- NLC, NUT Reject Salary Threat, Insist FCT Strike Is Lawful
A fresh industrial confrontation is brewing in the Federal Capital Territory as the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigeria Union of Teachers rejected Minister Nyesom Wike’s directive to enforce the no-work, no-pay rule against striking workers, describing the move as illegal, provocative and incapable of ending the dispute.
The labour unions, which have vowed to sustain the industrial action until their grievances are addressed, also directed teachers and other affected workers to ignore attendance registers introduced by the authorities to identify employees who fail to report for duty.
The hardening positions on both sides raise the prospect of a prolonged shutdown across affected public institutions in the FCT, as the administration moves to enforce discipline while organised labour insists the strike remains protected under Nigerian labour law.
Chairman of the NLC FCT Council, Knabayi Adalo, and Secretary of the NUT FCT Wing, Margaret Jethro, stated the unions’ positions in separate circulars issued to members.
Their reaction followed Wike’s directive to the chairmen of the six area councils to implement the no-work, no-pay policy against workers participating in the strike.
The minister had also directed the FCT Head of Civil Service, school principals and headteachers to open daily attendance registers to identify workers absent from duty.
The indefinite strike was declared by the NLC on October 7 following unresolved disagreements involving the FCT Administration and teachers.
But Adalo urged workers to remain firm, insisting that threats to stop salaries or monitor attendance should not compel them to abandon the industrial action.
According to him, the strike was embarked upon after due process and remained a legitimate means through which workers could press their demands.
He cited Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, provisions of the Trade Unions Act and International Labour Organisation Conventions 87, 98 and 151 in support of the unions’ position.
Adalo maintained that the NLC FCT Council had fulfilled the necessary legal requirements before commencing the strike.
He also challenged the planned application of the no-work, no-pay principle, arguing that Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act could not, in the circumstances of the dispute, be invoked against workers participating in what the union considers a lawful strike.
The labour leader further argued that an employer should not benefit from circumstances it allegedly created by failing to resolve workers’ grievances.
At the heart of the dispute, according to the NLC, is the alleged imposition of a vacancy clause affecting the promotion of teachers.
The congress is also protesting the demotion of directors whom it says are entitled to benefit from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
Adalo demanded the immediate removal of the vacancy clause, the conduct of the 2025 promotion exercise and the full reinstatement of the affected directors.
He further cited previous decisions of the National Industrial Court which, he said, supported workers’ entitlement to salaries in certain circumstances involving industrial disputes.
The NLC chairman also directed striking workers not to sign attendance registers opened during the strike, describing such registers as an attempt to weaken the industrial action.
According to him, participation in a union-declared strike should not be treated as ordinary absenteeism.
He advised workers who receive queries, threats or other disciplinary measures to report to the NLC FCT Council Secretariat with evidence.
Adalo also warned principals and headteachers against compelling teachers to sign attendance registers or submitting names for punitive action, saying labour would hold such administrators accountable.
He added that any school administrator found actively working against the strike could face picketing by the union.
The labour leader urged the FCT Administration to concentrate on resolving the underlying grievances rather than relying on threats and sanctions.
“We assure all teachers and workers that the NLC will protect your jobs and salaries. No worker will be victimised,” he said.
In a separate intervention, NUT FCT Secretary Margaret Jethro described the no-work, no-pay directive as an empty threat and urged teachers not to return to work out of fear.
She called on union members to remain united and peaceful while sustaining the strike.
Jethro insisted that the teachers’ demands were centred on welfare and professional rights rather than politics.
She also criticised the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools for withdrawing from the strike, describing the decision as a betrayal of teachers involved in the wider struggle.
“We urge you to remain peaceful and law-abiding while you stay at home,” she told members.
The latest exchange has deepened the standoff between the FCT Administration and organised labour, with neither side showing signs of retreat.
While Wike’s directive signals the administration’s determination to force a return to work through salary sanctions and attendance monitoring, the unions are equally digging in, insisting that only the resolution of their outstanding demands can end the strike.
With teachers and other workers caught in the middle, attention will now shift to whether the FCT authorities and labour leaders can reopen negotiations before the dispute hardens into a wider confrontation capable of further disrupting public services across the nation’s capital.
