Despite court injunction, Niger State civil servants have embarked on an indefinite strike action over the refusal of the state to pay full salary to workers.
The workers embarked on the action after the expiration of a two week ultimatum given to the state government.
The court injunction as presented, rules that the strike action planned by civil and public servants in the state has become null and void and indeed of no effects.
However, as part of efforts to prove their action is inevitable, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), have directed all state civil servants to proceed on an indefinite strike action from Monday (yesterday) 11 July 2016 (Midnight).
The court injunction in a statement made available to our correspondent and signed by the State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Comrade Jonathan Vatsa restrains the NLC Comrade Idris Yahaya Ndako and his TUC counterpart Comrade Yunusa Tanimu, from calling civil and public servants in Niger State on a strike action pending the determination of the motion on notice which is fixed for 15th of July, 2016.
This is following a failure to reach a consensus between the state government and the organised Labour on the payment of full salaries.
The State NLC Chairman, Comrade Yahaya Idris Ndako said “we decided to embark on indefinite strike due to the state government’s reluctance to reverse its decision of cutting workers’ salaries. This time around no going back, the strike is inevitable”.
It should be recalled that the Niger State, Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has reassured the state civil service and the entire public that government has not cut workers’ salaries.
According to him, “the current salary regime was informed by circumstances beyond the control of government and the steps taken are in the interest of both the state, the civil servant and the entire Nigerlites”.
“We are faced with a critical situation. Our monthly receipt from the federation allocation has been on a constant decline, the drastic fall in global price for crude oil and the continued heinous activities of the Niger Delta Avengers on our oil installations have are affecting our resources.
“We have no intention to cut salary. We have no intention to suffer anybody. It is just that this is a period of sacrifice. It is a phase in our national life. We shall surely overcome this challenge”.
