The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister faced the anger of workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday over an unresolved labour dispute.
The workers, backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), protested at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, demanding the removal of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The protest followed a directive from the NLC, which declared full support for the industrial action and described the strike as justified in the face of what it termed persistent violations of workers’ rights by the FCTA management and political leadership.
Placards carried by the protesters bore inscriptions such as: “Wike must go!!”, “Abuja no be Rivers”, “Pay promotion arrears”, “Enough is Enough” and “No working tools”.
FCT workers under the aegis of Joint Unions Action Committee, (JUAC), had embarked on an indefinite strike over workers’ welfare, non-remittance of deductions, stagnation and tenure elongation for retired directors, amongst other grievances.
Since the strike, Abuja, the city capital and environs have seen the collapse of social services, water not running and heaps of refuse across the city and partial services at the administration-owned hospitals.
