Organised Labour in Nasarawa State has complied with the ongoing nationwide strike as directed by the national headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
Speaking with newsmen in Lafia on Monday, the NLC chairman in the state, Ismaila Okoh, said all the affiliates of the union in the state had complied and withdrawn their services as directed by their national leaders.
He explained that the strike was due to the level of unseriousness by the Federal Government on the issue of the new minimum wage and the increase in the electricity tariff.
“We have completely complied with the strike already, but we had to meet at the state level to formally inform our affiliates to be on the same page,” he said.
Okoh announced the names of 11 persons as the monitoring and enforcement team to go around and ensure total compliance in all ministries, departments and agencies.
He said that workers should continue to remain at home until they receive further directives from the leadership of the union.
On his part, the TUC chairman, Mohammed Doma, narrated that the strike was long overdue because of the sufferings that workers had been going through since the removal of the fuel subsidy in May 2023.
He explained that the prices of everything had gone up and civil servants could no longer fuel their vehicles, pay their medical bills or pay their children’s school fees again.
“The salary of most civil servants cannot buy a bag of rice in the market, so what about other food items and ingredients,” he added.
He, therefore, said that over 70 affiliates of the organised labour in the state had withdrawn their services and shut down their offices in compliance with the directive on the nationwide strike.
When our correspondent went around Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, it was observed that government offices and most private organisations including commercial banks were under lock and key.
