Rufai’s current repression of workers lying low.
“We are mobilising every Nigerian worker for the mother of all struggles in Kaduna State. We will use the weapons available to us by the law to fight for the right of Kaduna State workers to decent work”, the union said.
